11x06 - Close Encounters

[bunniefuu]

♪

♪

Ryan: Wow, look at this.

We're in the African bush now.

The elephants, they will
trample you to death in a second.

Crazy.

Sherean: I'm really nervous.

I didn't sleep
at all last night.

This is South Africa.

It's not a joke.

And as you get out
here further, it's terrifying.

There are so many
dangers out here.

Apparently, there's a lot of
leopards that have cubs out here

and they're so defensive
over their babies.

Ryan: Everything out
here wants to eat you --

Lions, the hyenas, crocodiles.

Sherean: What the
hell was I thinking?

[ Leopard roars ]

I'm dying.

[ Woman groans ]

Woman: It's a lion.

[ Man grunts ]

Oh, my god.

Man: Whoo!

I'm so cold.

[ Groaning ]

I'm gonna finish!

Ryan: Welcome to Africa.

The beauty of this
place -- Incredible

but dangerous, very dangerous.

Sherean: The land
around me looks insane.

There's thorns everywhere.

The sand looks hot. Being
naked in this environment is crazy.

Narrator: Sherean and Ryan
are entering the harsh grasslands

and mountainous outcrops
of limpokwena, South Africa.

The crocodile-infested river

is the only source of
water for miles around,

and it attracts one of
the highest concentrations

of predators in South Africa,

making this a
natural k*lling zone.

Game trails everywhere.

If I go hungry, it's my
own stupid fault, huh?

[ Chuckles ]

For a living, I'm a
wilderness-survival instructor.

I love primitive-living
skills, I love bushcraft,

and this is what I do.

I spent a full year
in the wilderness

using a wickiup shelter
that I built myself.

I grew up hunting and fish.

Eating is not
gonna be a problem.

I went out in the
woods with two sticks,

a rock, and a piece of string,

and come back with a deer.

Who else does that?

I've built bows, shelters,
especially primitive fire.

I've done it thousands
of times, literally.

I'm doing this challenge
because, it being one

of the toughest challenges
there is on the planet.

It takes a special few.

Try my best to be one of those.

Narrator: Ryan has over 20
years of survival experience

and is skilled in primitive
weapons and fire.

He begins with a primitive
survival rating of 8.1.

[ Exhales sharply ]

Really nervous,

but at least if I pee myself,
I won't be wearing shorts.

So that's great.

Part of my nightly
routine is walking barefoot

and practicing karate to ward
off all the lions and hippos.

[ Chuckles ]

I'm a homesteader.

We have our little farm.

Here's some of our
turkeys, chickens.

Then we have some
meat rabbits in the back.

Since I was younger, I
basically lived in the outdoors.

We moved around so many times

and primitive
survival, especially,

gave me a sense of control

in a non-controlled environment.

Learning to make fire,
shelter, living off of nature,

kind of a hobby of mine.

I'm so nervous. There's
so many dangers out here.

I think as soon as I get
naked, it's just gonna all hit me.

[ Chuckles ]

I'm doing this just for my kids.

I feel like being on this
challenge is gonna show them

that their mom can do
anything so they can do anything.

Unless I get a medical tap
out, I get eaten by something,

I'm gonna be here
the whole time.

I don't want them to worry,
so I told them I'm going away

for a survival class
for a couple weeks.

Are you gonna
be able to survive?

Maybe.

[ Laughs ]

Sherean is accustomed
to living off of the land

in the pacific northwest,

but she is completely
untested in harsh environments.

She begins with a psr of 6.3.

Sherean: Oh, my
gosh, it's a zebra.

Alright, time for the blurs.

♪

Alright, it's time for me to
change into my birthday suit.

Sherean: I have absolutely
no problem being naked.

Bodies are just bodies to me.

I feel more in touch
with nature already.

Ryan: I'm actually
excited. I don't like clothes.

I don't like shoes.
So here we go.

♪

Look at that.

This is a horned adder.
It's super dangerous.

I just about stepped
on him immediately.

It's a close call.

