Primal Survivor
Primal Survivor tracks wilderness guide and survival instructor Hazen Audel as he tackles some of mankind's most rigorous journeys, relying on skills learned from native inhabitants.After first living with the locals to understand their way of life, he sets out on solo journeys through territories that push him to his very limits.
Genre: Documentary, Action, Adventure
Cast:Hazen Audel
S1.E1 ∙ Cannibal Legend
Hazen Audel attempts to reach a former headhunting village, travelling across crocodile-infested lakes and crossing ancient tribal boundaries.
S1.E2 ∙ Savage Jungle
Hazen Audel embarks on a journey to the notorious Darien Gap, based on a traditional solo jungle trek made by young men of the Embera tribe.
S1.E3 ∙ Killer Cold
Explorer Hazen Audel embarks on a challenging solo mission to safely deliver 200 reindeer to their spring birthing grounds in the Arctic Circle.
S1.E4 ∙ Into Raging Waters
In southeast Asia, Hazen must use daredevil skill to climb into the heart of powerful waterfalls and catch fish in the deadly whitewater rapids.
S1.E5 ∙ Killer Climb
Armed with only basic tools and the ancient skills of the Maasai, Hazen must climb 7,000 feet to the summit of an active volcano.
S1.E6 ∙ Deadly Waters
Hazen embarks on a challenging solo sea-faring mission, based on a traditional ocean voyage to remote fishing grounds undertaken by Bajau nomads.
S1.E7 ∙ Thin Air
Deep in the foothills of the Himalayas, Hazen Audel is on a quest to lead a herd of yaks across the wilderness to the ancient city of Lomanthang.
S1.E8 ∙ Scorched Earth
Hazen Audel embarks on an epic trek that will mirror a traditional Berber nomad journey across the Saharan desert cauldron to an oasis.
S2.E1 ∙ Jungle Sacrifice
Hazen Audel takes on a challenging trek through the remote jungles of Siberut Island, Indonesia. Negotiating deadly snakes and monsoon rains, he'll join an elite band of tribal hunters. Hazen's success depends on the ancient survival knowledge of the shamanistic Mentawai tribe, and he will be pushed to the edge of his strength and skill in this jungle sacrifice.
S2.E2 ∙ Deadly Desert
Hazen Audel embarks on a grueling trek through the deserts of northern Namibia and delivers a sacred gift to a tribe that lives in the barren dunes. He'll be pushed to the edge of endurance by blistering heat and virtually no water surrounded by some of the deadliest animals in Africa. With the survival skills of the striking Himba tribe, Hazen will see if he's got what it takes to survive the desert.
S2.E3 ∙ Outback Inferno
Hazen Audel ventures into the Australian outback in search of a hidden freshwater oasis. On this epic endurance challenge, our determined survivalist will face blistering heat and some of the most deadly creatures in the world, with almost no water. But armed with the skills of the region's Aboriginal people, Hazen will see if he has what it takes to unlock the secrets and survive this inferno.
S2.E4 ∙ Hostile Canyon
In the deepest canyon in North America, Hazen Audel takes on a deadly solo run. He must navigate mountainous terrain and plunging chasms with just the traditional sandals of the Raramuri for protection. Venomous animals, sheer cliffs and soaring temperatures stand between Hazen and his journey's end in the valley below.
S2.E5 ∙ Killer Seas
In the seething waters of a remote volcanic island of Pongso No Tao, Hazen Audel sets out on an epic ocean journey in a tiny traditional wooden boat called a tatala. Following in the wake of the remarkable Tao people who fish these inhospitable waters, Hazen braves treacherous tropical seas on a quest to reach the deep water, determined to catch a prized big fish and prove his manhood.
S2.E6 ∙ Killer Blizzard
Hazen Audel is on a grueling mission through the frozen wilds of northern Canada, on a search for a herd of migratory caribou. In one of his most challenging missions, he faces lethal temperatures way below zero, howling blizzards and treacherous icy river crossings in a land roamed by wolves. Pushed to the limits, he must rely on the skills of the James Bay Cree to survive this punishing journey.
