- 6 weeks ago
Kevin Richardson, the Lion Whisperer, takes Old Lions Bobcat and Gabby on an enrichment walk, and Bobcat is determined to show he still has plenty of fight left. While Kevin gives an update on Bobcat’s health, the old lion keeps an eye on his surroundings and appears ready to defend his territory from cheeky hyenas.
This wildlife encounter blends animal behaviour, big cat conservation, and a close look at the bond between a handler and his lions. It is a calm but tense moment in nature, focused on territory, age, health, and the instincts that still drive a seasoned lion. Fans of lions, hyenas, African wildlife, and sanctuary-style animal footage will find plenty to enjoy.
Created for viewers searching for lion behaviour videos, wildlife documentary clips, big cat conservation content, and animal territory encounters. It also suits anyone interested in African safari animals, lion vs hyena tension, and relaxing wildlife watching with a natural, observational style.
This wildlife encounter blends animal behaviour, big cat conservation, and a close look at the bond between a handler and his lions. It is a calm but tense moment in nature, focused on territory, age, health, and the instincts that still drive a seasoned lion. Fans of lions, hyenas, African wildlife, and sanctuary-style animal footage will find plenty to enjoy.
Created for viewers searching for lion behaviour videos, wildlife documentary clips, big cat conservation content, and animal territory encounters. It also suits anyone interested in African safari animals, lion vs hyena tension, and relaxing wildlife watching with a natural, observational style.
Category
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00He loves, loves the walks. Thanks Kev. Thanks my buddy.
00:13Some animals just shouldn't die and this is one of them.
00:23Look, he's got absolute hatred in his face. Oh, those horrible hyena.
00:28Bobcat, we just got her. Oh, there he goes again. Bloomin' hyena.
00:34No, don't run! How do you tell a lion not to run?
00:38Right, very good morning everyone. Today I'm going to be taking Bobcat and Gabby out for a much,
00:44well-deserved enrichment walk. It has been a little while. Bobcat has been in the wars
00:51and today we're going to be catching up with Bobcat specifically and talking about all his ailments.
00:59It should fill an entire video because he really has had quite a few things happen to him.
01:05On the other hand, Gabby is, yeah, she's as healthy as can be, as fit as a fiddle and very
01:13hard to believe that they are the same age.
01:15The lions are super excited. There they go. Hello, boy. Super excited. Yes. They love their walks. Yes, we love
01:28our walks. Oh, oh, oh.
01:31Hello, my boy. And yeah, without further ado, let's get into today's walk. What do you say, big boy?
01:38Boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo.
01:39Uh hmm.
01:41Mm-hmm.
01:43Oh.
01:45Mm-hmm.
01:5700,00,
02:13Gabby, no
02:25All right guys so yeah as you can see they're happy to be out and about but
02:33initially you can see bobcat he he does struggle a bit with the mobility
02:40you'll notice the bow leggedness in his hindquarters the the legs bow out up at
02:48the top of the spine the thoracic spine where we performed some x-rays some
02:54months ago probably about eight months ago now just to check out the spine and
03:01and see if there was anything nefarious going on there and lo and behold the
03:07x-rays revealed spondylosis of the thoracic spine and spondylitis and
03:17spondylitis is the inflammation of of the the spine in that region and then with
03:23the with the spondylosis and the what actually happens is the spine can break
03:32away it can actually chip away and spondylosis is basically an arthritis of
03:39the of the spine and yeah so it it it wreaks all sorts of havoc on the poor cat
03:49because bits of that bone can chip away that's known as spondylothesis that can
03:57be extremely painful so in bobcats case we did not see any fragments broken away
04:04but what we did notice is an ankylosing spondylosis which actually means that the
