Search - Nature: Leopards and Lions on DVD

Mount Everest to Mount Kilimanjaro - 2 cat breeds, 2 contine

Kyle Tolle | Phoenix, Arizona USA | 09/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Part One: Silent Roar - Searching for the Snow Leopard

Known as the `rooftop of the world', the often brutal and virtually uninhabitable mountain range of the Himalayas is the home to the Snow Leopard. These cats are often elusive and secretive and research of them has been minimal due to the harsh environment here.

In an adventure four years in the making, a film crew in this opening program becomes some of the first ever to document Snow Leopard behaviors such as hunting, mating, and exploring. Using several remotely activated cameras placed strategically on the mountainside, much of the footage is taken from this. Although a couple of shots are blurry, everything else is distinct and clear and seeing these beautiful cats up close is a real treat.

Additional points of interest within this first half examine the local inhabitant's who live near the Himalayas, other animal species that share this territory with the Snow Leopards, and the various challenges that were faced by the production team while making this film.

Part Two: The Vanishing Lions

Possibly the most respected and revered of the big cats, Lions have reigned well as King's of the Jungle for generations but now they face a questionable future. Traveling to a game preserve in Kenya and looking at information from Nairobi, here is an intriguing and sometimes distressing portrait of disappearing Lion populations.

Once inhabiting several geographical regions on earth, they are now struggling just to survive in eastern and southern Africa. Probable causes of their deaths take center stage in this second half of the program. Apart from a virus in the mid 1990's, the predominant threat to Lions today is mankind.

Several factors explored in this latter half of part two are habitat encroachment, protecting livestock against Lion attacks, indiscriminate killing for bush meat, and trophy hunting. With surviving Lion numbers dangerously low, thoughts are revealed on techniques such as artificial insemination and cloning for ideas to save the species.

Although I'm partial to Tigers as my favorite feline species, I really enjoyed this documentary on several levels. First off, as in many Nature series programs, camera work is excellent for both parts, the scope of the research is in-depth and educational, and the main subjects are always interesting. `Nature: Leopards and Lions' is a great production in my opinion and I recommend it to everyone.



"

Good but not that good

Nasser A. Shama | Ca USA | 05/29/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I LIKED THE LION PORTION BETTER THEN THE SNOW LEAPARD PORTION. I DONT LIKE TO SEE HUMANS IN MY ANIMAL SHOWS. WHEN THEY DONT GET ENOUGH FOOTAGE THEY ALWAYS SHOW HOW THEY TRIED TO GET THE FOOTAGE & THAT IS NOT WHAT I WANT TO WATCH. I DONT RECOMMEND THIS DVD"