All language subtitles for Cat Wars Lion Vs. Cheetah (2011)eng

Cat Wars Lion Vs. Cheetah

Caught on tape
in Africa's wild Serengeti,

a stunning act of violence
between two top predators.

Cat Wars Lion Vs. Cheetah

A run-in between
lions and cheetahs so
rare, this is the first time

it's ever been documented.

Look at
the energy, the fury.

Like a back-alley
ambush, the assault
sends survivors scattering,

and leaves bodies battered.

Filmmaker Leo Kuenkel
witnessed the attack, and is
trying to make sense of it.

Was this a once in a
lifetime perfect storm event?

Or do these iconic African
cats have a deep-set, sinister
reason to fight to the death?

The players in this incredible
savannah attack are well-known
on the African scene.

The perps, lions.

King of the cats and
fiercest of predators.

Hunting the
biggest prey,

challenging the
most persistent rivals,

and commanding
the most impressive prides.

They also have great hair!

Cheetahs are the marks in this
bizarre and brutal showdown.

They're top hunters
in their own right,

but often considered the
underdogs of the big cat world.

Their thin, lanky bodies
and long legs are built
for speed, not power.

They can do 0 to 50
in under three seconds.

And reach top speeds
over 100 kilometers per hour.

But they lack the
firepower to defend
against aggressors,

and generally, choose flight
over fight when threatened.

The scene.

Ndutu, a compact,
bountiful corner of
Tanzania's famous Serengeti.

It's home to all
the top predators,

a tough neighborhood
where lions, cheetahs,

leopards and hyenas
often cross paths.

They come for the plentiful
prey, and a permanent
water source that stays wet

even in the dry season.

Witness to the attack is
filmmaker Reinhard Leo Kuenkel.

Leo has been
living and filming in Africa
for more than three decades,

and is passionate
about cheetahs.

But in all his years following
the spotted cats, he's
never seen an event like this.

It's an attack so peculiar,
so complex, and so unexpected

he's invited world-renowned
lion expert Craig Packer
to help him decipher it.

It's such a long time, huh?

Craig is studying
the way top predators interact

on the other side
of the Serengeti.

Leo hopes he can shed light
on what motivated the assault.

Base camp for the
investigation is Leo's
edit suite-with-a-view.

Craig, I would like you to
have a look at that scene,

and I thought I got
some very unusual stuff.

On the day of the
attack, Leo was out filming
on the southern edge

of the Serengeti when he gets
an urgent call from his wife.

She called me on the radio
saying come over here, something
very interesting is happening.

Rushing to
her location, he arrives
just ahead of the chaos.

Three male cheetahs are hot
on the heels of a female
who is coming into heat.

They've been
pursuing her for hours.

Trying to keep her close
until she's ready to mate.

They're also competing
with each other for her favor.

These are three
territorial males and
this is one of your guys.

One of his guys
is a large male lion, who's
just appeared on the scene.

But the testosterone-fueled
male cheetahs are
not initially impressed.

Craig is surprised by
the cheetah's reaction
as the lion approaches.

It looked
like he had just lost his
balance, but it's very clear

that he slaps the ground.

I've never seen a cheetah
threaten a lion before.

I've never seen that either.

Usually, cheetahs would
simply run away from the
lions in that situation.

But this guy put up a
really strong determined show.

And that lion is
three times its own weight.

It's a macho
move, but fleeting.

It's definitely
out of his league, and
then he kind of realizes,

"Oh, that was silly,
I just threatened a lion."

The female cheetah
has a different response.

Three randy males are
bad enough-she's not about
to take on a lion as well.

Feeling threatened,
she's taken cover
in an awkward location.

And up there you see
a female cheetah, which has
tried to escape from the lion

and from the male cheetahs.

Cheetahs often
seek out high spots when
they're scanning for prey,

but this is extreme.

She was standing
there, she was shivering.

I could see her legs,
they were really shivering fast
while she was watching the lion

and she was
also watching
the three males.

Terrified,
the female decides
to make a run for it.

And when she
saw a chance, she actually
jumped down from up there,

jumped down and then raced
off at 100 miles an hour,

and all we could do
then is to follow her
because the three males

were also chasing her,
trying to catch up with her.

I revved up the engine
and raced after them, but they
were so fast it was really hard

to keep up with those guys.

By the time
he catches up, the
action has resumed.

