Nature's Armoured Giants (Wildlife Documentary) | Austin Stevens Adventures | Real Wild

my name is Austin Stevens I've spent over 20 years photographing the world's most dangerous animals now my biggest challenge here try that's all around him I made up [Music] [Applause] [Applause] Africa as it once was and still is in some places this is the home of the big five early hunters named the big five is the most dangerous animals to approach on foot even with a gun lions leopard buffalo rhino and elephant four of those big five live right down yet the member of the big five that I'm searching for the phyto commands fingers with no effort at all but it's not a lion this animal can run faster than Olympic sprinter but it's not a leopard it's the Rhino the white Reiner is one of the planet's Giants over two tons of armor-plated bone and muscle it's heavier than a large car its name refers not to its color that comes from the Afrikaans word for wide because of its lawnmower of a mouth the black runner is it's turbocharged cousin easily distinguished by the hooked up element which is used to grasp its food it's rarer more elusive more dangerous both are surprisingly quicker and can be extremely aggressive taking on this freight train of an animal [Music] my assignment is to get pictures of Reiner but not just any long-range shots I'm going to go in on foot get low down and close up I want to fill my frame with Reiner but finding a Reiner even in Africa can be a tricky business to get the pictures I'm looking for all my research points to one place and I've traveled 2,000 kilometers from my home in swakopmund on Libya across southern Africa to get to the little country known as the Kingdom of Swaziland huazhi land is Africa's lost traditional monarchy it's a largely mountainous country almost completely surrounded by South Africa and it's tiny just over 100 miles across at its widest point I'm heading for the eastern lowland to macaé the place for runners for the it's one of the few places in Africa where I can find and photograph both species especially coming the winter months and it's drier and cooler we've got a much better chance of seeing the runners in the day it's been a lot of unusual weather I'm a bit worried about the rain it's an abandoned Egyptian cobra which is now called a snot of cobra I've got to get a shot of this guys the same time I got to be very careful because he's highly highly venomous okay now he's realized these guys have got a neurotoxic venom it's very punch one drop would be enough to kill you the tiny little thanks right in the front of the mouth and they bite pretty fast look at that gorgeous or what he's gonna suddenly turn on me I know that that's the shot Wow you know I'm actually looking for a nose I wouldn't know me stuff but it's night like this is phenomenal that's a better picture that's a picture Wow doesn't keep still for one minute I'd love to get a few more shots oh that's angry Cobra okay okay and when he's like that that's when you can actually get his attention can you see money what she's watching my hand I wanted to watch the camera and I want to touch him beyond aid just like that didn't do that when you so many miles out in the bush okay I want to pick him up and show him that he can go on his way oh that's a good right / yeah whoo I found him and he can be on his way again well if you go there we go yeah okay so excited about there I even forgot about my tongues and I think my sunglass is a lying yesterday I'm used to snakes even the dangerous ones I spent my whole life working with them a dry nose or something else to survive a close encounter with one of I'll need to learn a whole new set of rules really fun this is nicaya classic Lowell and Savannah studded with thorny scrub perfect habitat for one of the most dangerous animals on the continent the Rhino if you don't believe the textbooks ask the locals they'll all tell you the same thing morning have you got petrol yeah please can I can I fill it up yeah yeah sure come to the Piranha yon rhinos are notoriously unpredictable and if they feel threatened they will attack and you can't rely on your vehicle providing too much protection what actually happened oh yeah really push the hole through there yes Wow can you believe what this guy's just told me just hold it there a second look at this Land Rover body rhino hit that went right through look the whole thing just Aventis over buckled it completely these are powerful animals on the people just imagine the sheer brute force of an animal capable of doing them [Music] but all the big five are dangerous and all of them apart from life all right yeah in macaé my first encounter with the big five and this is the biggest of them all the elephants and looks like I'm just in time because they're already leaving it looks like they've been drinking splashing around you can see how wet the side is and now they're getting ready and throw a bit of mud and dust on themselves and probably go off into the bush even elephants as big as they are disappear like just like that into the bush I can't believe it that's really good luck man first of the big five and too good an opportunity to miss [Music] I'm going to try and get in front of that for a picture [Music] but the elephants don't seem so keen on the idea [Music] those flared ears are an unmistakable sign of aggression [Music] [Music] what worries me about Reiner is that they don't give a warning like that one minute they motionless and the next they're charging straight at you while looking for