10x06 - Stalked on All Sides

[bunniefuu]

Ouch.

*Bleep*...

That was the loudest elephant
I've heard.

Yeah, we got elephants
on both sides of us.

♪♪

-You got to get to water.
-We're almost there.

-Ah!
-Hey!

Man: I got a bad feeling
about this.

-Ah!
-Ah!

Man: holy hell.

-We got this.

Yeah!

Get me out!

This is like "jurassic park."

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪♪

Wildebeest over there.

Got some impala over here,

Just a lot of wildlife
getting used to me

And me getting used to them.

Just miles and miles of africa.

Narrator: hidden in
the northeast region

Of south africa

Is the ancient kingdom
of mapungubwe,

A dry and deadly savanna
where no human has lived

For almost 1,000 years.

One of the world's largest
populations of lethal predators

Is drawn to the limpopo river,

The only viable
water source for miles.

Prowling the river's edge
are leopards, lions,

And the african hippo.

One of the most
dangerous animals in africa,

Hippos k*ll almost
3,000 people a year.

♪♪

I've been waiting for
an opportunity

To test myself like this,

Really,
since getting out of the army.

Doing the family life,

Just need something to get
the juices flowing again

And kind of get myself
back in it.

Hi, eli.

I like spending time
with family,

Really any outdoor activity
that we can do

Whether it's camping or fishing,
I'm always all about it.

Last night with the girls.

So aden's painting my toes.

Blow on them, jonah.
Good job.

That should get me
through, huh?

Yeah. Whoo.

I spent nine years in the army.

I have two purple hearts,
one of which was a g*nsh*t,

The other from shrapnel wounds
sustained in a roadside b*mb.

It blew up the front end
of my truck,

And pieces of my truck
actually went into my leg,

And that's what I still
have pieces of today.

Since I've got out of the army,

I've gotten kind of fat
and lazy with civilian life.

I took on this challenge,
really,

To get back to my wild side.

Elephants, bigger animals,

That's the stuff
you can't prepare for.

This is easily gonna be
the most extreme

And the dumbest thing
I've ever done in my life.

♪♪

Narrator: eric has years of
decorated military experience

But is not
in peak physical condition,

Earning him a primitive
survival rating of 6.3.

I'm so excited.

This is definitely
a once-in-a-lifetime chance

To experience this reality,
and I'm very happy to be here.

People call me mama kel
because I tend

To take care of everybody,

And I am mother
of four beautiful children.

-There's my girl --
-i know.

Kelly: ...and my boy.

People thought I was
pretty crazy for a lot of years

Because of the way
I raised my kids.

I took them out of society,
lived in tents,

Truly living off the grid
with very limited resource

And having to figure out
how to get food,

How to get water, how to stay
warm, how to stay dry.

In this situation,
there are so many animals

That can tromple me
and crush me and bite me.

This is the real deal.

I'm taking on this challenge

Because I get to be naked
and live outdoors.

♪♪

Narrator: kelly has decades
of wilderness survival training

But no experience living with
the large predators of africa,

Earning her a psr of 6.6.

Guess this is it.

♪♪

All right.
Time to get dirty.

Whoo.

Guess it's time to be
my human-animal.

I haven't shaved in 25 years
because my goal has been

To just become the most
real human-animal possible.

I'm very comfortable
being naked.

Representing
america at its finest.

Whoo!
Got some nice toenail polish

From the daughters back home.

Let's go do africa.

I prefer not to wear anything
all the time.

All the animals are naked!

I mean...

I'm pretty excited
to meet my partner.

I'm actually really excited
that I will have a partner

And not be alone in this.

It's starting to drizzle.

We've got clouds, rain clouds,
on all sides,

A really intense rain
cloud over there.

Eric: raining on insertion day,
not what I was hoping for.

Aloha.

Hey, hey.

I'm not the only one out here
getting wet.

Looks like we've got
some rain.

