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OKAVANGO DELTA , BOTSWANA — It ai n’t easy being king . Take a look at a pride of king of beasts , and it becomes obvious that there are more female than Male , unremarkably at a ratio of about 2- or 3 - to-1 . Considering that male and female lions are assume in equal numbers , the question arises : What happens to the missing male person ?
That ’s the question explored by a new film called " Game of Lions " ( premiere Sunday ( Dec. 1 ) at 10 p.m. ET on Nat Geo Wild ) , take here in theOkavango Delta , a lush wetland where the Okavango River collides with the Kalahari Desert . The country is home plate to a peachy variety of animals , such as lions , leopards , elephants , buffalo and hippopotamuses .
Life is tough for lion cubs, but especially males: Only about 1 in 8 male lions survive to adulthood.
It ’s no easy feat finding lions . But under the guidance ofDereck and Beverly Joubert , filmmakers and National Geographic explorer - in - residence , it ’s a child’s play . On the first afternoon of a three - mean solar day safari here , the couplet located a group of five lions , let in two young carnivore , as a group of four journalist drove to see them .
The first wad of wild lions is stirring , for a figure of intellect . The cubs themselves are endearing , but the adults — each of which well outbalance an nauseating linemen and sports paws the size of it of small dinner home — evoke a form of tense marvel consisting of awe , esteem for these powerful beasts , and something resemble fearfulness but more like an cognisance of one ’s mortality . They could easily kill us . But there are no words in the moment besides exclamation of mental rejection .
But none of that matters to the lions , who hold out on this landed estate and do n’t seem to pay any attention to visitors , drive about in a couple of Toyota Land Cruisers that are completely open to the air , no windows for detachment .
A young cub in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.
The Leo cub seem happy and devil-may-care , but their lives are not easy . Only about 1 in 8 male lions subsist to maturity , Dereck said .
bad childhood
All lions face high fatality rate as sonny boy , for a variety of reasons , including injuries , want of food , illness and being killed by adult lions — more on that later . But when manful lion set out to reach sexual adulthood around historic period 2 , the older male within the pride kick them out , Dereck say . The femalelions , which are usually all related to some degree , typically stay behind .
Filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, in their natural habitat, in Duba Plains camp, Botswana.
For a new male , " the treachery by his own blood must be confusing to him , but this is an ancient religious rite — the cast out of untried males into a world of unknowns — a world where he will be capable make it , or die , " said Dereck , 57 , who sports a white-hot byssus and search every chip the wilderness valet . Dereck and Beverly , 56 , seem to belong here in Duba , where they made other films about lions , including " The Last Lions " and " Relentless Enemies . " [ In picture : A Lion ’s spirit ]
After being kick out , the young males roam the countryside alone or in minor band , often with their brothers or full cousin , negotiating the no - cat’s - kingdom between district of other lions , said Luke Hunter , the president of the big cat conservation group Panthera , in a phone interview . If they stray into these territories , they are likely to be attacked and/or kill . A majority of male Lion die during this time , say Gabriele Cozzi , a investigator at Zurich University who was n’t involve in the pic .
This odyssey also cast them into contact with human , due to expansion of rural populations , Cozzi said in an email , increasing the chances they will be kill in a wire trap trap ( a non - selective , far-flung method of take hold of African game ) .
If they live long enough to find a promising novel area , the next stride is to take over another superbia . But of course nonmigratory males will have none of that , and so they end up fighting , often to the death , Dereck said . They unremarkably do this as a coalition , often consisting of three or four " big , bruise males , " Hunter say .
Whenmale lionstake over a new district , they almost always kill the prides ' cubs , since they are not biologically related to and do not require to spend energy ensuring that other lions ' cistron will be pop off on . " They ca n’t be stepfathers , " Hunter told LiveScience . Female social lion also will not be sensory to mating while they are nursing , so belt down the cubs start the male lions to procreate , said Beverly .
The Jouberts have had their bonnie share of penny-pinching calls , and Beverly has saved Dereck ’s life many meter ( according to Dereck ) . They have survived several sheet collapse , being charged by a bruise elephant and , most recently , Dereck was bitten by a boomslang , one of the more deadly snakes in Africa . Dereck casually points to the scar left by the bite , saying that he still lacks feel in the area . The snack occurred days before a visit from the television political platform " 60 Minutes " — but instead of strike down , Dereck went through with the consultation . He eventually sought treatment at a South African hospital , he said .
Lion hunting
Only physically strong , intelligent and primed males survive to become adults in charge of a pride , Dereck said . And these Okavango Leo the Lion are belike the largest lion on the satellite . That ’s because there is an teemingness of buffalo and other animals to prey upon , and the fact that the animals often walk through piddle in the delta ’s many streams , building up their muscularity , he tell . [ Photos : The big Lions on ground ]
But male Leo , for all their hardships , are look for after by trophy hunter . " Every now and then , a cub come forth as a struggle - frightened warrior , and then gets shot for the very calibre that have allowed him to be a subsister , " Dereck said .
There are only about 20,000 lions leave in Africa , Beverly said . Other estimates put the figure slightly higher , closer to 30,000 . Regardless , their numbers are pass up at an alarming charge per unit , experts agree . About 50 years ago , there were 450,000lions — a decline of more than 95 percent , Beverly added .
Trophy hunters , mostly Americans , kill nearly 700 lions per year , typically male person , Dereck say . Perhaps an even bigger job is the use of conducting wire trap traps by expanding rural populations in Africa , Hunter read . These traps get a variety of animals , which then die , attracting Lion , which then strike prey to the traps themselves , he add . [ 7 Iconic Animals Humans Are drive to Extinction ]
Spreading awareness
The Jouberts said they hope that the movie will help people take account how difficult it is for male lions to survive to adulthood , and in bend discourage search of these animals . Viewing the creature up close shows just how easy it is to approach them , and make it percipient that lion hunting would n’t be peculiarly thought-provoking .
The killing of an grownup male in a pride can bedevil the group into topsy-turvyness , Dereck said . For example , this makes the superbia more vulnerable to attack from an outside chemical group of male , lead to upheaval and the almost certain violent death of any young cubs , Dereck pronounce .
In a distinctive natural population of lions , about 23 to 30 percent of the animals are Male , Hunter allege . But hunting geared toward male can skew that balance . In Zambia ’s Luangwa Valley , for model , hunting lately decrease the fate of males to 8 pct of the population , at least four time lower than it would normally be , he said .
Beverly and Derek know among the iconic with child quat in Botswana , often spend day out in the bush living in their specially modified Land Cruiser , which can handle inscrutable puddles and river . They spent 18 month filming " Game of Lions " — which is less than one 60 minutes in distance — and another five months editing .
After visiting Duba Plains , the Jouberts ' commitment to carry through lions and get them on tv camera becomes more impressive . Most of the clock time , lion rest around , act very much like with child cat . In one instance they come powerful up next to the safari police car , in search of wraith , within an arm ’s reach . The lions made one successful killing during the trip , but it was at night in a marsh , just after a terrific thunderstorm and the beginning of the rainy season , Dereck articulate . In other word , the lions ' true nature does n’t needfully number out upon first glimpse , at least not to the extent that it does in the Jouberts ' film . But it ’s more than enough to respect their massive size , business leader and grace . And also their vulnerability .
" We want this film to be the beginning of the conversation " about lion preservation , Dereck said . Concerning the destiny of lion and other wildlife , the bad job is a lack of awareness and ignorance . " Once hoi polloi have skilful information , they unremarkably make good decisions , " he said .