big game from the inside of a car is the safest way to do it and it's for tourists but for me I have to get out I have to get low I have to get really close because I need specific pictures so I'm gonna do this off don't try this at home [Music] I've spotted the dry riverbed when you're looking for animals that are hard to find you need a place where they can't avoid leaving tracks just get a look at this Rhino Prince look at this yeah perfect print in the sand look at that you can always identify them they look like a three leaf clover look at that and you see I normos this is one two three four five times the size of my hand isn't that incredible and it seems to walk right across here straight across to the riverbed and I suspect this might not even be an adult yeah I mean this is an animal it gets up to two tons or more and considering how big these animals get it makes you wonder if I'm doing the right thing actually walking off to them in the bush but that's exactly what I got to do and I want to get really close for some really good photographs [Music] the black rhino is the most aggressive of the two species while the white rhino is by far the biggest but both of them have a nasty habit of suddenly materializing out of the undergrowth [Music] definitely something yeah I can hear it but I can't quite see anything [Music] see first wine but incredibly it's a female what a baby tiny little baby boy she's got that baby she's gonna be skittish and nervous I'm gonna be real careful I'm gonna get a better look that baby is so small I reckon it's only about a week so that's gonna make the mother even more protective she said no I just got a passable I could get a picture of that baby that would be fantastic no one knows quite how good a rhino's eyesight really is but they definitely have excellent hearing and a powerful sense of smell luckily I'm downwind but I need to try and get my camera arc without making a sound [Music] she's going to have the Battle of it she's a little bit Restless I'm so excited this is the youngest baby I've ever seen she's keeping it well hidden let's see how the baby's constantly in behind her body let's get a picture she's still keeping the cost well-hidden he's right there just behind her front legs there's a third rider so incredibly camouflaged in spite of their size they just materialized out of the bush it's incredible a little bit nervous now with this other one goes by it's coming closer I mean he's probably just a couple of years old but he's pretty big I'll tell you this newcomer is a juvenile it might be the mother's previous offspring when rhinos have a new baby the bond between the mother and the older cough often breaks down the cough will try to stay part of the family but the mother keeps chasing him away what a bit of luck the daddy ones fighting front looking at me the mother can only hide the baby from one of us and she's decided the cough poses the bigger threat this could turn nasty that's the shots I wanted and this one's coming closer so I'm gonna start backing up if this kicks off then I don't want to be anywhere near [Music] oh is that for a first encounter a mother with two coughs that's incredible and the one is so young two or three weeks no more than their I didn't want to go to class she's very nervous not open ground if I get another chance I'm gonna try and get even closer [Music] the question is if it can get that edgy with white riders how on earth am I going to get my black rhino shot there's only one way to find out get face-to-face with one so first thing tomorrow I'll start planning how to do just that [Music] thank you come on no way lair aren't you old time they're watching and looking for food and if there's anything if you leave anything at all I'll grab and run off with it despite the interruptions I've come up with a plan rather than relying on lack to spot one of these secretive creatures I'm going to try and pinpoint the sort of place that black rhinos would love and I've worked out a good way to do it slaughtered for their meat butchered for their horns and shot for trophies rhinos have been taken to the very brink of extinction right across Africa [Music] these anti-poaching towers offer me the perfect look out across prime Rhino country [Music] [Music] spotted this tower and I thought it's worth climbing up I mean I'm looking for Reiner and especially black Reiner if I'm lucky we'll be found in dense bush like this and I can't see two feet in front of me this tower gives me a view of every way I'll never see a rhino from up here but if I can pinpoint the right sort of habitat then that's where one might be what I'm looking for is thick patches of thorny scrub Swaziland years ago had no Rhino at all they were completely hunted out but now thanks to parks like this they're making a comeback but finding black rhino is the hard part still I have spotted one site that looks like it might be promising it's too far to go on foot but it's going to be a tough drive the roads are really getting bad it's been some rain so there's a lot of mud and there's a lot of deep ruts very difficult to get to be up soon oh what a hit the roads almost disappearing and it's going into the riverbed see how it goes sans deep 20 [Music] [Music] it's been worth the trouble this is perfect black rhino habitat they like to think bush a completely different kind of animal and they known to be pretty aggressive as well they'll get out the way its foster their clan and if I get really close to one I'm gonna have to really be careful the