Water, water everywhere, but too many crocs to drink…
Could you survive for 35 hours in a South African game reserve without getting caught? Or eaten? It’s not a question that comes up often for most of us – the nearest I’ve come recently is Can you survive a 3 hour train journey without any sandwiches? I did, but then I wasn’t being tracked by armed ex-Special Forces commandos. And there were no lions waiting at Bristol Parkway to bite my head off. (You can see why Discovery haven’t yet turned to my life for a TV series).
Joel Lambert in Manhunt
The star of Manhunt is ex-Navy SEAL Joel Lambert, who looks like he knows how to extricate himself from most forms of trouble – except maybe the mouth of a hungry hyena. ‘I’ll die before I quit’ is one of his aphorisms and the biggest difference between this adventure and his military escapades is that here he is not bristling with weapons. Nor is he going to get shot if he is caught – although he might be supper for some of the predators in the reserve.
Normally the International Anti-Poaching Foundation track and apprehend poachers. In this programme they are demonstrating their ability to track Joel through the reserve. With Lambert’s entry and extraction points unknown to the tracking team the chase is as difficult as any of those in their daily fight with poachers.
The ability of the trackers to read the signs left in the bush are remarkable. Some of the men in the team are – it’s nice to use a phrase entirely in context – poachers turned gamekeepers. They can tell how long ago a footprint was made, use broken leaves and displaced rocks to calculate Joel’s route. Spooked animals and murky waters both hold messages for them. All useful information if you ever need to track someone across the bush.
I thought a Tomahawk was some sort of nuclear missile. It seems it isn’t as a Tomahawk is one of the few pieces of equipment Joel takes on his mission. It’s just him and a rucksack. And a cameraman – who must have been pretty nifty to keep up with the ex-soldier as he makes his way through the bush.
Tension is provided by nature. After all, not only is Lambert being tracked by humans, there are several communities of animals who wouldn’t say no to – as one of the trackers puts it – ‘SEAL on toast’. In the evening the big cats come out, during the day the hippos are around, and they are not a bunch of creatures you want to annoy. Hyenas, vultures – these are the local inhabitants of the area where Joel decides to spend the night – or at least the few hours when it is too dark to move.
Showing how the trackers use all their senses, this is boy’s own adventure stuff with music that adds to the sense of drama. It gives an insight into the skill and technique needed to evade capture as well as shots of African animals. I wasn’t sure who would win the manhunt. Of course the presenter seemed a good bet, but the IAPF would want to appear on top of their game. Will they all be mates at the end? You’ll have to watch to find out.
Watch a clip from the series:
Manhunt airs on Discovery Channel, from Thursday 13th February at 9pm.
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