Look at him. Dangerous.
That's amazing.

♪

I'm gonna try to get him.

♪

He's striking.

♪

Don't have my knife on me.

♪

It's done. It's food.

I think this is dinner,

and I think my partner
will be impressed.

I hope my partner
can bring survival skills.

I'm not saying they have to be
on a level of 20-something years

of studying this, but I
hope she has something

where it's not all
on my shoulders.

I'm already feeling
the thorns. Ow.

And it's gonna be really hard,

and it's going to
be really important

to have a solid partner.

I hope he's positive.

The second that you let negative
thoughts get in, you're done.

Naked person.
- Hey.

- Hi.
- How are you doing?

Good. [ Chuckles ]

So, how did we get
in this crazy situation?

[ Chuckling ] Yeah.

I'm Sherean.
- It's good to meet you, Sherean.

- What was your name?
- I'm Ryan.

- Ryan, nice to meet you.
- I brought you a peace offering.

I k*lled it on the way in.
- Oh, my gosh.

What did you k*ll it with?
- A stick.

Oh, my gosh. Yes.

[ Chuckles ] Great. I'm excited.

- Very cool, very cool.
- Yeah.

Are you excited?
Are you nervous?

Little bit, yes.

This was the part that
was most nervous about.

Yeah, me, too.

So I think we got
it under control.

Yeah.

Okay, so it's like we
have our survival items.

Let's check it out.
- Yeah.

- I brought my machete.
- Oh, wow.

It's sharp, so be careful.

Great. [ Chuckles ]

- I brought a bug net.
- Great.

And we have a pot also.

- We can cook up this snake.
- I love it.

How is your primitive fire?

Very good. I've done it a bunch.

Don't worry about
fire. We have fire.

Okay, yes.

And I have a map. [ Chuckles ]

Let's see what we got into.

- Okay.
- Here's us.

We're gonna have to
go to the water somehow.

Okay.

And the best way
to view all that,

I think is gonna be a
lookout point, high ground.

But I understand
there's leopards there.

They're dangerous.

We just got to watch
each other's back.

- Just stay close.
- Okay, let's do this.

♪

So, tell me about yourself.

I teach primitive-living
skills, wilderness survival.

- Oh, nice.
- I'm self-taught

for over 20-something
years, man.

I've been doing it when I was
-- Before the books come out,

before the shows
come out, you know?

Alright, some resources.

- Hey.
- What about you?

- I'm a homesteader.
- Cool.

I feel a lot less experienced,

but I'm so excited
to learn from you.

I think this is gonna
be really great.

Oh, the sun is brutal.

Oh, it's so hot. It is so hot.

- Damn.
- k*lling my feet.

South Africa is unreal.

- Hopefully there's water, huh?
- Yeah.

- [ Chuckles ]
- There better be water.

- Water and no leopards.
- Or hippos, crocodiles.

Yeah, crocodiles,
all the other --

Elephants.

The goodies that come
along with this, huh?

Narrator: Limpokwena
is home to some of

the most dangerous
wildlife on the planet,

including the largest land
animal, the African elephant.

They are surprisingly
quiet given their size

and can be
particularly aggressive.

Elephants are responsible
for an estimated

500 human deaths per year.

Mm.

[ Exhales sharply ]
- Are you okay?

- Ugh, got a thorn.
- Mm.

Oh, man. [Bleep]

- Welcome to Africa, huh?
- Yeah.

Place just wants to tear
us to pieces, doesn't it?

- Oh, wow. That --
- You alright?

- This is bad. This is bad.
- God, they're painful.

Ugh. That looks pretty far away.

I don't see how we're
gonna make it there without --

- [ grunts ] Without shoes, yeah.
- Yeah.

That tree's got
bark. We got shoes.

-Alright, let's go.
Let's go, -[ Grunts ]

[ Grunts ]

That's like a pair, isn't it?

Look at this. It's gonna
make good cordage.

[ Grunts ] Yeah,
that is awesome.

My first impressions of
my partner -- total badass.

