- 4 hours ago
A morning walk with Bobcat and Gabby reveals both the small realities of caring for aging lions and a much larger threat facing wildlife: snare poaching. Kevin Richardson describes Bobcat’s stiff, painful start in the cold and how walking helps him warm up, before sharing what he witnessed in the Greater Kruger area.
Hidden wire snares can cause horrific injuries or death, and aerial surveys help conservation teams spot poaching camps across vast wilderness. This candid wildlife conservation discussion explores lion welfare, anti-poaching efforts and the urgent need to protect animals. Learn more about snare poaching and the challenges facing lions and elephants in the wild.
Hidden wire snares can cause horrific injuries or death, and aerial surveys help conservation teams spot poaching camps across vast wilderness. This candid wildlife conservation discussion explores lion welfare, anti-poaching efforts and the urgent need to protect animals. Learn more about snare poaching and the challenges facing lions and elephants in the wild.
Category
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00Oh
00:01You gonna roll?
00:03Oh
00:06Gabs?
00:07Hello my Gabalicious
00:09Gabby!
00:15Yeah my boy, look how he puts his paw on my leg
00:19It's a big thank you mupple
00:30Wait
00:32Patience, patience, patience
00:34A little bit stiff my boy
00:51Shame
01:13Oh
01:15You are going to get
01:17Really into trouble
01:20Yo
01:21Okay guys
01:22Bobcat
01:23Let's go
01:25Come
01:26Let's go
01:28This is my boy
01:29Who is my boy
01:31Hello my girl
01:35Hello my girl
01:36Hello my girl
01:37You being a cheeky Charlie today
01:39Hey Gabs
01:41Are you going to be well behaved?
01:43Let's go, come
01:46Just give him a break
01:48He's not happy with you
01:51He's a bit stiff this morning
01:53Obviously
01:54The hips are sore
01:56And he's needing to warm up
01:59Guys, it's very cold this morning
02:02And
02:03I can see Bobcat struggling a bit
02:06The meds
02:08He's on strong meds
02:10We monitor it
02:13All the time
02:14All the time obviously
02:14To see
02:15And give feedback on how
02:17He's progressing
02:18Or regressing
02:20As the case may be
02:22But yeah, he's a bit
02:24He's a bit of a grump pulse today
02:26You can hear him gurgling
02:28Because
02:28It's a bit sore
02:30And then as he
02:32As he starts to warm up
02:34Oh, oh
02:35Oh, oh
02:36As he starts to warm up
02:38The
02:38It feels better
02:40The blood flow
02:40Starts up
02:42The muscles get warm
02:44The joints loosen up
02:46And
02:47He becomes a happier cat
02:50You can see how
02:51He
02:52He
02:53He's actually
02:55Almost pigeon-toed at the moment
02:57Sorry for my shadow there
02:59But he's
02:59Yeah, he's pigeon-toed at the moment
03:01And that is
03:03Obviously
03:05He's compensating
03:07In that manner
03:08To alleviate the pain
03:11And
03:12Just so you know
03:14That
03:14That is
03:15With strong
03:18Painkillers
03:18And anti-inflammatories
03:19That he's still
03:21Feeling that
03:21So
03:22Yeah
03:23Um
03:24We're just gonna have to
03:26Keep a close eye on old bobcat
03:28Over the next coming months
03:30And uh
03:31Make sure that his quality of life
03:33Is
03:34Is uh
03:34Good
03:35He has good days and bad days
03:37Um
03:38Yeah
03:39Today with the weather being
03:40As cold as it is
03:42It was about zero degrees
03:43When I got here
03:44It's warming up nicely
03:46As the sun
03:46Is
03:47Pushing up
03:48And getting warmer
03:49And
03:50I'm pretty
03:51Sure you'll see
03:53This guy
03:55He will
03:56Start to loosen up
03:58As he
03:59Walks
04:00Alright guys
04:01So good morning
04:02Good morning
04:03Uh
04:04Out
04:04On an enrichment walk
04:06With bobcat
04:07And gabby
04:09Um
04:10Yeah
