Dying/Injured creatures in Nature Shows - Question.?

Question

I watch alot of nature documentaries on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic and wonder why they always film the animals dying rather than helping them. I realize that there may be laws prohibiting them, but alot of these species are endangered. You think the people filming would have animal experts nearby who could help save them instead of filming a poor cheetah starving underneath a bush. It's valuble cubs later became a feast for hyenas to snatch at. I know it's nature, but come on! They complain about saving animal populations but I dont see much saving going on in these shows.

Answer 1

I see your heart breaking point.  The one that still haunts me to this day is a "Nature " special where a mother lion was killed and her three cubs couldn't be called out of hiding by the mother's sisters in the rest of the pride.  The last seen of the three cubs was them struggling to work their way through a swamp.

As the link below shows though, this isn't always the case.  "Nature" did a special series on "The Cheetah Orphans", in this director Simon King shows his story of raising two cheetah cubs nearly by hand -- with heartbreaking and amazing results.

It turns out that wildlife producers / directors aren't helpless or heartless in their decisions.  Just some decide to show the wild as it is and help the young, orphaned, helpless and hurt...well... "off camera".

Answer 2

A poor cheetah starving ...is it because she's not fit to hunt ? Then is she fit to survive ? What is the point of helping her if she isn't fit to hunt in the first place ? It will just all go back to square one again after she has been assisted. If she isn't a good hunter , very likely her offsprings has her genes and won't be fit to survive in the wild.As a result , the hyenas has a feast , otherwise would the poor hyenas starve to death ? Aren't they threatened too ? People need to understand the reality of nature. In the Blue Planet , the killer whales hunt and eat seals , so shall one dive to the seals' rescue and let the whales starve ?

Answer 3

From an ecological point it is also important to remember that cheetahs in particular are affected by tourism. They have only so much energy to expend on catching their prey, due to the extremely high energy requirements of their sprinting. If this sprint is fruitless (or meatless in this case..) due to tourists taking pictures too close by for instance and thus disturbing either cheetah or prey, she might not necessarily have enough energy to hunt again especially when nursing. It is not a matter of her genetic ability to hunt. If she managed to grow to adulthood and maintain herself through pregnancy and nursing she clearly was not a genetic misfit, more likely a victim of people nearby, often well-meaning, disturbing her life at a crucial moment. Very sad!

Answer 4

Because that what really happens in the real world. It's survival of the fit and healthy, No welfare check for the sick lame and lazy. "Helping" would only pospone the inevitable and cause the animal to suffer longer.

Kits taken over by humans would not learn all the skills neccesary for survival that they would have if raised by mom  and would be disadvantaged and probably killed shortly after  being returned to "nature" anyway.

Many of these people filming actually get emotionally attached and feel worse than you do actually.

Answer 5

I guess they can't help it because of that whole thing about if you touch an animal, it's relatives won't accept it because your smell is on it.

Or perhaps they wanted to document how things really happen in the wild, regardless, there are people out there who do strive to help these animals live, what you can do is sign petitions about it or buy those little plushies and donate money to keeping the animal your plushie represents alive. I'll email you the website.