He has all this knowledge,
which is what I was hoping for.

I think we're gonna
work really well together.

I'm gonna wrap it
around the front of my foot

and then one towards the
end, just for more security,

I'm very creative when
it comes to survival.

I feel like you cannot be
an in-the-box person for this.

I'm gonna follow
your lead on that.

See, this is when we
combine our skill set.

You know what I mean?
- Yeah.

And this is how we're gonna
conquer this damn place.

- We got this.
- We got this, yeah.

Ryan: Great partner.

She's so positive.

We've got this in the bag.

[ Laughs ]

Oh, it's so nice.

- Nike can kiss my a*s.
- [ Laughs ]

- Oh, that's nice.
- Yeah, just a little bit.

It's taking the
scorching-hot feeling

off of our feet.

- It's so much better.
- Ah, so much better.

♪

Oh, wow.

And there is a leopard track.
- There it is.

- Yep.
- Leopard territory, you know,

and where we're
walking right up on that.

We got to watch your
back, because the stories

that I've been hearing,
you know, these things,

they'll get us and we
won't even know we're got.

Narrator: Nocturnal hunters,

leopards' night
vision and hearing

are up to seven times
better than a human's,

and the cats' powerful muscles
allow them to take down prey

three times their size.

Making me nervous.
Alright, let's go.

Oh, my gosh.
- Oh, man.

[Bleep]
- Man.

I don't like any of this.

This is like a zoo cemetery,

something has drug
this up here and eaten it.

Oh, god, it's probably
hiding up here somewhere.

I would be very
cautious over there.

Making me nervous.

I see water this way.

- Yay!
- Yeah, that's the river.

- Thank god.
- Okay, let's go.

- We got to get down there.
- Yep.

I'm getting really dehydrated.

Yes, it's time to move.

Right there's a fire
board, corkwood.

Perfect. Oh, yeah.
That's what we want.

For a hand-drill friction fire,

I need a really good hearth.

[ Grunts ]
- It's so hot.

Our little bag of
goodies is filling up, huh?

Alright. Push through.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

There's an elephant.

Oh, my god. Oh, my god.

Oh. I'm so scared right now.

Oh [bleep]

It's [bleep] huge, man.

Holy [bleep]

[ Gasps ] [ Elephant trumpets ]

♪

Oh.

Is it alone? Is the
elephant alone?

[ Elephant trumpets ]

Right now, there is a
very, very large elephant

and it's in defense
node right now.

I know if they do
start to charge,

these trees aren't
gonna save us.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

Ryan: That was a close call.

We got to pay better attention,

'cause if we walked up
on that thing completely,

we would have been
trampled to death.

That was scary.

I was like, "this is it."
- He's huge.

This is it.
- Day one -- dead.

♪

Look at this. Wow,
the water's right there.

Beautiful.

- Does it look crocodile-y?
- Yes.

- What about hippopotamus-y?
- Yes.

It looks
all-the-above-y, I think.

Sherean: Okay.

Look at this up here.

This may be it.

Oh, yeah, look at this.

Like, that's perfect.

We're not gonna get...
- I like this.

...any elephants.

They're not gonna be out here.

We're picking this spot
because there's water right there,

an abundance of it, and
we're far enough away

where we don't have to really
worry about the crocs as much.

I like this.
- I think it's ideal.

This guy's been in
the sun for so long.

I don't know that we
should eat that snake.

I fully agree with you on that.
I'm not gonna risk it day one.

I'm going to need
water pretty soon.

Okay. I'll get
started on the fire.

[ Inhales sharply ]
I feel out of breath.

I'm so dehydrated.

We're smoked. We've
been in the sun all day.

We got to process water.

♪

[ Grunts ]

[ Grunts ]

There you go. It's
smoking. We got an ember.

That was impressive.

Fire. [ Chuckles ]

I have never seen anyone
make a fire that quickly.

- Bic lighter.
- That was like 60 seconds.

And you had a fire.