-Yeah.

Hi, my name's kelly.

-Eric, nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.

Well, it's getting damn wet.

Not who I thought he'd be.

He doesn't look rough and tough
and like a survivalist.

I know appearances
can be deceiving,

So I guess I need
to get to know him better.

Let's check out what we got.

-Looks like we have some stuff.
-Yeah.

Narrator: kelly and eric
have been given a pot.

She has brought a firestarter,
and he's brought a bush knife.

It looks like...

Ooh.

-...i have a map.
-Yeah, you do.

We're a the dual
baobab tree here.

Right?

Try to steer clear
of those elephants.

And we have a river here
with some fish.

Looks like we're taking off
in this direction

Because this is
the direction of water.

I would agree.

Kelly: my first plan is
to make some cordage.

♪♪

You're the cordage
master, so...

I am...a little short
for some of this.

Well, I'm not gonna be able
to help you too much there,

-I don't think, but...
-Hey, but that's a nice chunk.

She knows a lot about cordage,
which is my weak side,

And first brief interaction
with the partner --

Seems to know
what she's doing.

She's tattooed up like me,

So I figure we'll get along
pretty well.

Perfect.
Thank you so much.

All right.
Well, let's get going.

♪♪

♪♪

Some of these look
like elephant tracks.

-Whoa.
-Yup.

Okay.

There's a lot to be concerned
and nervous

About in this situation.

I would definitely consider
this one of the most

Dangerous animal environments
in the world.

Narrator: weary of humans,

If elephants sense a threat,
they will charge,

Making them extremely
dangerous to approach.

All right.

Back on the trail,

Little bit softer.

Eric: ooh!

Oh, we got a snake in the tree
over here, big old python.

Narrator:
the african rock python

Is an aggressive ambush hunter

That seizes large prey
with its teeth

While coiling around it,

Crushing bones
and internal organs in seconds.

Hmm, hmm, hmm.

Well, seeing that
snake up there,

I bet there's probably
quite a few more

In the bushes here
looking for us.

♪♪

Mm.

Eric: there's that rain.

♪♪

That should be our pond
on our map.

These are the type of pools
that really collect the fish

Trying to get back
into that river.

Oh, here we go.
Got one flopping up here.

Ah, we got
a slimy little catfish.

Take him with us.

That's awesome.
Whoo-hoo.

Narrator: catfish inhabit
shallow running water.

A specialized respiratory system
allows them to breathe on land,

Enabling them to wiggle
with snakelike motion

From one water source
to another.

Once we find some dry land

And get that shelter
and fire going,

He will be in my belly
and kelly's.

We've got to there, but we're
not going to get flooded out.

I mean, look at this.
It's all going to start moving,

And it just started raining.
-Yeah.

Eric: so let's get up to where
the trees are.

♪♪

We've got to find
some place that's dry.

We've got to find some place
we can make a good shelter.

We've got to get going
before that sun goes down

Any more than it already has.

I'm wondering
where the river is.

I thought it was 50 feet away,
like, 20 minutes ago.

Kelly, you're not
going to believe it.

Something fun, a river?

-It is a river.
-Whoo-hoo.

We just need to find a spot

That's got access
to the water nearby

But not the same access
as the animals.

I'm just trying to see
if anybody is going down there.

It looks like they're using
that trail, right there.

Yep, probably crocodiles
sliding into the river.

Narrator: the nile crocodile is
a highly intelligent predator

That studies the routine
of its prey before pouncing.

Its powerful jaws can
easily sever large bones.

Trying to find somewhere
to camp that the animals aren't.

♪♪

I like having the riverbank

As one side of the house,
basically.

-Right?
-Then we could wall off --

-Yeah.
-...this.

-Aye.
-So what do we got down here?

This is, like, open and neater.

-Do we have something in here?
-Maybe.

Looks like a nice
little area.

♪♪

Ah.

