"Heart of a Lioness" Transcript, continued

chasedbytigers: How hard was it to stay detached during your research, and how much did this experience change your life?

Saba Douglas-Hamilton: Meeting Kamunyak and the calf had a profound impact on my life, and my sister's. For one, it turned upside down everything we thought we knew about lions. Throughout, we hoped that somehow the calf might be able to reunite to its mother, or that Kamunyak would tire of it and abandon it. And of course, there was always the possibility that she would change her mind and eat it... But as the days passed, we were lulled into a false sense of security. It was clear that the oryx had managed somehow to get back to its mum to suckle on at least one occasion and receive just enough sustenance to stay alive, and that Kamunyak could leave to hunt if she really wanted too. I must admit it seems strange to say it now, but the possibility of a rogue lion attack didn't really cross our minds. I guess we were totally engrossed in the present, like everyone else. When it finally happened, it was such an obvious ending to this extraordinary tale. We were deeply saddened, but also relieved that Kamunyak would now have to think about herself and live.

As for the intervening, I was dead against it, as I firmly believe that nature must take its course unless the event is caused directly by the hand of man (i.e., poaching, snaring, spearing). The incident took place inside a national park, which is a natural environment, and it was an entirely natural event — despite being highly unusual. The final decision of whether or not to intervene lay in the hands of the park warden. He took the decision to feed the lioness, but when that failed it was unanimously agreed to stand back. I think he was right. When Kamunyak took the second baby, there was so much misguided emotional investment that people rushed in unthinkingly to save the calf by removing it from Kamunyak. The result: a terrified lioness, an oryx calf with a life in captivity and no further light shed upon Kamunyak's behavior. She was clearly disturbed by human interference, and for a lioness already traumatized by solitude, the forcible removal of the calf only made it worse. The problem is that unless one has a very good understanding of natural history and behavior, the best intentions can have the worst results. On many occasions, well-meaning tourists have "rescued" lion or cheetah cubs they have found "abandoned" by their mums. Actually, mum had hidden the cub so that she could go off hunting.

As far as discovering the absolute truth of why and what lay behind her aberrant behavior — and whether or not it was caused as a result of humans — my sister and I were only ever able to speculate on the cause and effect based on the best available data we had at hand, and that is what we presented in the film.

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