This is awesome.
You're really impressive.

I'm so happy.
- Thank you.

We're doing good.
We're clicking right along.

We're gonna rock this.

Ahh.

I'm so happy to have hot water.
- Is it good?

No, it's not good.

It's like lukewarm
hot chocolate.

It's really gritty,

[ exhales sharply ]
- [ Chuckling ] Yeah

hot cocoa without
the cocoa plus mud.

- Alright, I'm good to go.
- Cool.

- We have to get a shelter made.
- Yeah, that's a necessity.

First priority is making a boma.

We need a protective
fence around our shelter.

There are predators out
here. They hunt at night.

The clock's ticking.

Ryan: We have
protection behind us.

As you can see,
the huge rock walls,

we just put a little bit
of brush in front of us

and some thorns and
we're good, that and a fire.

[ Grunts ]

We got to put in the
work so we can relax

without worrying
about being eaten.

♪

I'm just trying to get us at
least one defensive weapon

just in case we need it.

Never know about this place.

♪

[ Elephant trumpets ]

What the hell's that noise?

[ Elephant trumpets ]

And that was a
freaking elephant.

Oh, my gosh. What in the world?

What were we thinking?

This is what we signed up for.

They don't call it "naked
and afraid" for nothing.

That's for sure.
- Mm-hmm.

[ Leopard grunts ] Oh, my god.

[ Leopard grunts ] Holy [bleep]

[ Animal shrieking ]

♪

♪

♪

Fairly fresh elephant
crap, man. Look at it.

Same ones we heard
last night, probably.

Sherean: Last
night was terrifying.

Everything came out.

Hippos, elephants,
some kind of cat.

Ryan: It was big.

I want to say it was a leopard

'cause it was walking, you
know [Imitates leopard grunting]

And that's what leopards
do, when they're walking,

you know, kind of
getting their breath.

It was scary.

Sherean: That
looks like a cat print.

Ryan: It does, doesn't it?

- There's one, two, three four.
- And the paw --

I don't see any
other ones, do you?

There was also the
sound of something

getting k*lled last night.

[ Exhales sharply ]

Looks what I just found.

What?

It's a spinal column.

It's terrifying, being
out here naked

and hearing these noises.

I was with legit
in fear for my life.

Everything out
here wants to k*ll us.

We need to build up the
side, because there is --

This is a trail where
something's coming down

and our shelter's right there

and that is our weakest point.
- It is.

Definitely a predator
in the area last night.

Ryan: It was very
close to our boma,

and we've got to get
that thing reinforced.

So, right now, what
we're trying to do

is take these buffalo
thorns that animals respects,

surround the boma with it.

Sherean: We have
to finish it or else

I'm just not gonna feel
comfortable sleeping in there.

Get through that, leopard.

Ryan: We have to
have a fire all night.

Fire wood.

So we had to take
shifts in sleeping.

I'm really dreading tonight,
'cause it's so scary out here.

The heat has been
really hard for me,

and I'm fatiguing.

I take like five steps,
and I'm gasping for air.

I don't know how close
these animals are gonna get.

Ryan: Don't worry
about that, okay?

We'll make it through this.
- [ Sighs ]

Ryan: The leopard loves
walking through here and growling

and waking everybody
up. We don't get no sleep.

So we do as the animals do.

I marked the territory.

That way, like,

the male testosterone,
I guess, scent is in it.

♪

[ Animal grunting ]

♪

[ Animal growling ]

I am really scared right now.

That wasn't an elephant.

That was some kind of cat.

It's pretty close.

[ Animal growling ]

[ Sighs ]

[ Animal growls ]
Ryan: Holy [bleep]

Holy [bleep]

[ Animal growls ] [ Gasps ]

[Bleep]

Sherean: So scary.

[ Coughs ]

♪

Ryan: I think it's gone.

I just didn't think they would
come so close to humans.

I thought they were
scared of them.

♪

♪

We definitely have a leopard
that's stalking our boma,

and last night it made
protective noises like,

"this is my area."

