LIfe Lessons From The Wild
with the Lion whisperer
Kevin Richardson wasn’t always the Lion Whisperer. Before a video of him playfully wrestling with lions endeared him to millions of YouTube viewers around the world, he was simply a kid from Orange Grove, north of Jozi, with a “certain wildness” about him.
As a youngster Kevin Richardson knew he wanted to work with animals. He tried twice, unsuccessfully, to get into veterinary college at the University of Pretoria but the dean didn’t seem impressed with Kevin’s firm belief that it’s more important for a vet to be able to relate to the animals, than getting straight ‘A’s. He did however managed to complete a BSc, and while working as an exercise physiologist he had his date with destiny when Rodney Fuhr, the owner of the well-known Muldersdrift Lion Park, came in. The two struck up a relationship and Kevin was invited to the park. On his fifirst visit, the park manager, Richard, briefed Kevin on the cage rules: Don’t make eye contact; no sudden movements; don’t crouch; and don’t run! Kevin confifi dently stepped into the enclosure with two six-month old cubs, Napoleon and Tau. A day that changed Kevin’s life forever! Kevin was eventually hired full-time at the Lion Park, where his unusual methods didn’t endear him to other lion trainers. “What good is a stick going to be if a lion really wants to get at you?” he pointed
out. Kevin would later find this out first-hand when Tsavo, a large adult male lion who had, luckily for Kevin, been declawed, mauled Kevin in front of his visiting family. Kevin and Tsavo battled in the dust with Tsavo’s huge, serrated canines snapping just inches from Kevin’s face. It was a humbling moment for Kevin, but one that drove him on even harder in his work with lions. Kevin later teamed up with award-winning documentary maker Michael Rosenberg, and together they made Dangerous Companions. Since then, Kevin has been involved in many research projects and fifilmed Growing up Hyena and In Search of a Legend – the story of the elusive, mysterious black leopard that’s been haunting Lydenberg for the last 50 years. Recently, Kevin moved himself and his growing family (both humans and animals) to a farm just outside the Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng. This is where he produced the feature fifilm White Lion, a touching, beautifully shot story of a white lion cub called Letsatsi. The film won three SAFTAs. Here, Kevin shares some life lessons he has learned from the wild with Gtribe: from survival, nurturing and hierarchy, to attracting that perfect mate and how tough it is being a single male.
As the Lion Whisperer, you are famous for your ‘unusual’ methods of working with animals, including leaving the sticks behind. How do you build relationships with animals?
Building a relationship with an animal is like building one with a human. The more you put in, the more you get out. This especially holds true for the early years of the animal’s life. I approach them with respect, trust and love and try to always positively reinforce the character traits that you would like them to exhibit as adults. Take a father and son for example. If the father is there for his son during his development years then it stands to reason that their relationship will be strong later on in life, as opposed to a father who wasn’t there for his son during his youth.
The lion is the king of the jungle! What does it take to become the leader of the pack?
Determination, courage and strength — also knowing when to fight and when to back away! This is an important ingredient in the wild, as one wrong decision can get you killed.
You’ve had some close calls while working with some of the most dangerous animals in the wild. Learned any lessons?
Learned any lessons? I was ‘attacked’ by an adult male lion early on in my career and learnt some valuable lessons, having been able to walk away from it. The important lesson is that in life, all good things come to those who wait. It sounds clichéd, I know, but it’s very true for so many things. “To go fast, sometimes you’ve first got to take it slow!” Looking back, most of the close calls I’ve had are due to rushing and misreading, or simply choosing to ignore the obvious signs I was given.
If a lion could give a human some pointers on survival, what would they be?
I think one of the biggest pointers a lion could give a human is only to take what you need. Very rarely do you see a lion ‘killing’ for no apparent reason. There is always a reason for them expending the energy to kill something. Also, perseverance is something that humans could learn from lions. Only about one in fifi ve kills is successful. Applied to humans you could use the old adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.”
In your book, you describe the lions Napoleon and Tau as your brothers. What has being in the inner circle of a lion pride taught you about the value of family?
Family is really important to a lion, especially males. They rely a great deal on their bonds with each other for support, protection and survival, especially when it comes to maintaining tenure over their pride. This is as important in humans as it’s your family that’s always there for you when the going gets tough. It’s sad to see so many families who don’t get along these days and it’s normally due to silly reasons.
Some wild, baby animals are raised by their parents, while others are left to fend for themselves from birth. What’s your take on nurturing?
Nurturing normally occurs in species that are more ‘advanced’ brain-wise. So learning from parents is an important aspect in the wild. As human, we are a product of our parents and that’s why I think parents play a greater role in the outcome of our lives than we would like to think. That said,I do believe there is such a thing as ‘over’-nurturing. This just results in brats. So like all things in life, I think it’s about striking the perfect balance. This is easier said than done and one always learns from past experience.
Let’s talk about mating rituals! Does nature have any tips for us on how to attract your perfect mate?
Yes! Try and be in tip-top condition and you are bound to attract a mate. A bird with better colours and plumage than another stands more chance of being sexually selected than one who doesn’t. This also gives them confifi dence. So it stands to reason that if you look good you feel good. Same with lions and humans — although in humans we’ve tried to be politically correct. We use phrases like, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ and ‘beauty is only skin deep’, but let the truth be known – we are still sexual creatures.
Male lions are often characterised as sleeping in the shade all day while the lioness does all the hunting. What are the roles actually like in the pride?
Male lions protect the territory and pride against roaming males and other prides; this involves large amounts of distances to cover and stressful encounters that can result in injury and even death. What people also don’t realise is how difficult a male lion’s life is, from when he is kicked out of the pride at around two years of age until he is strong enough to take over a pride of his own. For about two to three years they are sometimes solitary and have to fend for themselves and catch their own prey. So by the time they take on a pride they do need to conserve their physical condition to protect the pride that they worked so hard to get!
Do you think that this dynamic works for humans?
I do believe, like in lions, there needs to be one boss in the house. There are things we can take from lions and the way they live, however, we are different as a species. Although having thought about it, it would be nice to have a harem of females all to myself! Only kidding!
PART OF THE PRIDE: MY LIFE AMONG THE BIG CATS OF AFRICA
is available from Exclusive Books for R230.
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