one way or the other whatever happened we did as close as I can to Reiner see if I can get a few good pictures black rhinos like to bury themselves in the deepest densest areas so this is as far as I go by car they don't just use these thorny trees for protection they are also their most favorite thing to eat just look at this this is a young tongue beauty treatments been pushed over and has been pushed over by a black rhino this is typical black rhino behavior puts his legs right over the tree and this walks for it pushes it down to the ground because he wants to get to the soft succulent twigs and leaves right at the top and you can see yeah this is all that's being done a while ago but they teeth are so powerful chop them clean off right off like a no problem at all and in fact the tree the bark and the leaves are actually poisonous but doesn't worry about writer those bite marks may be old but I'm definitely in the right sort of area there's quite a few prints running along yeah most of them are scuffed but this one is almost perfect and it's definitely a black Reiner they print is smaller than what a white rhinos would be and it's very rounded looks like the hind leg stepping onto the print of the front leg it's definitely going in their direction and yes something it sounds like something big moving but I can't see you I mean I'm writing Rhino territory it could well be a Reiner I can see I can see what's a rhino I can see the horn sticking up massive black body behind I don't see oh I can see the mouth yeah he's feeling he's feeling high up it's a black Reiner cutting brains under feeding on a high up in the tree not like the others going down might get some shots it's said that you should always keep a barrier between yourself and the Rhino but I'm not so sure these thorn bushes would even slow him down before I can get a clear shot he bolts these are very skittish animals and he's far too fast to follow besides the bush is tangled and it's getting much too late for the day to be out here in the open I need to get back to my camp [Music] but it's not just the Rhinos nervous disposition that worries me the thing that gets me about rhinos is the sheer size and power of the animals I mean look at this this is a portion of a rhino skull I mean this is without the bottom jaw and this is broken in half so I'm actually looking at a quarter of the Rhinos size just look at the size of those teeth and just imagine this with two gigantic horns on you follow that up with about two tons of body maybe coming straight at you 20 miles per hour I'm Oliver driven by just this that cavity there the brain cavity no bigger than my fist so it's no wonder when you speak to people and you ask for advice about being in the close proximity of rhinos they say the same thing every time get the heck out the way unfortunately to get the photos I've been asked for I'm going to have to do exactly the opposite my first encounter with a black rhino was disappointing but it could have been deadly these guys are aggressive and they've got the weaponry to make it count powerful horns that grow 3 inches a year just look at that that's roughly the size of a black rhino horn its enormous you know the white rhino horns can get even bigger than that imagine two tons of animal behind this and that's what I'm trying to get close to you certainly wouldn't like to get in the way of this but I have got an idea [Music] whole idea is to get as close to these runners as possible without getting killed I've got this monopod attach it to my camera the camera on I've got this control this is an infrared control you just imagine that's the Rhino coming straight at me but I'm not on the ground I'm up in the tree my extended monopod upside down so I can hang suspended on the infrared get a shot of him click just like that and I'm safe up the tree camera automatically turns a picture on it's got a pretty drawing a horn so armed with my monopod and a new plan I'm ready for another girl I'm heading back to the site of yesterday's encounter because black rhino males are territorial he could easily still be around but he's not the only dangerous animal lurking amongst the thorns the twig steak the fast-moving snake and he's perfectly designed to disappear in a bush look at that he keeps dead store he knows his body's perfectly camouflaged to look just like a tweet that's where he gets his name tweaks like what they do is they like divs to on a branch like this and they flicker their tongues and they they attract the attention of sometimes lizards sometimes birds and he'll strike and grab it but right now he's using it as camouflage to get away from me he should be running for it any other snake will be running for it but he's not he's hoping that I've been seen because he said perfectly camouflage but she moved oh it's puffing up he's puffing up he's letting me know he's not happy look at that see that if these Knights get excited you think it it Brit ups it and they have to defend themselves they puff up their necks and I strike out whoops coming towards and he can move amongst these thorns with no effort at all and I can't get him I'd love to get all him so I could just have a good look at him I want to get him down a little letter I didn't get button you don't get bitten by the snake it's no serum for the bite of the snake it's no serum and the venom is highly toxic take a couple of days to actually kill you you don't die very quickly it's not a pretty way to go oh that's close that's much too close he's so busy concentrating