So I'm really concerned.

They're very territorial.

Ahh.

Ryan: The predator situation
and the movement at night,

it's dangerous,
but this is Africa.

Sherean: [ Sighs ]

Ryan: You alright?

I just feel really lightheaded.

Happens easily
with this no-food thing

for a while, you know?

Sherean: Hopefully
we can find some food

and get a little
bit more energy.

It's gonna be very important

to ward off all the
dangerous predators.

Time to get a bow built.

Just want to lay
down. Everything hurts.

The ground is horrible.

Oh, my gosh. What's that?

Oh, it's gonna be a bow, I hope.

The wood -- I messed
with it a little bit,

and it seemed flexible.

Not gonna be pretty. It's
just gonna be functional.

I can build a longbow
that'll out-sh**t

any store-bought longbow,
but it's hard to do that here.

And what makes this more
difficult is not knowing a lot

about the woods here, you know?

But I'm learning as I go.

What are you
using for the arrow?

That square stuff I
do for a hand drill.

It works great.

It seems dense
enough and light enough.

I'm gonna see what happens.

The way that you
straighten an arrow shaft is

kind of the same
way that's been done

since the arrow was made.

I heat it up right here,

I hold it place once it's hot,
and once I let go, it'll stick.

It's pretty neat.

[ Blows ]

There it is.

This arrow right here,

this tip is tipped
with a piece of bone.

You know, the
penetration's not very deep.

It's for, like, small game.
And what the feathers do,

they guide the arrow
in a straight path,

as they do a bird.

They're you have it.

I would k*ll for
some ice right now.

Baobab. Tree of life.

I want to build a
bowstring out of this bark.

Twist clockwise,
wrap counterclockwise.

It's simple, but it's what
holds the whole thing together,

and it works great.

And the moment of truth.

Got us a bow.

Oh, yeah.

This will get a
45-pounder, if not more.

I'll go get food. Just
stay here and rest.

Thanks.

Some tracks.

It's very important
that we find food.

Warthog.

Right now with this bow,
it's gonna be small stuff

I'mma have to do after.

You don't pull enough poundage,
and the arrows, you know,

aren't tipped good
enough for anything big.

So there'll be, you
know, small game.

Maybe a bird.

There he goes.

♪

♪

Fig tree.

[Bleep]

Missed the sucker by this much.

Man, I hit a little branch.

Just enough to
veer my arrow off.

I'm just gonna try get
some figs while I'm here.

You know, I don't
know what else to do.

[ Grunts ]

Bring some back for
my partner, of course.

That's what I'm talking about.

[ Birds screeching ]

Sherean: The heat is unbearable.

It's over 100 degrees out, and
there's nowhere to hide from it.

Ugh.

So hard to move.

I didn't expect to be
this depleted this fast.

Well, tonight,
hungry we will not be.

This bag's heavy with figs.

Oh, nice.

Here you go.

Well, I don't need them all.

I'm so hungry.

♪

They taste really dry.

Mm-hmm.

Like eating dirt.

They're drying my mouth out.

Ryan: My partner,
man, she's struggling,

mentally and physically.

She's having a
really rough time,

so I hope -- I hope
it gets better for her.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

That's an elephant.

Sherean: So tired.

These animals are so scary,
I'm dreading going to sleep.

A lack of sleep out
here is not good.

It's way more dangerous.

[ Animal grunts ]

I can't sleep.

[ Animal grunting ]

This isn't staged.

These aren't,
like, audio noises.

It's real.

I saw a leopard
right there last night.

[ Exhales sharply ]

People can't live without sleep.

[ Animal grunting ]

♪

[ Animal grunting ]

♪

Sherean: I don't think
I can do another day.

I just don't even want
to be here anymore.

[ Sniffles ]

South Africa's brutal.

I can take the sun,

I can take the excessive
heat exhaustion,

I can take starving, but I can't
feel like my life is in danger.

I have kids to get back to.

I cannot die out here.

I just want to go home.