S4.E1 ∙ Episode #4.1
Having lived and helped build a long house for the Melanesian Salgon people on Gaua island, in northern Vanuata (New Hebrides), Hazen returns to join the warriors on traditional boar hunt for a newborn's baptism ceremony. Its' a long voyage to the interior on the other side of the island, which surrounds a still-active volcano. He starts off rowing along the coast, where he proves himself as spear fisher, then must hack through dense jungle, mindful of many dangerous creatures, like venomous snakes, and scraping by food, even when he has to climb a cathedral-size tree to gather two dove eggs, and improvising fire and shelter. He must paddle again on the lake surrounding the volcano, which he must climb as the ancestral hunting grounds are surrounding it. He joins the men, who hand him a bamboo spear to help drive a wild boar along a steep slope into a leaves-covered pit they dug, then it's killed by spears and he's delegated to collect their game prize and bring it to the village for the ceremony.
S4.E2 ∙ Episode #4.2
(DESERT WARRIORS) Hazen returns to the Rendille tribal village where he learned their camel nomad skills and sets out to collect one from the herdsmen camping out way in the Kenyan desert. He avoids creepy critters like the camel spider and snakes, find someone beat him at harvesting honey from wild bees and digs for water. He crosses crocodile-infested Lake Turkana in a canoe. Having passed a strange stones site, he finds the herdsmen not at the corral he expected and much join them elsewhere, then camps with them, fearing scorpions and lions after the animals. He manages to return with one camel, enough for a hungry village to feast on.
S4.E3 ∙ Episode #4.3
(EXTREME FORRESTS) Hazen demonstrates the very different skills he learned and some of the extreme forest environments tribes from several previous episodes had to adapt to. In Mexico, the Raramundi become unsurpassed runners in Copper Canyon, a mountainous system that is steep, dry, hot, easy to get lost in and full with venomous wildlife. The Canadian Cree deal by dogsled and snowshoes with herding caribou in Arctic conditions, where life nearly dies out among the trees. The Lao Loum in the Mekong jungle can only cover distances by raft on the wild river.
S4.E4 ∙ Episode #4.4
(EXTREME tropical ISLANDS) Siome 45000 islands worldwide are challenging to survive on, not least because of isolation, generally focused on fishing. On the Solomons, Hazen learns first how to stock up on land by climbing for coconuts and catching the giant coconut crab with pincers that crack even such had nuts. Then he joins a village community using vines in the coastal reef to gradually close in fish, which can then be scooped up by net. Finally he sets out by ax-crafted canoe, having helped make one, to fish for sharks in open water. From a tiny island off Sulawesi (Indonesia), he learns the Bajou 'sea nomad' ways, including free diving, treating a foot wound from shore mangroves and scavenging in shallow water, aware of dangerous stingray and octopus, and finally takes to the ocean for big fish. Finally the Tao, native people on tiny island off Taiwan, teach him about crafting their sublime canoe and using it to hunt ocean fish.
S4.E5 ∙ Episode #4.5
(EXTREME DESERTS) Hazen learned from experienced tribes how to survive in various desert types. Like the Hima in the Namib, the oldest desert, he concentrates on hunting. The Aboriginal tribe of Arrernte and the wildlife in the scorching central Outback deal masterly with droughts up to seven years, even manage regeneration by controlled bush fire, while expertly gathering like their women and hunting like their men, yet Hazen decides against killing a juvenile monitor. The Samburu in Kenya live from their cow herds, drinking milk and blood, which he finds hard to harvest as the neck must be arrow-pierced each time, and dodging dangerous wildlife like lions and elephants. Finally the Sahara, the largest desert, requires the skill of the Berbers and the moody camel as perfectly adapted mount. All have nasty critters, like spiders and scorpions, and even more edible bugs.
S4.E6 ∙ Episode #4.6
(Extreme Jungles) The Siberut Mentawai teach him hunting with dogs on wild pigs - Hazen needs the skills learned among the cannibal Yimas tribe in the northern jungle of Papua New Guinea an solo expedition from their village to that of a neighboring clan, former enemies and cannibals, over the rough river to their lake. He must steer the hand-cut single tree-canoe standing with one foot on an edge, in the scorching sun. He makes a fire painstakingly and builds a camp to stand a nocturnal drench, constantly visited by creepers, but his drifting funnel catches only one fish, his wild pig trap didn't snap in time. He needs a warrior-worthy gift for the chief to be safely welcomed, but fails to find a crocodile egg and the crocodile hunters party his joins doesn't catch a 'salty', the top predator, but he gets the local, larger piranha-cousin. The Embera in Panama's super-dense Darien Gap jungle also expertly uses rafts. The Huarani in Ecuador's Amazonia welcome rain to harvest honey and are masters with the blowgun to shoot even the most agile monkey.
