Humanimal (휴머니멀)

The mere sight of the magnificence of Mother Nature...

takes our breath away.

It may be man's constant struggles against the power of nature...

that has written the history of mankind.

It makes us wonder.

Has mankind always been...

a staunch companion of the Earth's ecosystems?

Or is it just...

an arrogant ruler that has overtaken them?

Just a short distance out from Victoria Falls brings...

us to the desolate plains.

Zimbabwe has been experiencing its worst drought...

in the past 50 years.

It made me wonder how these animals were coping...

in these drastic conditions,

as a species that has been recently declared endangered.

As fierce predators at the top of the ecosystem,

these animals have enjoyed their place at the top...

of the food chain, long before mankind.

They are the lions.

The kings of the age...

that have ruled over the plains...

longer than any other surviving species.

These aren't the roars that we're used to hearing...

in movies like "The Lion King".

I can't even imitate them.

I could hear...

the bones crushing as they ate.

I could hear the crunching, and it was frightening.

So why are they behind these fences,

when they're so intimidating with such a big appetite?

These lions have had...

human contact.

So we cannot put them back in the wild. It might just cause...

another...

human and wildlife conflict.

Because they're used to humans,

they can easily go into somebody else's farm...

and kill their cows, because they're no longer scared of you.

The lions are being protected,

not because they may kill humans, but because humans may kill them.

I couldn't get my head around it at first.

What in the world is going on here, in Africa?

It made me curious.

This is Matabeleland, a small town...

in western Zimbabwe.

The locals who live in this town...

make their livelihood...

through traditional methods of farming.

The lack of rain has led to dry, barren lands.

These cows are the only assets that the locals own,

and serve as their sole means of livelihood.

The only job for the young men in town is...

herding the livestock.

I was very taken aback at the rough way...

they were handling the cows.

They say that today is the day...

when they gather all the cows in town...

to fumigate them.

What are they spraying on the cows?

Is it some kind of oil?

It's a pest repellent.

So if you spray this...

There are lots of ticks on animals like buffalos that spread diseases.

Ticks sound frightening, don't they?

But the way the cows are going back and forth in packs,

it seems as if they're scared.

What's going on?

Ticks are preventable, as long as they are taken care of regularly.

The cows don't die, but if you don't kill the ticks, they die.

Whereas the lions attack our residents,

so they're more dangerous than ticks.

Lions are very bad.

They say this because lions have appeared...

in the middle of town in order to hunt their livestock.

Lions have long wandered onto private lands in search of food.

It has been a while...

since the territories of the locals have merged...

with the territories of the lions.

The locals watch from a distance out of fear,

as their livestock helplessly fall prey to the lions.

That's why families with farms all gnash their teeth...

at the mention of lions.

Because the lions come to town almost every night.

This is Jericho, who owns the largest number of cows in town.

Each day before the sunset,

he gathers the cows in the pen...

and fastens the latch to finish his daily routine.

But his livestock have already been attacked in the past,

and he knows well that this kind of fence...

doesn't stand a chance against the lions.

A lion had gotten in there...

and had already killed four of my cows.

The incident happened just two weeks ago.

- In just one night. - In just one night.

One was here, one was there, and one jumped inside...

and started to attack the cows.

- They were a team, a family. - Yes, it was a family.

The cows refused to come out, so they attacked four of them.

One jumped in and killed, another jumped and killed, killing four.

Sundown is the most fearful time of the day.

But there is no way around it.

Hunting lions is strictly forbidden...

by law for the residents of the town.

If I see a lion killing my cows, I would shoot them.

But I would need a rifle and legal permission to do so.

I wish I could kill them, even if it's against the law.

These cows are the only means of livelihood for my family.

It's painful to stand by and watch them be killed.

They're everything to us.

I'd kill the lions if it wasn't against the law.

I'm much more afraid of my cows dying than being attacked by lions.

That night,

we drove and took a look around town.

Not long after,

we really did run into a pack of lions on the street.

It was near the water reservoir that the residents had made...

to feed their livestock.

The endless drought had brought them out in search of water.

It was an area just five minutes away from town.

The lions were getting closer and closer...

to the residents' territory.

The territory that had been theirs...

up until a few years ago.

This man had previously owned 18 cows...

but has lost all but seven to the lions...

in the course of two years.

I start shaking at the sight of the lions.

All I can do is run away or watch them killing my cows.

They leave with the carcass in their mouths.

It's frightening to live so close to such dangerous animals.

It depends on its size, but we got 500 dollars per cow last year.

At least 500 dollars for each cow.

We could receive up to 700 dollars for one.

The income brought in by just four cows is equivalent...

to a year's worth of salary for the residents.

The citizens of Zimbabwe are also experiencing...

a severe economic downturn,

with an unemployment rate of 80 percent.

Sadly, some of the people...

that live next door to some of these amazing animals are...

some of the poorest people in the world.

So you've got some of the most dangerous wildlife in the world...

living right next door to some of the poorest people in the world...

that don't have electricity or water,

let alone any means to protect themselves...

against these dangerous animals, and it's a very big issue.

The lions kill a lot of cattle.

The amount of land that is needed...

for a pack of 20 lions to survive is...

around 150 square kilometers.

But due to the rapid growth of the population over the past 50 years,

the size of the lions' habitat has shrunk by 75 percent.

Experts claim that in the next 20 years,

it is likely that the lion population will shrink...

to half of the current population.

That's how the species have become in danger of extinction.

There are only 20,000 African lions left in the world.

It's quite shocking.

That's why they've begun setting up protected areas...

to keep the lions safe.

Good boys.

Come here.

Come, come!

Hello, Roku.

Hello.

Hello, Roku.

Hello. Come here.

Come, boy. Good boy.

Good boy.

Good boy.

How are you?

How are you?

Hello, friend.

Hello, my boy.

Hello, my boy.

Hello, my boy.

Come get some water, here.

Come.

It was surprising.

In other countries, people always think of lions...

when they think of Zimbabwe.

But the locals of Zimbabwe really don't like them.

They're afraid to be around them and believe...

that they only cause trouble.

Yes.

It looked me right in the eye, and my legs almost gave out.

Because of these reasons, captured lions are sent...

to places like this.

As a result,

they lose their wild nature.

- Can I try? - Yes.

Put it on his nose.

His breath is so strong.

Many of these lions have been in contact with humans...

before being brought here for protection,

and because they're regularly fed by humans,

it becomes harder for them to be released into the wild.

So the lions living here traded...

their wild instincts with the survival...