Saving Sirga: Journey into the Heart of a Lion

Name: Saving Sirga: Journey into the Heart of a Lion
Released: 2016-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
Cast: Valentin Gruener

TV Show · Documentary · Special Interest

Witness the warm bond that develops between conservationist Valentin Gruener and the lion cub he rescues from a Botswana game farm and raises by hand.

2016 · 54m

Starring Valentin Gruener

Director Jürgen Jozefowicz

EPISODE 1

Dead Lion Walking

Sirga is a small cub; Willie the lion hunter's confession; rogue lions feast on cattle; feeding and looking after captive rogue lions.
EPISODE 2

First Blood

Val and Sirga go out on a hunt; Sirga chases kudu, plays with a small tortoise and learns about the dangers oryx horns pose to a young lioness; Val goes with Willie to take an oryx to an isolated San settlement.
EPISODE 3

The Desert Lives

Dramatic changes in the rainy season transforms the Kalahari and exposes Sirga's vulnerability when it comes to hunting antelope; following the emergence, mating and pro-creation of African bull frogs.
EPISODE 4

Uncertain Times

Highlighting the vulnerability of captive-bred predators in the Kalahari; Val and Sirga go hunting and swim in a seasonal pan, encountering a puff adder, lizards and a large tortoise; Val gives the orphaned wild dog puppies a rabies vaccination.
EPISODE 5

Death of a Lion

Exploring whether capturing lions is better than shooting them; large predators are hardwired to live, fight and die on their own terms, and it takes constant vigilance to keep them safe in captivity.
EPISODE 6

Sirga, the Huntress

Sirga chases eland; three male lions are moved into an electrified enclosure; a scientist takes samples of maggots found in a dead wildebeest's horns; Val moves a one-eyed lion's enclosure; on a morning hunt, Sirga chases down a wildebeest calf.