BBC Kingdom (2025) s01e01 Episode Script

1
This is Nsefu, in the heart of Zambia
part of a national park on
the banks of the Luangwa River.
Here, for five years, we've been
following the remarkable story
of four rival families.
They're all striving to
make this place a home
but this is a land
full of challenges.
And the greatest challenge
comes from each other.
In this series,
we will see these rivals compete
to stake their claim on this land.
Some will rise
others will fall.
Who will succeed in ruling
this precious kingdom?
For over a decade, Nsefu has
been home to a remarkable leopard.
This is Olimba.
She controls one of the richest
leopard territories for miles around.
It's an excellent place
to bring up the next generation.
She has a son and a daughter.
Even here, it's rare for a leopard
to succeed in raising two cubs.
Olimba is a single mother
with a tough job ahead of her.
Her territory is very crowded.
The first critical lesson for
her cubs is what is safe
and what, and who, should be avoided.
The best way to learn is
through first-hand experience.
Olimba's son, Moyo, is bold.
His sister, Mutima, is more cautious
and seems happy to let her
brother push the boundaries.
That is a threat.
It's time to lead the cubs away.
But there is another danger,
and Olimba has no idea that it's coming.
Five miles away,
a wild dog is crossing into Nsefu.
She is known as Storm.
And with her comes her pack.
They're searching for a new home.
Wild dogs haven't
settled here for years.
Their sudden arrival
catches everyone by surprise.
Most animals get out of
the way of stampeding elephants.
But Storm holds her ground.
And the rest of the pack support her.
Faced by the power of this pack,
even elephants back down.
Storm's calls bring
everyone to her side
before she leads
them deeper into Nsefu
and right towards Olimba's territory.
A leopard mother must
not only protect her cubs
Day in, day out, they're always hungry,
so Olimba must hunt frequently.
The cubs would be more
of a hindrance than a help,
so Moyo and Mutima stay behind.
Leopards are ambush predators
and, to be successful, she must
get to within ten metres of her prey.
Striking distance.
Storm and her pack are here.
And they are hunting.
It's hard to escape dogs
that can run as fast as 40mph.
But there is one place
where they WON'T follow.
This hunt is over.
But now they have spotted Olimba,
a rival.
The pack could kill her.
High in the trees is
the safest place for her.
Bringing up her cubs
here has just got harder.
Storm and her pack, like everyone here,
have been drawn into this rich territory
by one thing
water.
In the heart of Nsefu
is the Luangwa River.
It never runs dry.
This river sustains
an extraordinary variety of life.
The twisting, turning stretch of land
along the eastern
bank is particularly rich.
Critically, it's full of prey.
An excellent home for Olimba.
But now she has
the dogs to worry about
she's spending
more time in the trees.
It's the safest place for her cubs.
They seem quite unaware
that anything has changed.
Today they're focused on becoming
agile hunters.
One day, these cubs will
be able to leap six metres
and ambush their prey.
But that day is a long
way into the future.
Leopards hunt over 100
different kinds of prey,
anything from wildebeest to porcupines.
How hard can it be to
catch a bush squirrel?
Quite hard!
But not as hard as
the challenges now facing Olimba.
Over the next few weeks,
a new sound drifts over Nsefu.
The soft calls of Storm's pack, as they
come together after a successful hunt.
They've never had it so good.
But their very success
makes them a target.
Hyenas.
They've detected the kill
from over a mile away.
Stealing from someone
else is what they do best.
The dogs' meal could
be gone in minutes
but Storm and her pack
mount a counterattack.
They split into groups and drive
back each hyena, one by one.
Hyenas are twice
the size of wild dogs
but here they've met their match.
The super-strength of
wild dogs is their unity.
Storm is not only a leader,
she's also a mother.
And this is her family.
They will support her, no matter what.
A few miles south of the dogs
stands a grove of ebony trees.
They are over 20 metres tall and create
shade, that makes this a popular place
for the locals to relax.
And with them is Tandala.
She has stayed at home while
her clan are out looking for food.
Baboons would usually raise
the alarm at the sight of a predator,
but when a hyena is taking it this easy,
there is no threat.
Tandala is about to become
a mother for the first time.