The males have tracked
the female to her new
hiding place in a bush.

They're so intent on getting
the girl, they cast their
coalition relationships aside

and compete fiercely
for her attention.

It's like they got
this once chance with this
female and instead of making

a good first impression,
they're really rude
and they're really aggressive

and they really
try to grab them.

So presumably they're
trying to make sure
that they mate with her

before she moves
on to a different area.

The males are
desperate to seal the deal.

And now is when the noise
started, she protested and
they just jumped on her.

In their excitement,
the males fail to notice that
they're still being stalked.

The lion is following, albeit
at his own, more stately pace.

They were calling
and calling and making a big
noise and fighting each other

and that attracted
and motivated that lion.

Leo was as
surprised as the cheetahs.

I was filming, from
the car, and suddenly
on my left-hand side,

the lion came in and
I was very lucky my camera
was on when he rushed in.

The lion came out
with that female in its
teeth and by that time you

could tell she was already dead.

He's crushing her
skull, this is the same
way they kill lion cubs.

Yeah.

It's
a gruesome hit.

A fearsome display of force.

But strangely, the male
cheetahs barely seem to notice.

And those guys are fighting
again while he is still
busy killing the female.

What an incredible situation.

Right there at
the scene, the male cheetahs
continue to squabble, madly

vying for the attention of
their dead companion while her
killer is still on the prowl.

Leo can't believe
what he's seeing.

Not even in his
wildest imagination
could he have conceived

of an event like this.

And what he didn't know
at the time, the violence
was just getting started.

Seeing the attack
on tape, Craig is as
surprised as Leo was.

Typically, what I see
is just the lions show up
and the cheetahs skedaddle.

There's no
simple reason why a powerful
male lion should feel the need

to track and attack
four adult cheetahs who were
minding their own business.

Before getting to
the rest of the encounter,

Craig wants some
background on both
perpetrator and pursued.

So, this is the three
males after the female.

Yeah, this is the
coalition of three males.

They would have been
in their prime, say
four or five years old.

The three
were probably brothers,
who had stayed together

when they left their mother.

Cheetah males form these
coalitions to improve
their chances of getting

and holding good territory.

A good range means lots of
prey, and is also likely
to attract more females,

who travel great distances
looking for worthy mates.

When a female enters
their territory, the
males try to assess

if she's coming into heat.

If she is, they'll keep on
her until she's ready to mate.

I've seen a male cheetah mate
with a female and it's a very
short, very unromantic affair.

She crouches down,
he grabs her at the nape
and he pulls as hard,

as if he wants to take
her coat off, and they
basically part within

half an hour or so.

- And he may never see her again.
- Never see her again and that's it.

With mates and quality real
estate hard to come by,

competition between cheetah
coalitions can be fierce.

Skirmishes between groups
get nasty, sometimes leading
to injury or even death.

Once dominance is established,
the victors keep the territory.

The losers beat a
careful, submissive retreat.

In the case of Leo's
cheetahs, it's not coalitions
battling for territory,

it's blood brothers
squabbling over a female.

There's no doubt
that can drive males of
most species to distraction,

but Leo has never seen
a sibling rivalry cause
such blatant disregard

for mortal danger.

This one-of-a-kind video is
changing our understanding
of just how irresistible

a female can be, and
just how irrational
her suitors can get.

What's puzzling is how
strongly the hormones effect
their brain in such a way

that they totally
neglect the danger.

I mean, something must
be happening there,
something strong.

Their testosterone
levels are peaking, their
need to mate all-consuming.

It's putting them
in danger, but at least it's
a biological explanation

for the cheetahs'
recklessness.

Craig is not so sure
the same can be said about
the lion's strange behavior.

He's not looking for sex,
he's out for blood.

So right here he's making
no attempt to conceal himself,

so, this is the way
they would behave towards a
stranger in their territory.

But Craig sees no motive for
the display of dominance.

Craig thinks brothers
like this should have had
more important things to do

than harass
a few scrawny cheetahs.

Most males of their stature
would be busy trying
to take over new prides,

or protecting their own
prides from the fierce
advances of other males.

These clashes can be vicious.

Male lions have been known to
fight each other to the death.

The battles are
winner take all.

Territory, prey,

and, most importantly,

females.

The victors get mating
rights to the lionesses,

a chance to sire the
next generation of lions.