04:11You guys have been
04:12Requesting these two
04:13Uh
04:14Everyone's missing
04:15The naughty gabby
04:18And I must just say
04:19In the
04:19Last
04:20Couple of months
04:21Gabby has really
04:22Calmed down
04:23Quite a lot
04:25Uh
04:25Yeah
04:26Just happens like that
04:28Guys
04:28Overnight
04:29Suddenly she
04:30Is
04:31Not jumping on me
04:32Anymore
04:33Uh
04:34She's been
04:35Pretty well behaved
04:36And
04:37Uh
04:37Yeah
04:39Not the gabby
04:40That you guys
04:41Are all
04:41Uh
04:42Expecting to see
04:43Maybe when george
04:45Arrives
04:45With the vehicle
04:46Maybe
04:47We'll see the old gabby
04:48Maybe she'll go after
04:50Some tires
04:50But uh
04:52Until then
04:52Yeah gabby's behaving
04:53But anyway guys
04:55So today's video
04:57A crisis of snare poaching
04:58I'm just going to get
04:59Straight into it
05:00I'm not even going to try and beat around the bush
05:02I've just come back
05:03Uh
05:03From
05:04Um
05:05The greater kruger national park
05:07Uh
05:07To check on a project
05:09That we
05:09Have been supporting
05:11Up there
05:13Uh
05:13My foundation
05:14The kevin richardson foundation
05:15Has been supporting
05:16The ewt carnivore program
05:20Um
05:22Up there in the greater kruger national park
05:24Um
05:25Just supporting
05:26Uh
05:27With what's ever needed
05:28To get on top of the
05:30The snare poaching crisis
05:32That's um
05:35That's
05:35That's
05:35That's
05:36That's rife
05:36Up there
05:37Yeah
05:37My foundation
05:38Is committed
05:39To
05:40Try and help them
05:41Uh
05:41We
05:42Have committed
05:43To try and raise funds
05:44And what
05:45Today's video is really about
05:47Is just explaining
05:49This snare poaching crisis
05:51And what's going on
05:52And what I experienced
05:54In this
05:54This trip
05:57Alright
05:58Yeah
05:58So bobcat's already feeling better
06:01Yeah
06:01Yeah
06:03Nice
06:04The hips are already feeling better
06:06The
06:08The lubrication is there in the joints
06:10The muscles are warm
06:12He's a happier cat
06:14He's not
06:16Groaning and moaning as much
06:18Um
06:20And yeah guys
06:21You can understand why these walks are
06:23Uh
06:24Imperative
06:25For
06:25For bobcat
06:28He's not going to get this kind of
06:29Um
06:31Walk
06:31Or these
06:33Let's call it these steps in
06:34He's not going to get his steps in
06:36In
06:37A camp
06:38Um
06:38A camp of a hectare
06:40It's not big enough
06:41He needs to get out
06:42And be able to
06:44Actually
06:45Walk a few kilometers
06:47Which is what we're going to be doing today
06:51Today
06:51Today
06:52Walking with him
06:52I couldn't help but think
06:53You know
06:55Like
06:56They've lived a really
06:57Um
06:58Good life
06:59Bobcat's now
07:0017
07:01He'll be coming on 18
07:03Same with Gab's
07:03Just behind there
07:04And um
07:05Yeah
07:06They've lived a really
07:07Uh
07:08Fulfilled life
07:09Pretty safe
07:10Is the word that keeps on coming to mind
07:12Safe in the sense that
07:13Um
07:14You know
07:15We we protect them
07:16And we provide for everything
07:17Uh
07:18Whereas
07:19I'm always
07:19There's a part of me saying
07:20Ah but these guys should be wild and free
07:23But not wild and free
07:25When
07:26You know
07:27They are going to come across these
07:29Hidden snares
07:30That are just going to
07:31Uh
07:32Either maim them
07:33Or kill them
07:34You see so many of these lions
07:36Up in these
07:37Up in these regions
07:38Just
07:39Um
07:40Yeah
07:40Suffering the most
07:43I
07:44I don't
07:44I do
07:44I can't even
07:46Formulate the words
07:47To describe
07:49How horrific
07:50The death is
07:51Uh
07:52When
07:53An animal gets caught in a snare
07:54And for those of you who don't know what a snare is
07:57A snare is basically
