Big Cats 24/7 (2024) s01e02 Episode Script

1
Call for help!
Tristen!
Are there more guys there?
The Big Cats 24/7 team is
fighting the largest seasonal
wildfire in five years.
They are fighting to
save their base camp.
Anna, back up, please.
Can feel the heat
coming off that fire.
It's really terrifying,
it's really, really scary.
We can hold it.
Seems to be working.
After hours of beating, the wildfire
finally passes and moves south.
It's heart-breaking to look at this
because fire like this
is going to affect
It's going to affect everything.
For the big cats here,
the impact could be life-changing.
The Okavango Delta in Botswana
..one of Africa's last wildernesses.
The Okavango Delta is
an oasis in the desert,
it's a miracle in itself.
And it's a stronghold
for Africa's big cats.
Lion
..cheetah
..and leopard.
This is nature at
its absolute finest.
Now, for the very first time,
a team of local and
international wildlife film-makers
is working together to record
the cats' lives like never before.
Using the latest technology
We're going to be able to see things
in a completely different light
and tell stories in a
completely different way.
..they'll follow
individual big cats
..for six months
..through the day
This is crazy, this is a battle!
..and the night
This is a military-grade
thermal imaging camera.
Lions have got amazing night vision,
but it's not as good as this.
..capturing their behaviour
He's got the cub, he's got the cub.
..24 hours a day.
Welcome to the Okavango Delta,
it gets crazy.
SNARLS, ROARS AND CALLS
The Big Cats 24/7 base
camp is out of danger.
Overnight, the wildfire continues
to burn south of the camp.
Let's roll.
ENGINE STARTS
Before dawn, the team is heading
out to see its impact
..and to find out
if the big cats are OK.
Just left the safety of the camp
and I think the only words
I have for this are
total devastation.
We're just about to cross
where there used to be a bridge,
and there's absolutely nothing now.
It's completely burnt down.
Pretty crazy, everything
has been turned upside down.
A lot of the
..habitat that these predators
are using is gone.
There's going to be a bit of chaos.
All of the big cats will be
just trying to find their place
and re-adjust to a whole
new burnt landscape.
It's like sort of learning
..a new map to this
area now that there's
been such a lot of
A lot of change.
The Big Cats team
is working in a 150-square mile
patch of the Okavango Delta.
This prime territory for lions
is controlled by the Xudum Pride.
OK, we're just up
near the bit of forest
that's actually
burning at the moment.
Wildlife camera team
Gordon, Vianet and Sets,
is searching for the lions.
The blaze has terrorised
all the animals around here.
Finding them will calm me down,
make me feel a bit more
..happy.
The pride's mothers
and cubs were last seen
just metres
away from the wildfire.
For these cubs, they've never
experienced this before
and they will not have
a single clue what to do.
When you've got a fire so close,
that's really very concerning.
So I think we have to get down
and see if we can find them.
But it's not
It's not good.
The fire is not far away.
I'm going to move because it's
getting a bit close here.
Getting stuck and breaking down.
That's, yeah, this close to the
fire line is not a good situation.
BLEEP. Right. This is not good.
Not good.
OK. Don't panic.
Nice and easy, in reverse.
Out she goes.
ENGINE STOPS
See, in this situation
..you just try and move gently.
ENGINE REVS
As gently as you can.
Here we go That was
ENGINE CUTS OU
Ay-ay-ay
That was a whole wheel's worth
..in a burrow.
But that really is
the worst-case scenario,
being stuck in a hole
..so close to the fire.
But
..we are no longer stuck in a hole!
I didn't like that!
Away from the wildfire,
Gordon is narrowing his search
to a row of termite mounds.
It's a kind of process
of elimination.
Everything kind of west of here
is already burnt,
but thicker places like this,
these are the places I'm
most interested in.
Oh, yeah, yah, yah,
yay, yay, yay, yah-yay!
I can see a cub.
There you go. Definitely a cub.
That'sa huge relief.
This is the highlight of my day.
Old Uncle Gordon's been
worried about you.
So this termite mound is
..the perfect little play fort
for a little group of lion cubs.
It's like a castle.
It's ideal.
They're so well protected in there.
This pride has done
exactly the right thing.
I think having such a big threat
so close,
these cubs kind of seem to
shrink in size, they look smaller
and more vulnerable
than they do on a normal day.
80% of cubs don't make it to see
their second birthday.
So, yeah
I think that my concerns
were quite legitimate.
Vianet and Sets for Gordon.
I've got good news, I've found
the cubs and they're all alive.
That's wonderful. All right.
I should see you shortly,
thank you again.
Copy that.
Ooh, look at that!
What a joy to find these lions.
These experienced mothers
have kept their cubs safe.
The entire family is here!
But in this burnt landscape,
the safety of the whole pride
is now up to these two lions.
This is Big Toe and Madumo.
They are the pride males.
Big Toe and Madumo's presence
is reassuring for the pride.