Ah.

I got a big head.

-Big elephant skull.
-Yeah.

Doesn't look like it was
actually a very big elephant.

Maybe it was young,
and something k*lled it

And ate it in here.

As far as the shelter,
it's not a bad spot.

It's got short grass,
which I like.

It doesn't have thick plants
all around it

That hide everything
that's trying to get us.

It's got trees like this that we
can just wall off if we wanted.

We got the river at our backs.

Yeah.
Nothing is coming up this side.

I think this could be home.

We're picking this campsite
just because it's tucked away.

It's near the river,
which is gonna give us

A natural barrier
with that dropoff,

And it's nice
and thickly wooded.

-And we've got this above you --
-yup.

...for a sleeping area.

With rain coming down
like it is,

We don't have time
to really get picky.

We good if I set this guy down
and start to --

You can set it down,
and I actually

Make cordage if you want.
-All right.

I can do that really fast,
and that way, it won't fall.

♪♪

This is from the baobab
that we got,

And I'm just trying to make it
strong enough to hold the fish.

♪♪

Eric: all this stuff
that's been sitting

On the ground is just rotten.

Kelly: I just want to get
the boma started

And try and find dry stuff.

Waterlogged like crazy.

The intention of a boma is
to make this natural barrier

That animals will not
want to cross.

Basically like an outdoor cage
that you put yourself in.

Yeah, I'm just gonna
weave it into these.

Eric: basically stacking
as much random

*Bleep* in an organized way.

Ah, huh.

My partner is taking
the initiative on the shelter,

And so I'm just doing
what I can do to help that,

Gathering a little bit
of everything.

We need a lot of this crap
to get wedged in there

And really make it watertight.

The rain has literally
quadrupled the challenge

On day one,

Made it so much harder
to get here

And so much harder
to find anything dry.

I'm just gonna go look
for more wood

And see if I can
find anything for fire.

-Okay.
-I'm looking for anything dry.

Actually, this is as dry
as it gets,

And now, it's getting wet.

Okay, got those.

♪♪

We have to have fire or else
the animals will get us.

I'm hoping I can get this
to start.

Let me get some of this
just near it.

♪♪

It doesn't even want to spark.

Fresh, dry, fresh, dry...

How we doing?

We are not doing.

Right now, I'm taking the stuff
that we know is dry

And basically giving yourself
almost a little pencil shavings.

-All right. Ready?
-Mm-hmm.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Kelly: it's that
nighttime sound, a little --

Eric:
everything's coming alive. Yeah.

Kelly:
pretty crazy out here.

All the sounds,
all the animals.

Without fire,
they'll eat you.

♪♪

♪♪

-Whoo!
-We got fire.

-Success.
-So stoked.

Beautiful, beautiful fire.

Yay.
We'd die without fire.

Thankful to have accomplished
what we did today.

-Absolutely.
-I mean...

We had everything against us
with the weather.

Got to be happy with the little
things, rest up and heal up,

And hopefully, tomorrow,
rock on,

South africa, day two.

♪♪

♪♪

Ooh.
Catfish for breakfast.

My partner got a catfish
yesterday,

And we did not cook it
until this morning

Because we were too tired.

It was a long day.

Voilà.

Glorious masterpiece.

Yeah.
We cremated that thing.

Yeah, we sure did,
and here it is.

Ah, delicious. Right?

I'm a fish guy,
so cooked pretty well.

Yeah, got to give kelly credit.

Kelly, last night, definitely
once we had that fire started,

Nursed it and took care of it

For a good chunk
of the night there.

She did not like sleeping,
but that's one of my skills.

I can sleep pretty much
anywhere.

I had, like, two little
half-hour naps last night --

-Yeah.
-...and one pass-out.

-One tip-over.
-I know.

I was like this,
and I was like -- whoop!

And landed on him.