07:58Just a little makeshift noose
08:00Uh
08:01It's made out of wire
08:02And what's really insane is that
08:05The
08:06The fences that are
08:07Are meant to be
08:08There to protect these animals
08:10Are the very same fences
08:12That have been used
08:14To make these snares with
08:15And they place these nooses
08:17Strategically
08:18In these
08:18Pathways
08:19These game paths
08:20Normally
08:21They're placed
08:22Uh
08:23On these game paths
08:24That are leading towards
08:25Water sources
08:26One can walk past
08:28These snares quite easily
08:29Because they blend in
08:30In the bush
08:31And
08:32And so
08:32The animals
08:33Uh
08:34Don't see them either
08:35And
08:36And
08:36They walk straight into these snares
08:38And an animal
08:39Like a lion
08:39Like bobcat
08:41Would get snared
08:42Around
08:43Uh
08:43The head
08:44And so the snare
08:45The noose
08:47Would tighten around the neck
08:49Um
08:49Sometimes it would catch
08:51Their paws
08:52Um
08:52And then tighten around their paws
08:54Even
08:55Often
08:55I've seen
08:56Lions with the snares
08:57Around their waists
08:58And
08:59Uh
09:01So
09:02Every now and again
09:03Because the animal
09:04The moment it's caught
09:05It'll thrash
09:06And
09:07And panic
09:08And that tightens the snare
09:10But every now and again
09:11Because these animals
09:12Are so strong
09:13They break the snare
09:14Uh
09:15Off the tree
09:16That they're attached to
09:17And they
09:17Then have this
09:18Tightened cable
09:20Around their neck
09:21Or their waist
09:22Um
09:22Or their paw
09:23And that
09:25Um
09:26Ultimately then
09:27Uh
09:28Compromises them
09:29In such a bad way
09:30That sometimes
09:31They can die from dehydration
09:33Uh
09:33They can die from starvation
09:35They can die from fatigue
09:36They can die from infection
09:38You name it
09:39They can die from
09:41Any number of
09:42Of causes
09:43Uh
09:44Due to that snare
09:45Which is really
09:46Really
09:47A
09:48Shocking
09:49Disgusting
09:50Um
09:51Despicable
09:52Uh
09:52Way
09:54Um
09:54To die
09:55It's
09:55It's
09:56It's
09:56As I said earlier
09:58I'm not one that's normally short on words
10:02Uh
10:02But
10:03When it comes to snare poaching
10:05Whew
10:06I get so angry
10:08And being there on the ground guys
10:10I was so angry
10:12Um
10:12I just want to bring
10:14Feel good stories
10:16Because I think that
10:17That's
10:18Sometimes very motivating
10:19You know
10:20People want to see these
10:21Feel good videos
10:22That we like to make
10:24Obviously
10:24But
10:25There comes a time
10:26When I have to
10:27Bring
10:28To your attention
10:29What's really going on
10:30You know
10:31If you
10:33Are
10:33Motivated
10:34Or incensed
10:35As much as I was
10:36On this last trip
10:38And you want to
10:40Help
10:41Then please do go
10:42And check out my foundation
10:43We have
10:44Uh
10:45Several
10:46Initiatives
10:47But one of the things
10:48That we've
10:48We're going to be
10:50Um
10:51Launching
10:51Is a
10:52Campaign
10:53To try and
10:55Raise
10:56Money
10:57Um
10:58To support more
10:59Aerial
11:00Um
11:01Trips
11:02Out over
11:03This area
11:04So
11:05What I
11:06Um
11:07What I realized
11:09Is that
11:10There's not enough
11:12Eyes in the sky
11:13It's a vast area
11:15It's over
11:16Uh
11:1755,000 hectares
11:18The best way
11:20To survey
11:21That
11:22Vast
11:22Wilderness
11:23In a short amount
11:24Of time
11:25Is from a helicopter
11:26And
11:27The moment you get
11:29Airborne
11:29In the helicopter
11:30And you just start to
11:32See the landscape
11:34Um
11:35You can understand
11:36Why a helicopter
11:37Is
11:37Is
11:38Is not even
11:39Important
11:40It's critical
11:41Within a space of
11:43Like a minute