Sadly, it's not a happy
ending for everyone.

When a takeover succeeds,
the conquerors engage
in one of the most brutal acts

in the animal kingdom.

They chase down
and kill any cubs from
the previous pride males.

It's a grizzly but
effective way to ensure that
their genes will be passed on.

And, it's the quickest
way to get the pride
females back in heat.

With such high stakes in the
world of lions, it's amazing
Leo's lion is wasting his time

with the cheetahs,
exhibiting unusual persistence

for little apparent gain.

You know, this is a
very unusual situation.

As Craig
scrolls back through the
footage, he's intrigued

by the lion's
uncharacteristic determination.

Usually, it's
like always against one.

Lions are
notoriously lazy, especially
during the heat of the day.

Yet, he's just watched this
one follow the cheetahs in
the blazing sun, dive headlong

into a bush to take them
on, then crush the skull
of the unfortunate female.

What Craig hasn't
seen a hint of is why he's
going to all that trouble.

That's the big mystery
he and Leo are trying to solve.

See I don't think there's
any reason to expect lions
to want to remove cheetah

from an area because
the way they occupy the
habitat is so different.

The lions like
to stay in adequate cover
and they stay hidden

and they don't actually
go where the herds are.

Though they patrol the same
general territories,

the two predators
have very different
hunting techniques,

so, they're not even
competing for the same prey.

Lions use their
strength, size and numbers
to go after the big boys,

buffalo,

zebra,

wildebeest,

and even giraffes.

Their hunts are
masterpieces of teamwork
when they attack en masse,

or exhibitions of pure power
when they venture out alone.

Cheetahs, on the other
hand, are specialists.

They lack a lion's heavy
artillery, instead relying
on their unparalleled speed

to catch their prey.

On the open plains, they
use their tails as rudders
and their long hind legs

and flexible
spines to generate
massive forward thrust.

Their technique works.

They actually
take down close to 50%
of the prey they go after

a far higher
success rate than lions.

But for the most part,
lions couldn't be bothered
with the prey cheetahs hunt.

Too small.

Not worth the effort.

And, usually, too
fast and agile to catch.

What lions will
do is steal a meal from a
cheetah after it's killed.

This is a primary point of
conflict between the two specie
But it's never an even fight.

Cheetahs have no chance
against the bigger,
stronger marauders.

And lions aren't
the only culprits.

Cheetahs often lose kills to
other predators and scavengers
before they can eat their fill.

It's for this reason
Craig doesn't believe
lions would see cheetahs

as competitors worth killing.

Why Leo's video is
so uniquely disturbing.

It makes no sense to me
that lions would want to kill an
animal that can capture gazelle.

To the contrary,
he thinks lions benefit
from having cheetahs around.

The cheetah is a great
source of a free meal.

If I were a smart lion, I
would keep a pet cheetah, 'cause
then they could catch me dinner.

But if that's
the case, why is this lion so
intent on putting a further

dent in Africa's dwindling
cheetah population?

Is there something
they're missing?

Some reason the cheetahs
don't feel the need
to run for their lives?

They used to be the best of
brothers and now they have
this deadly fight going on.

So, this
is within seconds or?

This is within seconds,
this would be 50 meters away
from where the lion is killing

the female, and then these
guys fighting each other

to the death
over a dead female.

It's as if they
don't know the female is dead.

If anything, they become
even more aggressive.

And even less
concerned about the
presence of the lion,

or lions,

because the threat
has suddenly doubled.

The first lion,
a bit winded from his
slaughter of the female,

is quietly joined by
a second impressive male.

He was still fresh.
He was still curious.

More than just curious.

The cheetahs
scramble out of reach,

then quickly resume
their excited squabbling.

It's a bad move, and
they'll soon pay the price.

With their mate
dead only meters away, and two
threatening lions now on their

trail, the male cheetahs have
every reason to flee the scene.

Instead, they continue
squabbling amongst themselves
as if nothing has happened.

They're playing a dangerous
game, and the new arrival
wants a piece of the action.

After his initial
exploratory charge,
he goes in for the kill.

- Whoa.
- Isn't that incredible?

I didn't believe it when I
saw it through the viewfinder.

And now look,
the two lions are tearing
that poor fellow apart.

No, it's incredible,
just incredible.

He's using all his strength,
that lion, to kill that cheetah.