on on me now that I can't get close to Taurus I want to get his tail because if I can pull his tail out I can work with you a bit can't get close to him I get it you know what you know what shot quickly moves aren't they fantastic they marvelous to watch fantastic to watch tables come on I want you down I want to talk to you I want to have a good look at him be careful not to get bitten coming to try and get him off yet I want to bring him closer come on out little boy this is about as big as they get to they can't get a little bit bigger but hey we got I've got him I'd lost I forgot him there we go because there isn't he gorgeous they are beautiful snakes yeah beautiful sex got him by the tail likes pulling through the tongs day and he can't actually get away he's just threatened me Oh be careful don't get bitten by by a snake like this I must be careful look at the colors now when he expands his throat you can see all the grays and the blues the greens that is that gorgeous it's absolutely beautiful what a beautiful snake man I can't get to my camera because I'm gonna let him down he's gonna be gone like a shot I'm just gonna release him again look beautiful and kind of beautiful coming into contact with one of these I actually haven't seen one for years there we go Oh gorgeous okay anyone yell should go again you want to go yeah back up into the tree there we go go on I'm finished it's you know you can go getting tangled around with my tongues the tail is so pre-answer there we go yeah you can suspend himself anyway and off you guys like crease laughing when it's smooth as anything fantastic [Music] unlike twig snakes that will happily stay around a small group of trees black rhinos must patrol vast areas to find enough food to fill their massive bulk [Music] they eat at least 40 killers of tiny leaves and bark each day which means if there are runners here I should be able to see some results of all that eating just look at this this is what I've been hoping to find this is black rhino dung no question about it you scratch around in it you find twigs always little bits of chewed off twigs there was a black rhino the way this tongues being scattered over yeah it looks like there's a territorial male he scraped his legs he's been digging around with his back legs inside the dung getting the scent on his feet before he goes off and marks his territory as far as he goes I'm right in the middle of black rhino territory these deposits signal the boundary of a male's terrain and they're a warning sign territorial males are known to attack anything that intrudes on their turf definitely something moving up here definitely I can definitely see I kill you black rhino right yeah time for my monopod plan this might be my chance there is one sturdy looking tree but it's a bit further away than I'd like I can get to the tree they just be able to get my shot a black rather short once I'm safely out of reach of trying to track the runners attention I'm gonna be very careful I don't want him to get excited and see me before I get to the tree that would be a problem [Music] [Music] [Music] but before I can put my plan into action he's gone [Applause] [Music] what do you think of that black rana typical attitude the second is spotted me it started coming when I was getting too nervous and I thought it's coming too quick I'm up to tree I'm got all these plans I'm going to put on another lens I'm going to put the bar down and I'm gonna take photos I've got it already no time for anything he's right up here as soon as I hear the first time I took a picture the first picture he was on to me spotted mr. and came straight for the tree hey I tell you he's got a horn like that nerve-wracking stuff I'm not pushing it any further next time I might not be so lucky not many people have been charged by a black runner and live to tell the tale I decide it's better to concentrate on white drivers better for my health anyway but the plan of finding a good location first and the animal second has given me another idea they are places where if I'm lucky and might find white runners gathering together [Music] even in winter Brian ELLs have a problem keeping cool so I've come to wear my map sighs water can be found Brianna's need a lot of water they drink up to 80 liters a day and they wallow just as often as they can [Music] [Music] I was just taking some pictures of the hippos noticed this it's the most fantastic example of a rhino rubbing post this was just a tree broken off imagine the sharp edges pointy bits Rhino comes along starts rubbing himself against it this happens day after day year after year until this time it's completely polished smooth as if it's been polished with an electric sander right at this moment it makes a perfect resting place for my camera to get a few more shots is about the temperatures soaring the hippos have got the right idea when it's hot like this the Rhinos seem to vanish they resting somewhere shaded and quiet and I decide to do the same well I have come to this area in the winter months it's actually cold at night you can feel the cold but even so this is a semi tropical area and in the middle of the day like about now it gets really hot it's still very hot everything settles down well the animals look for shade hideaway I'm doing the same getting a chance to eat something while everything is as hot as it is but what I'll do is wait an hour or two and they don't have time to move again and that's the same thing that a muscle do they'll be moving as well going into the evening