11:44We could already see
11:45Herds of elephants
11:45And then we flew over
11:46These elephants guys
11:47And
11:48At least
11:49Every
11:50One in five elephants
11:52Had
11:53Um
11:54A trunk
11:54That was three quarters long
11:56A quarter
11:56Of its trunk
11:57Had been
11:58Lost
11:59To a snare
12:00And you could just imagine
12:02The agony
12:03That that poor elephant
12:04The elephant's
12:06Trunk
12:06Is so sensitive
12:07It's got so many
12:08Nerve endings
12:09And
12:10Kyle was telling me
12:11A story about
12:12One elephant
12:13That had
12:13Its
12:14Its trunk
12:16Caught in a snare
12:17Socrotic
12:18And fell off
12:18It actually pulled its
12:19Tip of its trunk off
12:21And all the nerve endings
12:22Were hanging out
12:23The trunk
12:24And you could just imagine
12:26You know
12:26If anyone of you
12:27Out there has ever had
12:28An exposed nerve
12:29A tooth
12:30That's got a nerve
12:31Exposed
12:32That's the most excruciating
12:33Pain
12:33And now elephants use
12:35Though
12:36Their trunks
12:37To feed
12:38And so
12:39How does this animal survive
12:40Man
12:41I don't know
12:42But they do
12:43Two
12:43And one in five elephants
12:45That I saw
12:45Had a trunk
12:47Three quarters in length
12:48Because a quarter of the trunk
12:49Had been lost
12:50To a snare
12:55The beauty about the chopper
12:56As well guys
12:57Is you can get up
12:58And see
12:59Where these poachers
13:00Are hiding
13:01And where these camps
13:02Are
13:03So they make these little
13:04Poaching camps
13:05All over the
13:06The reserve
13:07And
13:08They're very incognito
13:10But from the air
13:11You can always
13:11See something
13:12Like a little bit
13:13Of white
13:14Plastic
13:15Or
13:15You know something
13:17Bobcat are you tired
13:19My boy
13:24Oh
13:24You're very thankful
13:25For these walks
13:27But my legs are also
13:28Very stiff
13:29My boy
13:34Oh
13:34Stiffness
13:36Yeah
13:37My boy
13:37Look how he puts his paw
13:39On my leg
13:39It's a big
13:41Thank you
13:42It's a pleasure
13:43It's a pleasure
13:46Yeah
13:46Is that a big
13:47Thank you
13:48Eh
13:49A big thank you
13:51Gives me a good time
13:52And opportunity
13:52To just assess his claws
13:54Make sure that
13:56None of these claws
13:57Are ingrown
13:57This one's looking a bit
14:00Dodgems
14:02I'll try and show you
14:04You can see how
14:05That one there
14:08Also
14:09One two
14:09Three
14:10Four
14:11Five
14:12You're gonna roar for me
14:14This claw over here
14:16The index
14:19Finger
14:19Or claw
14:21That's gonna be a problem
14:22That claw there
14:24So we're gonna actually have to
14:26Keep an eye on it
14:27Because it's
14:28About
14:29A finger space
14:30From the
14:30The paw pad
14:35Yeah
14:35This is another thing
14:37You can see that
14:37Toe's gone
14:38In
14:40Oh
14:56Okay guys
14:57So I have called for George
14:59The Uber
15:00Thank you for all the birthday messages for George
15:03I'm going to show him
15:06I'm going to show him
15:06How
15:08Appreciated he is here
15:09And by you guys
15:11I think
15:12He'll be happy to see that
15:14Yeah
15:15We asked
15:16For you guys to send him some birthday wishes
15:19And
15:19I'm sure he's gonna be
15:21Super super chuffed
15:22To see how many of you out there
15:24Love
15:24Love him
15:25And I've been following him
15:27For quite some time
15:28I mean
15:28Yeah
15:28Since we moved
15:30To this facility
15:31Uh
15:32Yeah
15:33George has been
15:33Um
15:34You know
15:35By my side
15:36And
15:37Uh
15:37Yeah
15:38Without him
15:39I would be
15:40Absolutely lost
15:41Look how Gabby disappears
15:43Into that grass
15:44It's just insane
15:47You see how
15:48Her coloration
15:49Is exactly
15:52That
15:54Um
15:54Of the color of the grass
15:58Can you see her?