He's doing a good job.

As if the action
isn't rare enough, Leo and his
wife were able to capture it

on two separate cameras.

Watching the attack
from all angles, Craig marvels
at the lion's potent technique.

Look how he uses
his claws to lift up
the neck and curl it in.

He's grabbing him,
he's holding him in such
a position that now he can,

he needs to get
the back of the neck.

Once he does that then
he can snap its spine.

But then the way
the other guy came up and
held on to the other end,

that's like a gang
attack on another lion.

So, they're obviously
treating the cheetah
like a dangerous animal.

And they're not going to eat
it, they just want to kill it.

They do
that with little trouble,
while still keeping track

of the remaining
two cheetahs.

Incredibly, it takes
yet another charge to
convince the survivors

to head for safer ground.

And even then,
the saga isn't over.

Not completely
satisfied, one of the lions
returns to the dead cheetah.

For Leo, who has known these
cheetahs for many months,
the violence is hard to watch.

And he still can't
believe that when push
finally came to shove,

the agile cheetah couldn't
evade the bigger, slower lion.

Until, he notices something
strange in the footage.

Something he hadn't
noticed when he was shooting
the horrific attack.

One has to realize
that normally cheetahs
are so fast they

can easily outrun
any lion so in that way

they can handle
a situation like that.

But in
this case, the cheetah
seems slow to react.

Leo only sees the anomaly
when they look at the
footage in slow motion.

There is something peculiar
about the cheetah's movements.

It looks to me as if
this one was wounded. This
cheetah there was injured.

What do you think?

Could be. He's slow
to get up, he doesn't have
huge strength in his back end.

- You see what I mean?
- Yeah, maybe, he got a swiped at.

See the lack of acceleration,
he's getting good pull in the
front, but not in the back.

The question
is, can they find out
when he got injured?

Was it an old injury,
or a fresh wound from
the day's brawling?

So, I think what happens
here is that one is okay.

He's coming over to join
the other two, and this one,
he's not well, he's down,

he's staying there.

The other one
comes in, he stays down,
the other one leaps over,

so, he stays down,
and this is the one
that's gonna die, right?

This is the one you've
got, so when the lion
comes up and catches up,

that's the one
that's most exhausted.

That's the one, that's
the one that gets killed.

But did
the injury happen then,
or was he already hurt

when his brothers jumped him?

Could it also be that
when the lion rushed in and
eventually killed the female,

he hit one of
the escaping males?

Two of the
males scamper away quickly,
but the other takes longer

to extract himself
from the bush.

So, one possibility is
that this guy gets a swipe
at the male as he goes

and gets the female.

I think that might
have been the same one.

Could be the case, yeah.

Whether it was
dodging the lion or scuffling
with the other cheetahs,

the soon-to-be victim
had ample opportunity
to sustain a hit.

And the injury, however
it was caused, may explain
his final inability to escape.

But it still doesn't solve
the biggest puzzle of all,

why the lions were
so committed to killing the
cheetahs in the first place.

Unless, the lions were
just lumping cheetahs in with
their true mortal enemies,

hyenas and leopards.

And if they had reason
to do that, the violence
might be warranted.

But both Leo and
Craig are familiar with
the way lions interact

with the other top predators,

and believe these relationships
might hold the key to
understanding the attack.

Although their survival in
the wild is threatened, we thin
of lions as the top predators

on the African plains.

And they are.

Proud, powerful,

deadly.

But just because they're
bigger and stronger than
everyone else doesn't mean

they don't have enemies.

Enemies who are willing
to engage when the
odds are in their favor.

It's an aspect of lion life
Craig and his field team have
been studying extensively

at the Serengeti Lion Project,
not far from Ndutu.

Leo hopes their
results might provide
some useful information

about the rare
attack he witnessed.

The team is trying to learn
exactly how predators coexist,
or don't, as the case may be.

Led by graduate student
Ali Swanson, Craig's
study uses camera traps

to capture predator
interactions.

We have 200 cameras
set up across the study area,
which is 1000 square kilometers.

And we have so many
traps because, you know, a few
pictures can give us an anecdote

about what these animals
are doing, but hundreds
or thousands gives us a story.

And these trees seem to catch
the full suite of species.

Like this one tree has caught
lions, leopards, cheetahs and
hyenas. Just at different times.