04:12bones start to fuse so initially there's this inflammation and then over time there
04:18can be a fusing of the bones and and that actually although it tends to limit
04:24flexibility it tends to be a better condition pain-wise
04:41you can see how he's forever warning gabby to just keep her distance oh it's very slushy there
05:05okay he's successfully gotten through there still a bit mushy there let's see how gabs decides to navigate that
05:25thinking about it
05:56the bobcat was actually quite smart
06:01he stood on the grass
06:02oh he has a bit slushy
06:07you can see his foot steps
06:11thank goodness for my
06:14zambalans
06:16they're completely
06:19waterproof I've been up to my ankle in water
06:24well done
06:26although I didn't see you go through you look a bit wet
06:33oh
06:33oh Gabby she's a funny cat this one
06:38fun in the in the mud
06:42oh there he was waiting for us
06:44oh what a nice guy bobcat
06:47all right guys so what you will notice is as the walk goes on bobcat
06:53bobcat
06:55starts to loosen up
06:57and the reason for that
06:58is obviously fluid in the joints starts to mobilize blood flow
07:03you know starts to creep in
07:05as it is there's a
07:07lack of or limited blood flow
07:09so
07:11these walks are really important
07:12for his health
07:15as long as they're not overdone
07:17as long as they're not overdone
07:18so we try not to
07:19make him do anything
07:21or overexcite him
07:22so that he has to overwork the hips
07:25we
07:27intensively monitor his pain and inflammation
07:30and we go through these regimes
07:31whereby he's on anti-inflammatories and painkillers
07:36and then
07:37we stop it because
07:39what you find is they lose their effectiveness
07:52you see the muscle wastage
07:55in the hip region
07:57and you can see the bowleggedness
07:59the way he's walking
08:02that is incredible
08:03because that is a lion
08:06compensating
08:07for
08:09mechanical
08:09and neurological issues
08:11that he's facing
08:13and
08:14you know you can imagine
08:15in the wild
08:17a lion
08:18of bobcat's age
08:20which is closing on
08:21is it 18 or 19?
08:24about 18 I think
08:25and
08:27you know a lion of that age
08:29in this
08:31you know kind of condition
08:33would be a
08:33would be a goner
08:35because he wouldn't be able to keep up
08:36we're able to give bobcat a whole whack
08:38of things that are
08:39slowing down the process
08:42we give him
08:43a supplement
08:44that's specially formulated
08:45by
08:46Peter Caldwell
08:47our vet
08:48that's a glucosamine
08:50chondroitin
08:51and
08:51MSM
08:52which is a
08:53methyl sulfonyl
08:54methane
08:55it's a natural sulfur
08:57that's found
08:58typically
08:59it was found in plants
09:01and in the ground
09:02but
09:02we see with modern day farming
09:04there seems to be a leaching
09:06of this substance
09:07from the ground
09:08so we're not getting it
09:10like
09:10we would have
09:12previously
09:12so
09:12that is
09:13something that does affect
09:16human beings as well
09:17so he's on
09:17glucosamine
09:18chondroitin
09:20MSM
09:20and
09:22collagen supplement
09:23and that all helps with the
09:25inflammation
09:26and the pain
09:27and just
09:28the joint health
09:29so that's one of the
09:31things that
09:31bobcat's on
09:33and then as I mentioned earlier
09:34obviously the
09:36you know
09:37the juggling of the
09:39anti-inflammatories
09:40and the painkillers
09:41depending on
09:43how he's feeling
09:44and
09:45you know guys
09:46if you look at him now
09:47I mean
09:48he's got this little awkward walk
09:51and
09:52you know
09:53he does stop
09:54from time to time
09:56you know
09:57just to compose himself
09:58and every now and again
10:01he actually
10:02has a little rest
10:03and that's
10:04that's not a problem
10:05because you can see
10:06he's not in
10:07he's not in pain
10:09it's not unbearable
10:10put it that way
10:11and
10:12it's worth mentioning again
10:14that
10:14as the walk
10:15continues
10:16and as he warms up
10:17his mood enhances
10:19actually
10:20so you see him in the beginning
10:22he's a little bit grumpy
10:23with Gabby