15:59There
16:00She's just
16:01She's just hunkered down
16:02Haha
16:03Oh
16:04Is this
16:05Is this gonna be
16:06Where I shout
16:07At Gabby
16:12Oh
16:12I can see she's after that car
16:20Yeah
16:20Give her some meat George
16:21Go
16:22Go
16:22Go
16:23Go
16:25Gabby
16:33Oh man
16:34I knew
16:35I could see it
16:36In her face
16:37She's such a naughty
16:39Naughty girl
16:41And now
16:42I just wanna see if I can find that meat
16:45Ah George
16:47That lion
16:48She saw you coming
16:53She's looking
16:56She's still got energy hey
16:58Here she comes
17:05Skabenga
17:07Skabenga Gabby
17:09Hello you
17:12Hmm
17:14Yeah
17:19Yeah
17:24Okay
17:27Saved the tires
17:29Okay
17:29Just need to get bobcat
17:42Yeah Gabby
17:43Gabby
17:43Yeah
17:48It's very good to
17:51Assess
17:53How bobcat's doing
17:54By letting him jump in
17:56And I know
17:56There were
17:57There are a few people
17:59That have had
18:01Commentary about
18:02Why don't you use the ramp
18:03And then
18:05So
18:06I do use the ramp guys
18:07I use it a lot
18:08But
18:09Like
18:09Especially after a morning
18:13Like this morning
18:14Where
18:14I noticed that bobcat was
18:18Particularly stiff
18:19Stiffer than usual
18:21I'm thinking
18:22Due to the weather
18:22Because it was really really cold
18:24And the joints
18:25And
18:25The muscles
18:26Just aren't working
18:27As well as they should
18:28At that temperature
18:29But
18:30As he got warmer
18:31I could see he loosened up
18:32So
18:34Now when it comes to loading
18:35I want to see
18:37How does he get in
18:38Is it a big effort
18:39For him to get in?
18:40And actually
18:41It wasn't such an effort
18:42For him to get in
18:43He
18:43He is feeling a lot better
18:46He's looking a lot better
18:47He's a lot happier
18:48Hey my boy
18:49Oh
18:50You're a lot happier
18:51I can see you happier
18:52Yes he is a lot happier
18:54A lot more talkative
18:56Yes my boy
18:56Okay
18:57So we're going to take him
18:58To a new camp
19:03Yeah boy
19:05Yeah boy
19:14Cabs
19:24Alright guys
19:25Yeah
19:26I hope you
19:30Will take
19:31Today's video
19:32Into consideration
19:33I'm not going to say
19:34I hope you enjoyed
19:34Today's video
19:35It was nice walking
19:37With Bobcat and Gabby
19:38But obviously
19:39The content
19:41Of the video
19:42Is more
19:44To do with
19:47Poaching
19:47And the consequences
19:49Of snare poaching
19:50Which is not always
19:51Nice to look at
19:53But
19:53So sorry about that
19:54But
19:55It's a necessity
19:56In my
19:57Mind's eye
19:58So I hope you'll take
19:59Today's video
20:00Into consideration
20:01If you want to support
20:02Please do look at
20:03The campaigns
20:04That we're running
20:05It'll be on
20:05Kevin Richardson Foundation
20:07Website
20:08Go and check it out
20:10And just a quick
20:12Thank you
20:13To all of you
20:13Who've subscribed
20:14To the channel
20:15Liked the videos
20:17Shared the videos
20:17And a massive shout out
20:20To all the members
20:22And pride leaders
20:23Out there
20:24Who
20:24Financially support
20:26The channel
20:26And the work that I do
20:27So massive thanks
20:28Thanks guys
20:29Till next time
20:30From me Kevin
20:31All the lions
20:33Bye
21:02Bye
21:03Bye
21:04Bye
21:06Bye
21:06Bye