Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Nat'l Geographic Vid
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 1998
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304474636
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,110 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Although we romanticize lions as mighty kings of the jungle, their reign is in fact a tenuous one. It is challenged daily in southern Africa by vicious packs of hyenas that compete for prey. Between the two species exists an ancient feud, and it unfolds in Eternal Enemies with all the drama of the warring Capulets and Montagues. Watch as lions bring down a zebra, only to be attacked themselves by a pack of hyenas that chases them into the trees. Glowering, the big cats watch as the thieves devour their dinner. Days later the lions exact revenge, killing the hyena leader but leaving her uneaten as a warning to the rest of the clan. Other scenes in this video are equally impressive, including life inside a hyena den--which captures the sounds of lions growling outside--and a tense encounter between a snake-bitten lioness and a pack of hyenas. With its gripping story line, Eternal Enemies is a standout among animal documentaries. --Demian McLean

Product Description

Trek into the hidden battlefields of northern Botswana where lions and spotted hyenas clash in overlapping territories. With never-before-seen footage, much of it filmed at night, you'll uncover an intense and vicious blood feud that has been waged for millennia. Follow the Southern Clan, led by a powerful hyena matriarch whose firstborn female cub kills her sister at birth to assure her succession as leader of the clan. Lurk in the shadows as a lioness from the Central Pride gives birth to three cubs and then encounters a deadly Egyptian cobra. You'll be stunned by breathtaking chase scenes as the hyena matriarch is brutally killed by a male lion, throwing the clan into chaos. Discover nature's savage conflicts in this ancient rivalry between ETERNAL ENEMIES: LIONS AND HYENAS.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lions and Hyenas Oh My!, September 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: National Geographic Video: Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is as intense and savage as nature videos get. Great narration from a strong voiced Powers Boothe lends urgency to the film, I was all wrapped up in it just seconds after it began thanks to him. The Lions are not always the "King Of The Beasts" as you might think. When a pack of Hyenas attacks, the Lionesses are pretty helpless to defend there kill. However one male Lion refuses to be bullied. A male whose African names means "He Who Comes With Fire" is big, bold, and definetly pissed! When he attacks the Hyenas, his intent is not a meal, it is simply to kill. You can almost feel his hatred for the Hyenas, can there be anything in Africa more fearsome? Almost as if to drive the point home, he leaves the leader of the Hyena clan out in the open in a crumpled heap for all the Hyenas to see. Not dead, mind you, but with a broken back, having just crushed her spine in his massive jaws. A stark reminder that nature can be savage, and merciless, definetly cruel. He is also an attentive, almost loving father to his cubs, allowing them to crawl all over him, even as he tries to sleep in the shade. I highly recommend this video for anyone seeking to delve deeper than the average glossed over nature video goes.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a savage, riveting documentary, May 19, 2005

By 

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: National Geographic Video: Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is without question the most violent, horrific animal documentary I have ever seen; the fight for survival between the lions and hyenas is brutal, but goes beyond fighting over food, to actual territorial warfare. The cruelty shown in this footage should not be seen by children, but is extremely educational for those who have the stomach for it.
There is also a segment on the agony of a poisoned lioness that is terribly sad, and hard to watch.

You will learn things about hyenas that will surprise you: It is a matriarchal society, where the males are smaller, and their role in the pack quite marginal. The females also have the appearance of hermaphrodites, and engage in "mock mating", caught on film here for the first time. We also witness their habit of fratricide, where the most powerful of the young will kill its weaker brother or sister.
The ferocity of the hyenas, coupled with their "laughing" sounds, make these scavengers truly "the horrors of the night".

Much of this documentary is chilling, some of it is very moving, and all of it is unforgettable. Filmed in the northern regions of Botswana, the creative forces behind this film are Dereck and Beverly Joubert, and the narration of the beautifully written (and often quite poetic) script is by Powers Boothe.
Watching a film like this puts the harshness of nature into perspective, and also says a lot about our lower instincts, and the "endless cycles of life and death", shown here with some spectacular cinematography.
Total running time is one hour.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True, to the Point, June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: National Geographic Video: Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas [VHS] (VHS Tape)

It may seem weird that a person from South Africa, like myself should want to watch a film on Lions and Hyenas. The thing is is that when I cannot get into the bush I watch movies like this one. I have yet to see a film that is so true about the interactions between these two animals. Many people think that the Lions are at the top of the African food chain, but they are infact possibly second to the Hyenas. This is the first film that I have seen that actually shows a Clan of Hyenas hunting for food , and a Pride of Lions scavanging form their greatest enemies. This is so far the best movie about Africa that my friends and I have ever witnessed.