Nothing to, you know,
make a rash decision on.

We've got [bleep]

Just hang in
there. You got this.

Hey, you got it.

I just can't. I honestly cannot.

I don't have what
it takes to be here.

If you need to take it
easy for a day or two days,

I don't care.

It does not bother me.

I am unbelievably weak.

I won't survive being attacked
by one of these animals.

Isn't worth being eaten.

I just want to go.

Okay.

- Sherean?
- Hm?

Are you absolutely
sure you to do this?

Yeah.

[ Grunts ]

- Are you okay?
- Yeah.

[ Sighs ]

We had predators
around our boma,

and she, you know, was thinking
that her life wasn't worth this.

Take care of yourself, okay?

You got this. Be careful.

Okay.

Narrator: Only lasting four days
in the k*ll zone of South Africa,

Sherean's primitive
survival rating plummets

from a 6.3 to a 4.1.

The bush is not for everybody.
Wilderness is not for everybody.

♪

Just gathering some
firewood for tonight,

'cause I'll probably need it.

My partner just tapped,

so I'm alone in the
bush here for 17 days.

Worst-case scenario
is not being able

to take shifts sleeping.

That kind of puts me in
danger of falling asleep,

the fire going out, and
then all of a sudden,

a leopard jumps in with me.

You know, that's
a scary thought.

[ Animal grunting ]

Well, wish me luck.

I done heard
elephants over there.

So I have 17 days
left, so that's quite a bit.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

♪

[ Animal grunting ]

[ Grunting continues ]

I didn't hear the
leopard last night.

I didn't hear anything
but elephants.

So now that I'm on my own,
it makes me more determined.

Not making it is not an option.

I have to make it.

Whoa, look at this dude.

My god.

It's a transvaal
thick-tailed scorpion.

It's one of the most
venomous in the world.

So let's go ahead
and get rid of him.

If that they got me, guess what.

It'd have probably been
a trip to the hospital,

maybe a tap out if
that dude got me.

But this is edible, so...

But the stinger, it's
gonna go on the fire now.

Even though the
scorpion is dead,

the stinger can
still mess you up,

just like cutting the head
off a venomous snake.

You want to bury it or
get rid of it somehow

so nobody steps on it.

Alright, let's cook
this guy up, huh?

Mmm, a scorpion kabob.

Oh, wow.

I want more of these.

This tastes just
like grilled beef.

More venomous scorpions.

[ Chuckles ]

♪

See an animal hide.

Oh, yeah, this is leather.

And, like, good leather.

Running across that scorpion
gives me more motivation

and another reason to
make better shoes today.

So this is a gold mine.

I got this hide.

I've soaked it to
where it's pliable now.

That's a shoestring.

Now what I need
is a leather punch,

so let me run to
the store real fast.

There it is.

I'm gonna take this bone,

sharpen it where
needs to be sharpened.

Now I can poke
holes in the leather.

Stitching it up just
like you would a shoe,

all the way around.

Boom. Piece of cake, baby.

That is nice.

Now we'll go fire-harden these.

If I just go walk on
hot coals and the ash,

it'll harden the
sole immediately.

You just feel it just
"schooop!" Tighter to your feet.

Oh, yeah. Bring
it [bleep] thorns.

So much easier traveling
with good shoes is.

So nice.

♪

[ Grunts ] [Bleep]

♪

I've been out in the sun
for an hour and a half.

It just keeps sucking
energy out of you.

My usable time to
hunt, it's running thin.

If it was 80-degree weather,
you know, overcast sky,

be able to hunt all day,

but I just have to get
lucky within an hour or two.

Makes it so difficult.

♪

My body's starting to tell
me that I need some protein.

Only have really about half
the energy as I've been having.

You almost kind of have,
like, a buzzed feeling,

and you're really weak.

There are crocs
here, where I'm at.

♪

[ Thunder crashes ]

[ Elephant trumpeting ]

♪

There's an elephant,
it's right up there.

Breaking sticks [bleep]
right at the shelter.