-He's like, "wah!"
-Right? *Bleep*

I feel like something

Needs to be awake
at all times at our camp

Because it's vulnerable,
and we're vulnerable,

And I can't relax if I know
that he's asleep.

♪♪

Were those hippos?

♪♪

We've got five huge hippos
next door to camp.

Ah.

Kelly:
I'm fascinated by the hippos.

I've never seen them
in the wild.

I love the fact that they sleep
right off of my camp,

And I get to talk to them.

That's some pretty hippos.

Yeah. Oh!

That's some pretty hippos.

Kelly's reaction to the hippos
was, you know, friendly,

Just very much trying to make
a new friend in africa.

If you get in between
and a hippo and their babies,

They k*ll a lot of people.

Can they get up that hill?

Where we get water?

They sure can because
their tracks

Were on the top
of that hill.

So those are some nice
hippo tracks.

With seeing a sign like that,
it's just one more thing

That we need to keep our head
on a swivel

And make sure we don't run into.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

I could hear a hippo
last night.

I'm definitely going to make
our bomas bigger,

So I don't have to stay up all
night and worry about predators.

-That's what I like to see.
-There you go.

We're going for high-tier
just because

A lot of the predators
around here are bigger animals,

And this is just an added
layer of security for us.

It's gotten a lot better
than it was.

We've added more foliage.
We've added more height.

♪♪

How's kelly?

So exhausted.

Take a nap.

Yeah, I almost did.

Kelly's big thing is,
she does not want to sleep

Because she's too worried,
too insecure

About our situation
and can't do it.

All right.
I'll go get some water.

Okay. Thank you.

♪♪

With all of the hippo activity
that we had last night,

Definitely something
to be careful

With when we're going down
to the water.

Just taking a quick look,
nothing around edges,

Nothing that
you can really see.

Go down and get some water.

Whoo, yup, slippery,
muddy, very muddy.

♪♪

Ah.

♪♪

Very, very slippery today.

Ah.

Good thing I make
that walking --

Ah! Ow.

Mm. *Bleep*

Ah, ah.

Ooh.

I tweaked my knee
coming out of there.

I know I messed something up.

♪♪

Eric: I tweaked my knee
coming out of there.

Same knee that I have
some shrapnel wounds,

Tore a patellar tendon,

Not a great knee.

Ah. Ah.

It's just a lightning pain.

I know I messed something up.

♪♪

I got us some water.

Good. I got the bed ready.

Yeah. It is super slippery.

Ah, and I slipped
and tweaked my knee.

Ah.

Is it swelling yet
or what?

No, I don't think so.

Yeah, the knee could definitely
be a game changer.

If you ripped or torn
or twisted anything,

Then that's it,
a structural issue.

Oh, that was...

Ugh. Ow.

He's really not even able
to walk on it right now.

Above all, that means
if he can't run,

It creates a situation
that could be dangerous

Because there's so many
deadly creatures.

Ah!

You're vulnerable, and this is
a very dangerous place.

I'll keep my body weight off it,

I'll hope for the best.

♪♪

Kelly:
I really just want some wood.

Ooh, snake,

Right there on the branch.

♪♪

I love snakes.

They're beautiful.
They're creatures.

I have no desire to hurt them,
really,

So I'm going to leave it alone.

Have fun, little guy.

Run.

♪♪

Eric: find anything good?

Yes, found a snake, but I'm not
going to take a life

Unless I'm absolutely desperate,

Just so pretty laying right on
a twig, right across the trail.

-There you go.
-Yeah.

I'm thinking, you know, "that
could've been a food source,"

But kelly is very much

In her own ways
of being one with nature,

And I don't see her
as much of a hunter-type.

She's got buddies, man.
She can't k*ll buddies.

Kelly: I like petting them.
He's letting me pet him.

Sometimes, they get scared
and curl into a ball.

♪♪

Eric: ouch.

That was the loudest elephant
I've heard.