10:23and then as
10:24the walk continues
10:25he gets less and less grumpy
10:27and he gets more and more happy
10:28and he loves just rolling around
10:31and sniffing
10:31and
10:32doing all those things
10:33that he used to really enjoy
10:35and look at
10:36look at him now
10:37I mean
10:38he really is
10:41doing remarkably well
10:47it's always a tough
10:48decision guys
10:49so
10:50I often get asked
10:51so
10:52at what point
10:54do you
10:54make the call
10:56and decide
10:57on whether this cat
10:57bobcat is living a quality of life
10:59and
10:59I think it's pretty obvious
11:01when the
11:02lion is not living
11:03a quality of life
11:04is
11:05typically
11:06when they actually
11:07don't want to do anything
11:08and they don't want to get up
11:09and getting up is a mission
11:10and painful
11:11and there's such severe
11:12muscle wastage
11:13that it's just
11:14this vicious cycle
11:15I think bobcat is still
11:17quite a way
11:18away from that
11:19point
11:21um
11:21but
11:22yeah guys
11:23it's a difficult one
11:24especially when you got Gabby
11:26who is so
11:28healthy
11:28I mean
11:29she's still like a spring chicken
11:30she's like a wound spring
11:32you see the way she navigates things
11:34and how she can spring up and down
11:36just like
11:36at will
11:38um
11:39it's not even worth
11:40mentioning Gabby's
11:42history
11:42health history
11:44because she hasn't had one
11:45um
11:46she's been a pretty healthy lion
11:47um
11:48I suppose
11:49besides her mental disorder
11:51which would
11:52many would
11:53argue that's what makes Gabby Gabby
11:55um
11:56and her tire fetish
11:58so
11:59I mean
12:00maybe that's
12:00goes goes hand in hand
12:01with the mental disorder
12:03but
12:03jokes aside
12:04yeah nothing wrong with Gabby
12:05she's a
12:06a sprightly
12:07feisty cat
12:09uh
12:09we all love her for that
12:11thank the lord
12:12she's calmed down
12:13in her old age
12:14because
12:14I'm not sure at my age
12:16that I could
12:17withstand all those knocks anymore
12:19so she has toned it down
12:20and certainly when I tell her
12:22stop she stops
12:23in the past
12:23she didn't care
12:24if I said to Gabby
12:26Gabby no
12:26she'd still hammer me to the ground
12:28she'd absolutely
12:30take me down
12:31and
12:32and certainly
12:32when I
12:34um
12:34turned my back on her
12:35that was a good opportunity
12:36for her to
12:37um
12:39sneak up and pounce on me
12:40from behind
12:46so
12:54so
12:55so
13:56Okay guys, so that over there is one of Bobcat's favourite pastimes and that is coming down this road, seeing
14:06the hyena and then stalking them and pretending that they don't see him.
14:12Obviously they've seen him a mile away because Gabby was here a little bit earlier, but that doesn't distract from
14:19the game.
14:20And so he has an absolute blast focusing, locking on those hyenas and then going after them as if, as
14:29if he can get them.
14:30And that's really wonderful.
14:32It amps him up.
14:34It gets him really riled up.
14:37Look at him.
14:39Look, he's got absolute hatred in his face.
14:43Oh, those horrible hyena.
14:45Look at those nasty hyena, boy.
14:49Yeah.
14:50Anyway, it's quite interesting to witness.
14:54But he loves, loves, loves it.
14:56And how can we deny him that fun?
15:01Just don't overdo it, dude.
15:02You shouldn't be running like that.
15:05Yeah.
15:06Yeah.
15:07You need to take a break.
15:09You know you need to take a break.
15:11Very naughty.
15:14You deserve a chin rub after being such a good boy.
15:17Such a good boy.
15:19Yes, you are a good boy.
15:22Who's a good boy.
15:24He's a good boy.
15:30And I always love these parts of the walk.
15:35Because the end of the walk, he's very chilled.
15:38He's very happy.
15:39He's had a good walk.
15:41He's feeling better about everything.
15:44The joints are loosened up and mobilized.
15:48The blood is flowing.
15:50I can feel him.
15:50He's nice and warm.
15:52So, yeah.
15:53Good blood flow means actually also better health.
15:58Because if you can get blood flow to those areas where the blood flow has been reduced,
16:04it's a good thing.