S4.E7 ∙ Episode #4.7
(EXTREME MOUNTAINS) On the Tibetan highland part of the Himalaya, the isolated Loba people showed Hazen how to survive despite extreme height and temperatures, making best use of yaks as mount, food, fuel, taking a herd to capital Lo Mantang. In northern Tanzania, Hazen learned to live among dangerous wildlife Massai style, on a traditional pilgrimage, to sacrifice goat meat up a high volcano passed elephants, lions. In the Western Monglian Altai mountains, the native Kazahks teach Hazen the art of (fur) hunting with golden eagles, and how to train these mighty birds of prey.
S4.E8 ∙ Episode #4.8
(EXTREME PLAINS) In northern Canada, the Inuit (Eskimo) people showed Hazen how to survive despite extreme temperatures, making best use of dog sleds. In Namibia, Hazen learned to live among the San, who teach him to art of hunt by pursuit on foot. In the Artic north of Scandinavia, the native Nordi Sami (Laps) teach Hazen all about herding reindeer.
S5.E1 ∙ Cloud Forest Hunters
Cloud Forest Hunters: Hazen travels to Laos to meet the Akha tribe. To prove he is worthy of joining one of their hunts, he heads out into the wilderness alone.
S5.E2 ∙ Jungle Ambush
(Jungle Ambush) Hazen learns in a village of the semi-nomadic Mani tribe in the pristine forest of Malaya (peninsular Malaysia), full of wildlife, some as dangerous as vipers, how they live, especially preparing and practicing the traditional blowpipe and darts poisoned with fig sap or harvesting bee hives. As prey gets rare after a few months, the tribe regularly packs everything together and sends a hunters party ahead to prepare a new camp site while the families follow. Hazen proves himself as 'warrior' by journeying to the new valley alone, living from what he catches and gathers in fish and plants. He only ventures in the forest when no river is available to use by self-made raft, but it proves obstructed by rocks, so he risk following it into a huge cave system. Finally he joins the communal wild boar hunt, meat for the resettled village.
S5.E3 ∙ Episode #5.3
Hazen learns the fairly pristine culture of the Marr tribe, which is quite isolated in the highland jungle of inner Papua New Guinea. He seeks to earn an invitation to an impending elaborate traditional wedding by joining in the communal preparations with the villagers, tutored by two elder warriors. They repair the long house feast venue's thatching with freshly cut, painfully sharp long grass, and make their way into a high cave the harvest a bat as delicacy. The whole village uses a dam and poisonous plant for fishing. Then he sets out alone to collect three suitable presents: naturally perforated pandan grass seeds for use as beads, self-made spears and cassowary feathers. He dodges dangers like snakes and crosses the dangerously swollen river just in time to join the hunting party to catch wild boars as live brides price. An the way he trades the self-crafted stone ax he hoped to offer instead of the plumage of the dangerous bird he couldn't find, but bumps into a neighboring village's hunting party, which happily trades it for cassowary feathers. The impressed chief is happy to have Hazen face-painted and admitted to the arranged wedding.
S5.E4 ∙ Masters of Fire
(Masters of Fire) Hazen learns the traditions culture of the Saramaccas, one of six maroon ('bush nigger') tribes in Suriname, descendants of escaped slaves who fled during Dutch colonial from plantations to the Amazonian interior jungle. He seeks to earn an invitation to an impending 'fire dance', an elaborate tradition of the villagers 'inspited by wood spirits'. An old man teaches him to make a canoe, the champion warrior learns him about hunting with an ancestral flint and arranges to meet him far away. He sets out thereto alone on the Suriname river and later into the forest, aware of venomous creatures, constrictors and piranhas. He dodges dangers like snakes or army ants, makes fire, sets a fish trap in a pool and crosses the dense forest. He join the hunter to shoot an agouti for the festival. They return in time with their offerings, to the chief's satisfaction.
S5.E5 ∙ Extreme Tribal Tools
(Extreme Tribal Tools) Hazen compiles what he learned about traditional tools of various tribal cultures from previous episodes and seasons. Includes from the tropics Ecuador's Amazonian Hoarani precision weapon, the blowpipe with home-made curare darts, Panama's Embara balsa rafts to use the numerous rivers and New Guinean highland's Yima dugout canoe, hammock, the odd Samburu throwing weapon to ward off savanna predators. Fo use at sea, the Bajau seas nomads diving goggles and Solomons islanders all join to tie vines into a huge finishing strand 'noose' to catch fish in a large circle after chasing the shark. Also Canadian Artic Inuit ice sled and igloo.