Madumo and Big Toe are
nearly ten years old.
For half a decade,
they've been at the very top.
They are two lions,
but they are one force of nature
..because of the
bond that they share.
That is what it's all about.
Cubs are coming in.
The main role of a dominant
pride male is protection
Look at the cubs they're really
happy they're climbing,
they're climbing the tree.
..especially in a time of crisis.
When we had only
the cubs and females,
they wouldn't be out
in the open like this.
They will stay in long grass.
But now that Madumo
and Big Toe are here
..they're completely in the open,
as if there's nothing to fear.
Unlike other big cats,
male lions stick around throughout
the raising of their young.
Together, Big Toe and Madumo
have fathered over a dozen cubs.
I'm proud of what these two
dominant males have accomplished.
Big Toe and Madumo are a prime
example of males that do
a very good job of protecting
their pride and their territory.
No matter the cost.
But they have a problem.
The wildfire has wiped out
the territorial scent markings
that Big Toe and Madumo use to
ward off intruder male lions.
Inevitably, some other lions
are going to want to take
all of this away from them.
Now, the pressure
is on these two males
to protect their territory
and their young cubs.
LION ROARS
At this distance, that is
quite something to behold.
Makes your stomach rumble
and your toes twitch.
So, that's like a
lion dropping a pin,
letting everyone know this
is exactly where these two
These two lions are.
ROARS
A lion's roar can travel
more than three miles.
It's a clear signal to
intruders that they are here
and ready to defend their family.
It's really interesting because
the stakes couldn't be higher,
because the
brutal reality is that
if a male from another
pride was to come here,
he will kill those cubs,
and make his own cubs
with these females.
LION ROARS
With Big toe and Madumo
asserting their dominance
ROARS
..the team is sticking with them.
Closer to camp,
leopard specialist Brad is
concerned for his favourite cat.
You can just see the
..devastation.
A leopard would be really
exposed in this.
Brad is searching the
remaining patches of bush
that offer the cover
she needs to survive.
My guess is she will have followed
the unburnt section, heading south.
There she is,
that's definitely Xudum.
Ah, I'm so glad,
Xudum is still alive.
At five years old, Xudum is
the area's resident female leopard.
But she's battling to navigate
in this area because it's just
so open and sparse from the fires.
Leopards prefer to stay hidden,
typically using undergrowth
to travel unseen.
It's interesting,
she's cut out right across the burn.
She basically just heard these
impalas running through.
But with no cover to
conceal an ambush
Oh
Everything happens
so quickly in this place.
..Xudum hasn't had a meal
since before the wildfire.
To get food now,
she must change her tactics.
As she's been moving,
she's been looking up,
like she's looking for something.
She's nice and high in an ebony.
There's fruit all over it.
The few remaining unburnt patches
of green are drawing everyone in.
Fallen fruit from the surviving
trees is a lifeline.
And an opportunity for Xudum
..if the prey below becomes
a little more manageable.
This is a great position.
That's an ideal set-up
to ambush impala.
Here in the Okavango,
leopards have learned to
hunt in an extraordinary way
..tree jumping
..leaping up to ten metres
onto unsuspecting prey.
With the fires taking out a lot of
the cover and the grass underneath,
it's harder for a leopard to hunt.
So, fruiting trees
and making that connection
will be a valuable asset to her.
The challenge for Xudum is
mastering this dangerous skill.
She's definitely positioning
herself for jumping.
This has got to be the
..most supreme predator
doing its ultimate feat,
skydiving on top of impala.
Greg for Anna.
Anna, go.
Hey, Greg, I'm just at
the side of Xudum lagoon.
Are you looking at this hippo?
Yah, it's shocking. It just shows
really tough times for everyone.
It's just odd seeing a hippo,
that should be wallowing
around in water,
just walking around in
a burning, burning land.
Hippos are most active at night.
It's rare to see one moving
around in the heat of the day.
This hippo is just really caught
between a rock and a hard place.
This fire has completely
devastated this land
and dried up a lot of the lagoon
that he'd normally
be hanging out in.
It's desperate times.
It's hostile and dry and harsh.
We just followed our desperate hippo
and he's managed to find
a little bit of water.
And he's led us right to some lions.
Hey, Greg, these two sub adult
males, I don't recognise them.
Are they from our pride?
You know what? Honestly,
I don't recognise them either.
They're definitely
in the wrong place!
Because we're within
the pride territory.
The dominant males from our pride
are not going to want them around.
These intruder male lions have
wasted no time after the wildfire
to infiltrate Big Toe
and Madumo's territory.
It's a little bit worrying
if there are males from other prides
encroaching on our guys' territory.
Hey, Gordon, do you copy?
Go ahead, Anna.
Hey, Gordon, we've got
an interesting situation.
Two subadult males are on
the west side of the lagoon
and I don't really know who these
guys are,
so there's a good
chance that these males
are infringing on
Xudum pride territory.