Huh, hyenas,

ah, we got a leopard.

Like surveillance cameras at a
24-hour convenience store,

the traps reveal the
comings and goings of
all the local residents.

The hyenas are
the most frequent shoppers.

There's an aardvark and
then hyenas. Um, hyenas
after hyenas after hyena.

Hyenas outnumber lions 3-1
in this part of Africa,

and are quick to use their
numbers to their advantage.

Covering the same ground.

Hunting the same prey.

And scavenging
the same leftovers.

The two species often
come into conflict.

They chase each other.

Steal from each other.

And even seem to
wage all out war.

The battles can be savage.

The two species also go
after each other's young.

It's easier to take out
the competition before the
competition can fight back.

This infanticide is a large
part of what makes lions
and hyenas mortal enemies.

It's also at the heart of
lions' hatred for leopards.

Like cheetahs, leopards
often find themselves
out-muscled by adult lions.

So, they try to pick off cubs
to lessen the competition.

Lions are quick
to return the favor.

They'll kill any leopard
they can catch in order
to protect their own young.

Craig believes lions
might extend their
loathing for leopards

to other spotted cats as well.

I think it's quite
possible that lions can't
really tell the difference

between a
cheetah and a leopard.

If all spotted
cats are created equal to
a lion, it might explain why

the Ndutu lions were pursuing
the cheetahs with such vigor.

But Leo's not convinced.

He's sure lions can tell
the difference, and isn't
comfortable explaining away

the attack as a case
of mistaken identity.

But he does think there are
some relevant similarities
in the relationships

between the three cats.

One last missing link
that could provide a clear
motive for the attack.

Trying to
understand the brutal
scene he captured on tape,

filmmaker Leo Kuenkel
has examined every frame
of his extraordinary footage,

and together with
lion expert Craig Packer,

he's dissected the complex
web of animosity between
Africa's top predators.

For lions, hyenas and
leopards, it's a volatile
mix of competition for prey,

overlapping territories,

and perhaps of
utmost importance,
attacks on the young.

But does the same
hold true for cheetahs?

Could an instinct for
cub-killing have played a role
in the attack Leo witnessed,

even though there
were no cubs around?

To find out, Leo and Craig
will have to look at both
sides of the deadly equation.

First up are cheetah cubs,
and they are never safe.

In fact, experts believe
that in areas where other
large predators abound,

up to 90% of all
cheetah cubs are killed before
they reach three months of age.

So that leaves only
one last crucial question.

We know that hyenas
can kill lion cubs and we know
that leopards can kill lion cubs

and kinda the gap in our
knowledge has always been,
do cheetah ever kill lion cubs?

If they do, it
would explain why Leo's lions
felt such a persistent urge

to destroy the cheetahs
they were following.

In the lions' eyes, it would
elevate cheetahs to the same
detested category as hyenas

and leopards,
mortal enemies to be
killed at any opportunity.

Problem is, Craig
has never seen or heard of a
cheetah taking out a lion cub.

Neither has Leo,
though he once came close.

I haven't seen a cheetah
killing a lion cub,
but I've seen a cheetah,

a female cheetah
chasing two lion cubs.

Leo remembers it well.

A female cheetah pursuing
the two small lion
cubs with deadly intent.

If they had been two
weeks younger and their
mother hadn't been around,

I'm sure that particular
female would have killed them.

It's not quite a
smoking gun, but it's enough
to suggest that lions might,

after all, have good reason to
treat cheetahs the same way the
treat the other top predators.

Chase, catch and kill.

If cheetah can kill lion
cubs and do kill lion cubs,
it would make a lot of sense

that these males who are
resident in a pride would
want to be eradicating

any potential predators
for their own babies.

I think so, too. Yeah.

And I think that would
explain the behavior
that we've seen here.

It's the
final piece of the puzzle,
and lets us finally watch

the rare events unfold
with a true understanding
of what went down and why.

A female cheetah in heat,

trapped by her suitors,
in the wrong place

at the wrong time.

Three male cheetahs blinded
by lust and an inborn
drive to mate at all costs.

A battle wound that
limited mobility,

and two powerful
male lions,

ruthlessly pursuing
rivals who might be a
threat to their young.

A perfect storm on the African
plains, and a lucky filmmaker
in the perfect position

to capture it all on tape.

Captioned by Cotter
Captioning Services.