16:06Obviously, nutritionally and healing-wise.
16:09So, yeah.
16:12Bobcat, we just got to...
16:14Oh, there he goes again.
16:16There's bloomin hyena.
16:18No, don't run.
16:19Hey.
16:23How do you tell a lion not to run?
16:26Oh, I don't want to run.
16:28Oh
16:49Hello, boy
16:53Shama, oh, Shama, boy
16:58now he comes back he comes back for some love yes he's made a full recovery um if you look
17:07at his
17:08hello my boy his face he had ringworm there yep yep yep and he had ringworm there
17:16you playing with my camera um and he had ringworm on the on the forearms and you can see it's
17:24all
17:25cleared up very very nicely so well done my boy yes and look at your tooth guys look at that
17:30the tooth
17:32has healed incredibly well so yeah despite or besides having his issues bobcat is in good health
17:45and it's just age-related um degenerative conditions so it's unfortunately part and
17:54parcel of being a a big muscular lion when you're young the male lions i've said it before and i'll
18:03say it again the male lions tend to suffer the consequences of having a heavy muscle mass
18:11later on in life whereas the females don't tend to suffer the same consequence
18:20i don't trust you around my camera there's my camera and there's gabby and you'll see she pretends
18:28that she's not interested until the last minute and then she'll grab my camera
18:36this is typically how the end of the walk looks we have bobcat chilling and gabby
18:44also chilling over there
18:51and yeah i'm not sure there's going to be much more activity than this and they've had fun
18:59and it's been a pretty solid walk for cats of this age naturally gabby can walk probably another 20
19:07kilometers but i think for this big guy we need to call it a day and the reason we need
19:16to call it a day
19:17for bobcat is because if he continues to be stupid and run after hyenas hey then he's going to do
19:28himself some damage and then he's going to feel it and that's not what we want so we're going to
19:34call georgie
19:34now and we're going to give this body a good rest hey and yeah well definitely take you for another
19:46walk
19:47because you love that he loves love the walks thanks kev thanks my buddy yeah it's a pleasure my boy
20:03i love the way he mouths me like that yeah so this is not um atypical of what lions would
20:10do in the wild um you know they would go on a mission and and potentially try and hunt and
20:19when
20:19they don't hunt or if they don't have a successful hunt then they will kind of rest in a place
20:25um
20:26they will kind of reaffirm bonds head bump uh there'll be mutual grooming so i'm grooming him and
20:35he's grooming me he's mouthing me this is absolute um reaffirmation of the relationship
20:43saying he's very happy to have me about gab's is very happy this is a a pride that is coherent
20:51and well meshed and uh yeah very good together so it's always been a happy little pride the three of
20:59us
21:00so yeah just sad to see bobcat get old it really is guys i i think when this line passes
21:09away i am
21:10going to be of no use to man or beast for months because yeah some some animals just shouldn't die
21:22and uh this is one of them bobcat says he's happy and he's happy that you're all watching him and
21:30his
21:30videos i just want to say a few thank yous a massive shout out and a thank you to um
21:36members of the channel
21:37and pride leaders that's the next tier up and then facebook subscriptions you guys are incredible
21:44you've really helped this channel grow from strength to strength you've helped me in um looking after
21:50these majestic animals to the best of my abilities you've helped us spread the message of of awareness
21:58and to the plight of lions both in captivity and in the wild and uh yeah it's we've had we've
22:05had a lot
22:05of fun in the community uh together so um if you if you're not yet a member and you want
22:13to go and
22:13check it out please do or speak to the members they'll tell you what membership's all about um but
22:20if there's one thing that i could ask you to do um it's uh subscribe if you haven't subscribed already
22:26um what we've found is that i think it's 65 to 70 percent of of you who watch these videos
22:35every
22:36week are not subscribed to the channel till next time from bobcat
22:43and gabby is gabby coming in is gabby gonna come in for the show gabby are you gonna come are
22:53you coming
22:55no don't don't not do this gabby it's a bloody naughty gabby gabby oh gabbs we love you
23:10thank you we love you
23:11we love you