00:00Ever wonder what it looks like
00:01to be an airborne sniper for wildlife?
00:03We're jumping into a Robinson helicopter
00:05with a specialized dart rifle.
00:08Today's mission, track down and capture
00:10a massive wild sable bull roaming across hundreds
00:14of acres of dense ranch land to safely relocate him.
00:17Down below is the ground transport trailer
00:19that's waiting for him, if we can even find him.
00:21Catching an animal this fast and elusive on foot
00:23is literally impossible,
00:25so taking to the sky is the only option.
00:27After over an hour of scouring thick brush
00:30and cedar trees, there he is.
00:32Look at that speed.
00:34That dark silhouette breaking through the green
00:36isn't just running, he is booking it
00:38like an Olympic sprinter.
00:40Look at the agility on this guy.
00:42He's breaking ankles through the brush
00:43with NFL running back footwork.
00:46Trying to track an animal darting between heavy trees
00:48while your pilot banks a helicopter around tree canopies
00:51is pure sensory overload.
00:54And here's what makes this insane.
00:56Action is always faster than reaction.
00:58You're not shooting from a bench.
00:59You're hanging out of a vibrating chopper
01:01trying to lead a moving target.
01:03He finally stops under a cedar tree.
01:05Perfect opening.
01:06Line up the red dot, squeeze, and bam!
01:08Deflected right off a branch.
01:10That's an immediate miss, and each one of those custom darts
01:13and sedatives costs around 70 bucks right out the window.
01:16Now the bull knows he's being hunted from above.
01:18The pilot is fighting severe turbulence,
01:21the rotor wash is kicking up dust,
01:23and look at the angle.
01:24The bull is facing directly toward us.
01:27Rule number one, you never shoot an animal in the face.
01:30It's shoulder, rump, or nothing.
01:32Check out this breakdown.
01:34Darting isn't like shooting a bullet.
01:35You need close to a clean 90 degree angle.
01:37If you hit at too shallow or too sharp of an angle,
01:41the dart literally bounces or tumbles,
01:44dumping the medicine on the dirt and wasting another $70 shot.
01:48He breaks onto an open fence line.
01:50Seems easy, right?
01:51But the camera lies.
01:53He's actually 40 yards away.
01:55And look at this aerodynamic diagram.
01:57The downwash from the helicopter blades
01:59pushes air violently downward and out.
02:01If you shoot through that turbulence,
02:03the air current will literally slam your dart straight down into the dirt.
02:07He tries to anticipate the gap in the trees,
02:10lining up the timing with the bull's stride,
02:11takes the shot and misses again.
02:14Another 70 bucks vaporized into the brush.
02:16This bull is putting on a master class in evasion.
02:19Now it's an absolute game of cat and mouse.
02:21He zigs, the chopper zags.
02:23The pilot has to drop down dangerously close to tree level
02:26to give the shooter one clean visual
02:28before the bull disappears into the thick timber for good.
02:30He dives into the brush.
02:32Small window.
02:32Trigger pull.
02:33Direct hit.
02:34Right into the muscle.
02:35The sedative is delivered.
02:36The crew drops right into the grass to secure him as he falls asleep.
02:40And check this out.
02:40Because the brush is too thick for a truck,
02:42the helicopter lifts him out suspended in a specialized cargo sling high in the air.
02:47Here he comes, landing right at the trailer.
02:48First thing they do, grab those massive curved horns.
02:51They slide him into the deep bedded trailer,
02:53give him the reversal injection,
02:54and within minutes, he's fully awake, safe, and ready for his new home.
02:57Flawless mission.