S5.E6 ∙ Extreme Tribal Foods
(Extreme Tribal Foods) Hazen had to get over sôntaneaous disgust at some traditional foods, especially in tribal cultures wehere it's too scarce to waste, such as yak heads in Tibet, pulling the tongue out by mouth and gacking at the horro taste of the brains. Some foods are just 'acquired tastes' such as abundant, live grubs the Amazonian interior jungle. Bee stings are the price for superfood honey, climbing for tree fruit. Fishing requires skill and technique, but for the lao on the upper Mekong also braving wild falls on shaky ropes. Expert hunters like the San in the Kalahari invest much time tracking and sneaking up on prey, dealing with holes or dangerous other wildlife. Some prey are sought after as traditional religious offering or bride price, like wild pigs on Indonesian Siberut, the hunting a tribal bonding feature and young man's initiation. Inuit harvest wild molluscs under the frozen sea during short periods of super-low tide, risking the 'ice ceiling' to cave in.
S5.E7 ∙ Hostile Environments
(Hostile Environments) Hazen learns to brave the perils of tribal homelands. The Dulong in a Chinese valley harvest bee hives from high cliffs. In Laos, the Lao Loum fish among the barely accessible rapids of the mighty upper Mekong. The Rendille tribe in Kenya are camel herdsmen, but also traverse the crocodile-infested Lake Turkana reusing the rare logs to improvise rafts. The Marcushi of Guyana are among the jungle people of Amazonia, abundant in dangers. Even on one volcanic island of Vanuatu, he needs various skills of the Salkon tribe to brave the jungle, a waterfall, the river with rapids, the central lake to pass by canoe, mountain slope and non-dormant volcano fumes.
S5.E8 ∙ Wild Animal Adventures
(Wild Animal Adventures) Hazen considers wildlife no less part of the exciting exploration then tribal cultures in testing environments. The richest and wildest is Amazonia, like the land of the Macushi in Guyana, crawling with caiman, snakes, spiders, dart poison frogs - The rice fields people in Chinese southwestern highland province Guizhou (Kweichow) are man-made with elaborate irrigation, yet teem with wild animals, from 'chiggers' (itchy red mites) to cobras, and even the domesticated water-buffaloes require careful handling due to a residual wild side. The semi-nomadic camel herds in the northern Kenian desert braving heath, drought, predators like lions and hyenas and venomous wildlife, from scorpions to snakes, plus wild bees.
S6.E1 ∙ Escape the Amazon: Poison Jungle
Hazen Audel tackles the Amazon rainforest in the first of his survival challenges. Can he escape the jungle before he's trapped by floods?
S6.E2 ∙ Escape the Amazon: Deadly Plains
In the second leg of his challenge Hazen Audel joins some indigenous cowboys on a dangerous cattle drive north. Hazen tackles giant anaconda, venomous rattlesnakes, and a treacherous river crossing ahead of the coming floods.
S6.E3 ∙ Escape the Amazon: Peaks of Peril
Survivalist Hazen Audel tackles thundering waterfalls and the world's most dangerous snake in the latest leg of his extreme Amazon challenge.
S6.E4 ∙ Escape the Amazon: Storming Waters
Survivalist Hazen Audel fights through endless mangrove swamp, finally reaching the Atlantic Ocean to complete his extreme Amazon challenge.
S6.E5 ∙ Escape the Amazon: Mangrove Maze
With the help of the local Warau people, Hazen Audel learns how to live on water and braves killer bees in a daring night raid, before attempting to deliver a prestigious catch to the Amazon's most northerly people in the final challenge.
S7.E1 ∙ Mighty Mekong: Deadly Descent
Hazen Audel descends from cloud forests high above Laos to join the mighty Mekong River as he begins the survival adventure of a lifetime.
S7.E2 ∙ Mighty Mekong: Edible Gold
Hazen Audel plunges into a world of natural treasures, searching Laos' ancient forests for a precious mushroom that flourishes after months of monsoons.
S7.E3 ∙ Mighty Mekong: Hidden Village
Hidden Village: Hazen Audel faces brutal limestone peaks and dark flooded caves as he seeks out a hidden village deep in the jungles of the Mekong Basin.
