National Geographic Channel's Explorer crawls through the African grassland and the swamps of India to track, capture and reveal the ultimate engineering and stealth ambush tactics of lions, tigers and leopards.
In Tanzania Africa, lions rule the___1___. It’s 9:00 pm. And lions, maybe even a whole___2___, are hunting for prey. Hundreds of pounds of muscle and bones slip silently through the bush. And tonight, their search for food takes them to an edge of a village called Umhalanga. Police officers mingle around the local station house, no one is aware of the danger ___3___nearby, until terrified cries come from the forest. Two men, running for their lives, behind them, two lions, working together, executing their ambush. Within seconds, the lions reach the men, just outside the village police station. The officers are trapped inside with no way to help the victims. One policeman takes aim through the protective window, and fires. It’s far too late. Both men are now dead. Only later will he learn that his shots were successful, and that the lions too are dead. But this attack reveals some critical aspects of big cat engineering.
The attack began with a lion’s_____4_____, launching their _____5_____directly onto the victim. Once a lion ___6___on its ___7___, uses pure muscle power to haul the prey to the ground. The men were trapped beneath the big cat’s giant, 8-inch paws, and 4-inch claws, pinning them down. The _____8_____open, to reveal 3 to 4-inch __9___that can bite with enough power to crack a spine.
These victims have joined a long list of tragedies in Tanzania. On average, lions kill at least one person in this country every week. And this _____10_____is converted into farmland, scientists fear these numbers will rise.