cool again that's probably when I got a charge to see something so as the temperature starts to drop I get moving again scouting around the water hole I find just what I'm looking for all of this so rhino wallah I mean it's been recently used there's been so much activity I guess footprints everywhere probably these guys we are just this morning perfect place for runners to collect mud yes sir grabbing post a fresh rubbing plant so it hasn't been worn round yet so sharp edges officer a little while this is gonna change this is all gonna be come around that's for sure oh look at this man they're all activity yet footprints everywhere yes a very unusual rubbing past look at that this trees not broken off it's not broken off but it's bent in the perfect shape I mean imagine a rhino coming acre-foot his whole tummy ova he's rubbed his hind legs behind us and get his front arms over this because although rhinos got thick skin it's actually quite sensitive and sticks and and other parasites are attached to them looking for blood and he coats himself with a with a clay with a mud and then he comes and rubs it all off and if you break this off sometimes you actually find ticks and other parasites right in the mud which he's now discarded this is all very fresh these different arenas very close by just look at this just come out that Bush look straight into a group of rhinos yet what looks like a watering hole I obviously know I'm yeah but they're not showing any signs here I'm gonna get its curse I can't ever look guys getting excited I can just get over there I'm gonna duck down so they're done don't you get scared it might be my choice to get a couple of shot just don't want to get them excited no way to go some of them have actually moved away as I've come closer but I can yes I'm splashing it sounds like one is actually wallowing in the mud I'd like to get a look at that I would make some great photography approaching quietly from downwind I do my best to keep some vegetation between me and the Rhinos [Music] the Wallow stretches way back and it's absolutely packed with white runners of all shapes and sizes [Music] it's like a prehistoric Beauty Parlor work the mud on their scraped it all off again and they're lining up to take it in turns the question is how close can I get [Music] I think nothing in the open I just try get me closer I don't want to spook them they'll nervous but I've got to push a little to get my shot but greatest danger is to rattle the COFF if the cough gets the fright then the mother gets excited I just need to maneuver myself round in front a plan that didn't work out so well with the elephants I'm now so close I can see each of the blood sucking flies that are attacking the Rhinos hide I can't afford one wrong move this is a situation that can change in an instant [Music] so I keeps coming closer all the time keeps coming [Music] I need to be alert for the slightest sign of aggression a snort tears or even a raised tail [Music] best affected [Applause] I found a secret gathering of white rhinos some of the most powerful animals on the planet I can see at least a dozen of them ranging from a couple of years old to full-grown adults this is my best chance yet to get low angle close-up shots of rhinos in action rubbing his neck that's a very convenient lovely watching buddies foot over anything that's available becomes a rubbing pal it's a fallen log and it's working for all different parts that log is gonna become super smooth after a couple of years of this can you believe it what can hook the back legs over pigs that we might have trapped in that mud anybody parasites will get pulled off will you rub them off and of course satisfies the itch at the same time it's cannot believe I'm this close to actually seem to you portraits are one thing but a chance to photograph real behavior is quite another especially in an animal as impressive as this so many runners big one coming huh enormous news Hornet surrenders I never seen anything this big absolutely covered in mud enjoying the scratching enjoying themselves a few courts I think that is just pure pleasure that's what that granting is all about is pure pleasure Oh as he found our little bit close and get some real touch hang-ups his locker for the first time there's nothing between me and this armored giant I'm out in the open [Music] that's really getting closer than comfort he's only feet away from me now if he decides to charge he'll be on me before I've even had time to stand up nerve wracking looks like is moving away he's paying attention to another potential scratch past think I've pushed it as far as I'm today [Music] swaziland delivered everything I'd hoped and more nakaya's got to be the best place in the world to see these magnificent beasts mrs. Simon was great and I've got my pictures saw baby Ryan only a few weeks old but chased up a tree by a black runner and got away with my life found myself in the middle of a group of grooming rhinos this sort of adventure you can only experience in Africa [Music]

Channel: Real Wild

Views: 264,155

Rating: 4.6691041 out of 5

Keywords: nature documentary, full documentary, documentary movie, big cats, wildlife documentary, discovery channel, national geographic, natgeo wild, Nature documentaries - topic, Animals - topic, planet earth, david attenborough, Full Animal Documentary, wild animals, wild animal, rhino, africa, south africa, safari, swaziland

Id: Zs2xYoYaOpQ

Length: 50min 1sec (3001 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 30 2018