Yeah.
We got elephants on both

Sides of us,
and I'm not running anywhere.

*Bleep*

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Kelly:
we had elephants last night.

They crossed the river
down there,

And then they crossed
it really close,

And if they come
through this way,

That's when it's scary because
it'd push us off into the river.

Safety-wise when we're supposed
to run away from some things,

And my knee is very unstable
when I walk.

You're vulnerable.
You can't run at all.

Last night with the elephants,
there would've been nothing.

You would've just been trampled.

I wanted to give the knee
some time to see

If it was just a minor thing,

And here we are, the next day,
and it's not any better.

I think we should probably
call the medic

And have them take
a look at it.

Yeah.

Narrator: the medic is called
in to determine

If eric's knee will heal

Or if he needs urgent
medical attention.

A little bit.

Ah, there you go.

When I'm moving it, it just
catches and kind of pops

Every single time.

Yep.

Okay.

Yeah.

I don't want to leave you
in this situation alone.

I want to finish it with you.

When I first injured
my knee overseas in iraq,

I didn't want to leave,

Mostly because I was responsible
for lives of other people,

So it sucks leaving kelly.

I know she is concerned.

I mean, we've had hippos

Literally 20 feet away
from our shelter.

We've had elephants cross
on both sides,

And then you see tracks
everywhere.

I hate to leave you,
you know?

That really sucks, so try to
take it easy the rest

Of the days out here.
-Yeah.

Okay? Don't do too much.

-I won't.
-I want to see you pass it.

-All right?
-Yeah.

And I want to see your knee
get better.

Narrator: only four days
into the challenge,

Eric is forced to leave,
lowering his primitive

Survival rating to a 5.3.

Kelly: that was a bummer.

Eric: ah!

Kelly:
I was really hoping I would have

A partner and feel more safe.

Ah!

But it's pretty grim
as far as that goes.

♪♪

Whether there's a partner
or not,

You still need
the same amount of firewood

To keep the fire
going at the same brightness.

I plan on staying up
most of the night,

And if I can't, my plan
is to have a big enough fire

That the animals
don't want to come in here.

Okay.

My simple of philosophy
of stay alive.

♪♪

Something just went down
the river being really loud.

I have no idea what it was.

Got hippos and elephants
in the river

And baboon going off.

This is like
the "jurassic park" of africa.

♪♪

It's morning of day five.

I have burned all the wood
that I had in here

For protection from animals,

And I'm exhausted,

And I'm going to get water.

I'm also trying to drink
less water

Because the crocodiles hide
by the edge

And jump out and get you.

There's bubbles over there, now.

Doesn't make me feel great.

I can be quick.

♪♪

Survival of the fittest.

♪♪

Out here, my best sleep
is always at dusk and dawn,

And I think it's because I feel
safer at both of those times.

♪♪

Narrator: for the past 11 days,

Kelly has only consumed
half of a catfish.

Kelly:
I'm pretty hungry and noticed

My muscles are a little sore.

Narrator: loss of muscle mass
is one of the first signs

Of inadequate protein intake,

Which is why kelly
is feeling weak.

I don't like k*lling anything,
so I am heading to see

If I can find any other
food sources, plant-wise.

It's kind of risky because
this is a huge area

Where a lot of animals
come through.

♪♪

This should be edible.

Whoo, okay, eat fast.

Narrator: this handful of
african wormwood flowers

Will provide kelly with some
vitamin a and c

But fewer calories
than a stick of celery.

Baboons,

Why you guys
got to be out here?

This is pretty close.

I don't really know enough
about baboons,

So I'm just going
with my fear meter.

♪♪

This bush looks like
a buffalo thorn bush.

♪♪

I believe you can eat
the leaves.

Definitely ups the stakes a bit.

There's actually more
than one lion

There's a few at least.

I may not make it out alive.

I am what they call the weak
animal, right now.

I would get picked off
in a heartbeat.