This cooling mud-bath
is particularly welcome.
A precious moment of rest
cut short by
the ever-grumpy elephants.
Being pregnant,
Tandala needs to eat as much as she can.
Sniffing out scraps
is the safest strategy.
An abandoned carcass, a rare find.
The rest of Tandala's clan
are back and still hungry.
She needs to protect her food.
Hiding it in the water
conceals its smell.
"Nothing much to see here.
Just having a drink."
That fooled them.
With her unborn cub to provide for,
she has to be a bit selfish.
All mothers, including mothers-to-be,
have to exploit every opportunity
whenever it comes.
In the dry season, fallen flowers
are a welcome treat for grazers.
This hasn't gone unnoticed by Olimba.
Again, she has left her cubs behind,
because this is going to
need real concentration.
One mistake could be fatal,
for her and for her cubs.
No damage done, but no meal either.
Each failure puts her
under ever greater pressure.
Back at this dry gully,
her favourite hunting ground,
there's no sign of
Storm's wild dog pack.
With the coast clear, Mutima and Moyo
can leave the safety of the trees
to watch and learn.
This should be enough to
sustain her and the cubs for days.
But they have company.
One of the hyena clan.
Female leopards are small,
and that puts them at the bottom
of the predator hierarchy here.
Olimba holds back
understandably.
But Moyo is not only hungry, he's bold.
He and his mother
start to work together.
Mutima is staying well clear of it.
This is getting dangerous.
Persistence from both youngster
and mother
tips the balance.
There's plenty left for the family,
and Olimba wastes no time
in getting it safely stored
away and hidden from rivals.
Moyo's risk-taking has led to success
this time.
As the weeks go by,
the dry season takes a firm hold.
Temperatures rise to
over 40 degrees Celsius.
In the heat of the day, mother-to-be
Tandala is fast asleep, again.
A rude awakening, but perhaps
also an opportunity for a meal.
It's not easy to steal
from Storm's pack.
Tandala is in for a shock.
She has no way to escape.
Desperately, Tandala tries
to protect both her back
and her belly.
Lions are the strongest and
most aggressive predators in Africa.
and male lions can
take anything they want.
With the dogs distracted,
it's a chance for Tandala to sneak away.
Lions are the biggest
threat to wild dogs.
There hasn't been a powerful lion pride
at the core of Nsefu for many months.
This couldn't have come
at a worse time for Storm.
She has a secret.
Eight vulnerable puppies.
They can play in safety around
their den, it's their nursery.
In wild dog families, everyone in
the pack helps protect and raise a litter.
Storm has been keeping them
as close as possible to the den
but before long, they will be old
enough to go out with the adults
and that will be
Storm's biggest test yet.
With Nsefu becoming
more and more crowded
with more and more rivals
the pressure is rising,
for anyone with a family to protect.
Olimba's cubs are now seven months old.
Mutima is trying to get
comfortable up in the trees.
Below,
Moyo is showing ever more independence.
His ever-growing curiosity leads him
further and further away from his mother.
When Olimba calls for her son,
Moyo usually answers within minutes
but today, nothing.
She has been searching since dawn.
Her calls are becoming more urgent.
Still no reply.
And now night is falling.
Night is the most dangerous time
for her son to be out there alone.
She is exhausted.
Male lions will attack rival
predators to eliminate competition.
He is over four times Olimba's size
and can move almost silently.
He could never catch
her up in the trees.
Lions aren't the only
ones out here in the dark.
Olimba is trapped
again.
Mutima has been patiently
waiting where her mother left her.
Olimba is back
but she has returned alone.
Moyo is dead.
His injuries bear all
the signs of a lion attack.
Perhaps he was just too bold.
Guiding Mutima to adulthood
will now be Olimba's sole focus.
The wild dog puppies are now old enough
to join an expedition away from the den.
Their excitement is infectious.
They're still under
Storm's watchful eye.
To keep safe, they must stay together,
and close to the adults.
The male lion is back
and he's not alone.
Lions are the major
killers of wild dog puppies.
Storm must get the puppies
to the hidden den, now.
But one puppy hasn't followed her back.
Can Storm rescue her pup in time?
Or will it have to face the lions alone?