We got charged
the first day by them,

and if one decides to
charge here, well, I'm done.

There's nothing
I can do about it.

Nobody can get here in time.

[ Crunch ]

[ Elephant grunts ]

♪

[ Elephant trumpets ]

My god.

[ Elephant roars ]

[ Roars ]

Sherean: I feel my heart beating
in my stomach, I want food so bad,

it's extremely hard
to go without food.

I'm starting to look at
everything as an option,

including my partner.

[ Chuckles ]

We can get a slow crew member.

[ Laughs ]

You know, I can't
eat people, so...

I mean, I could,

but that's, like,
extreme survival.

We're not there yet.
- Which one would you eat?

If you had to eat one
of them, which one?

[ Laughing ] This
guy right here.

- [ Laughing ] This one?
- [ Laughs ]

♪

Ryan: There were elephants
all over the place last night,

up there on the rocks,
kicking stuff down on me.

These son of a
b*tches were close,

and if one decides to charge,

grab my shelter,
do something with it,

there's not a thing
I could do about it.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

10 more.

All the close calls that
I've had with wildlife

in my time out
in the wilderness,

it's been stuff that's
completely scared of humans,

you know, coyotes,
bobcats, you know?

It had me really nervous.

You know, I'm a little
bit tired this morning

from dealing with the
elephants all freaking night,

but I need more
protein in my system.

It's got to happen.

Look at that.

There he is. I see you.

Mopane worm, they
thrive on a mopane tree.

They eat the leaves.

That's awesome.

Look how big they are.

These things -- super good.

I wish we had
trees full of them.

To gut it, you take
the tail in. Twist it off,

you just squeeze the guts out,

and all the poop
and stuff goes with it

that you don't want to eat.

Yeah, this is very much needed.

♪

It is what it is. I'm
here for 21 days.

I can't be choosy.

Mmm.

That's good.

Mmm.

It's like the chewy
fat of bacon.

Eating the food has got rid of
my starvation buzz I had going.

It was kind of having my
mind separating from myself.

It's perilous here. You got
to stay on top of your game.

Gives me another day of life.

But not having a partner,
it's really wearing on me,

especially at night time.

♪

♪

♪

♪

There's crocodiles.

They're right
next to my shelter.

Oh, man.

It seems that animals
can tell that I'm weak,

and they're not
really afraid of me.

I'm actually in
fear for my life.

I've got nobody to
watch my back right now.

I can only stay awake so long.

Hey! [ Claps hands ] Hey!

♪

♪

Tried to keep the fire
stoked half the night.

♪

There's no way I can
defend myself right now.

I'm too weak.

It started making me think

that I might want to
live to see another day.

[ Elephant trumpeting ]

There wouldn't be
nobody mad at me

if I had to leave
because of danger.

♪

It's too much. I'm ready
to bring it to an end.

I want out.

- You sure?
- I'm sure, yes.

My mind's been made up.

This place is a house of pain.

Just ready to get home and
do bushcraft besides here, man.

[ Elephants trumpeting ]

Got to worry about
the big six here.

[Bleep] That.

It's too much.

Monsters are real here.

[ Leopard roars ]

Narrator: Despite a strong
set of primitive survival skills,

the dangers of South Africa
proved to be too much for Ryan.

His psr collapses from a
high score of 8.1 to a 6.7.

They know I'm not leaving
because of my skill set,

because my bushcraft skills
are bar-none, believe me.

But to fight with elephants
or crocs, leopards,

it's just too much.

I thought I was ready
for Africa, but I wasn't.

Say what you want.
You weren't here.

Believe me, you weren't here.

captions paid for by
discovery communications

[ animal growls ]

♪

♪

[ Groans ]

♪

♪

♪

Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.

♪

[ Grunts ]

♪

I'm dying.

[ Woman groans ]

It's a lion.

[ Grunts ]

Oh, my god.

Man: Whoo!

I'm so cold.

[ Groaning ]

I'm gonna finish!