I can't run. I can't swing.
I can't throw.

♪♪

My muscles are even
barely working right now.

It'd be lucky if I make it back
to my shady corner.

♪♪

The animals are getting closer.

I'm feeling very trapped
and confined.

Stay away.

Africa -- it's scary in the day
and definitely gets scary

At night.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

That loud something was a lion.

That was pretty close.

*Bleep*
dawn, please come, please.

♪♪

I'm just on high alert.

I barely can go 100 feet
from my structure

Without worrying about
a predator taking me down.

I'm trapped.

♪♪

♪♪

Look at that cool bug.

Hey, little guy.

You look like you're made out
peach-red velvet,

Very, very cool.

It's a praying mantis.

They look like they're dancing,
and they're zen,

And they're beautiful.

He's just my favorite of
the insects for that reason.

Ooh, there's a giant millipede.

You've got red in
between your scales.

How cool is that?

If anybody hasn't noticed,

I love all life,

So I got a lot of buddies.

If it makes me weird, cool,

'Cause everybody
should have more buddies.

♪♪

Kelly: right now, I feel like
I'm in a fight-or-flight

Life-or-death challenge.

I'm just trying to stay alive.

♪♪

Day and night are really fun
right now,

And night
is always challenging.

I'm always listening for sound.

My respite during the day,

Which is little naps,
is now gone.

♪♪

This is like my hell,

Basic survival and barely that.

♪♪

I need two shoes to make it
through extraction,

Just to get out of here.

♪♪

I don't know how far extraction
is, so as a survival move,

I'll have my sandals,
so I can at least walk faster.

Ta-da!

♪♪

Here I am, night 20.

Critters are all over the place,
so I'm trapped.

It does not work for me at all.

♪♪

♪♪

It is the morning of day 21,

Definitely pretty scary
leaving the shelter.

I'm worried about silent
predators like the cats.

That's where I'm headed.

Narrator: malnourished
and sleep-deprived,

Kelly must hike three miles
through vicious hunting grounds

Over rough, thorny terrain

In searing 98-degree heat.

She will need to avoid
the expanding population

Of elephants now migrating
across this region

And finally,
climb a steep plateau

To signal
her extraction vehicle.

♪♪

♪♪

Looks like they're
right where I need to go.

♪♪

♪♪

I'm crossing over this way.

I need to get away
from the elephant.

♪♪

Whew.

♪♪

Oh, my god.

♪♪

The hike is dangerous.

Here, everything wants
to eat you.

It's definitely a lot
more difficult

To maintain all my senses
on high alert

When my body is really drained.

♪♪

Ow, ow, ow.

My feet, they're in pain.

Ropes are cutting into them.

Ow.

Painful no matter how I walk.

Ugh. Okay.

Above all, this is
a mental challenge.

There is an end in sight,
and I will get there,

And the only thing that'll stop
me is a snake biting me

Or me blacking out on the trail.

♪♪

I see my extraction point ahead,

And my best point of entry
is here between the trees.

Going to take off my slippers.

I would die trying to climb up
this with these things on.

Last climb in africa,
for now.

♪♪

Oh.

♪♪

Ah.

Here goes nothing.

♪♪

Whew.
It's scary up here, right?

Ah.

♪♪

Ah.

♪♪

Queen of the mountain, amazing.

Whoo-hoo!

There it is.

While it's been beautiful,
I actually want food

More than I want to stay here.

Ow, ow, ow.

Oh, my goodness.

Smells like civilization.

This challenge was the most
excruciatingly difficult thing

I've endured in my life,
but I stayed alive.

Narrator: kelly survived 17 days
on her own and lost 30 pounds.

Her psr rises from 6.6 to 7.6.

♪♪

Kelly actually means
warrior woman, go figure,

And I learned that I'm just
a tough-a*s chick,

And I always have been,
and at 42,

I've got that *bleep* down.

I love you, africa.