I'll come and check in with you.
Nice. That sounds like a plan.
See you in a minute.
Oh! Look at this guy!
Hello, hello, hello.
I've just spotted one of your lions.
I don't know who these two are.
Bold, bold move,
moving into this area
because they'll know exactly that
they've overstepped the line.
So it will be interesting to see
what happens
if our two males
move up into this area.
That's when things could
get really interesting.
Have to see how the
next few days pan out.
Greg is joining
Brad on Leopard Watch.
Brad got on the radio to let us
know that Xudum, the leopardess,
has climbed up into an ebony tree
and it sounds like
there's a good chance
she's going to try and
hunt from the tree,
literally dive out of the
tree and tackle impalas.
Brad is also calling in
wildlife cameraman, Tristen,
who's been tracking
Xudum for the past year.
We haven't seen her do it yet.
So, yeah,
wait and see and, hopefully,
we'll get lucky and she does.
Xudum hasn't eaten
since the wildfire.
She's fully intent on
hunting from the tree tops.
Exciting times.
To catch a meal, she needs to
master the art of tree jumping.
She couldn't be in a better place.
So, fingers crossed, it's
going to be a waiting game,
but worth the wait, I think.
Mastering a new skill though
She's going to come down.
..takes trial and error.
You're joking!
For the team,
it's going to take patience.
First, Xudum must
find the right tree.
She stops before the tree,
looks up to see that it's fruiting,
looks around
..and then bolts up the tree.
And as soon as she
gets up, she freezes,
then she inspects her tree.
Xudum needs camouflage,
good footing and the perfect
height off the ground.
It looks like we've
got another dud tree!
She's going from frenetic walking
through the bush, to up a tree
..to sitting for two hours
and nothing happening.
It's now a wait for
the right-sized impala.
But things are not
falling into place.
Please don't come down.
It's a high maintenance cat,
this one.
Time to shift trees!
We've been pretty much with her
now for about five, six hours.
It's like a little
leopard chess game.
She moves, they move,
she moves, they move.
The more trees she tries,
the more chance she has.
After a full day of searching
She's getting all stacked up,
ready to pounce.
..Xudum seems to have
finally found the right tree.
She's looking down, that
thing must be close, eh?
Jumping is quite tricky with
the rams because they've got
really sharp horns, so she's
really got to time it right.
It's going to happen.
This is, er
not good for my heart.
If you don't do it now,
you're never going to do it.
Urgh
I cannot believe it.
She had such a perfect opportunity,
she had impala underneath her.
That's the closest we've come.
Just perfect set-up,
and she just let them walk by.
Maybe the impala
were just out of range.
Maybe she didn't
have a good footing.
She makes a mistake,
she gets hurt badly.
Animals that get hurt out here
don't survive very long.
Xudum must master
this new skill soon.
She's definitely very
keen and very hungry.
It's already probably been four
or five days without a kill.
I feel more for her than
anybody else in this situation.
For her, it's,
you know, life and death.
Big Toe and Madumo are
on an evening patrol.
ROARS
They're announcing to everyone,
and every living thing
ROARS
..that they're the kings.
Big Toe and Madumo could
be picking up the scent
of the intruder male lions.
Through the night, they stick close
to the cubs and are on high alert.
More than a mile away,
Anna and Greg are following the
intruder males,
who are showing no signs of leaving.
Ooh, these boys are getting
a bit too close to our car.
SHE EXHALES
Stay calm!
Oh, my God! That was terrifying!
Greg, these These boys enjoy
getting quite close, don't they?
I did notice one
coming up to your vehicle
and I was just thinking,
"Oh, gosh, hold your nerves."
I'm pretty sure a little
bit of pee came out!
That was so scary!
That could well have been them
sort of giving us a little warning.
But we are giving them their space
and they did walk literally
right towards us.
Now, just a few hundred metres away,
Sets and Gordon are
trailing Big Toe and Madumo.
So, what's happening
right now is that
the Xudum males are on
the intruders' tracks.
They have gotten wind
that they are here
and they are closing
the gap between them.
They are going to
show them who's boss.
One thing that the fire has
done is open this whole area,
so for these young, intruding males,
they're going to be able to see
Madumo and Big Toe
from half a mile away
..and take appropriate action,
and "appropriate action"
is to get out here.
They're calling.
LION CALLS
Ooh, hear that?
So that's Big Toe and Madumo.
They're just roaring
and they're just making it known
that they're nearby.
They're roaring. What that does
it serves a dual purpose.
It lets everyone know
that they're around,
but, also, it can avoid
physical confrontation.
What every single male lion
wants to do is avoid a fight.
The risk of injury is very serious.
So, Madumo and Big Toe
are both calling.
ROARS
At least a quarter of lion fights
end in serious injury, or death.
If I was a young male lion
..and I heard that thunderous roar,
I wouldn't be hanging around.
Big Toe and Madumo's
scare tactics are working.
These boys are quickly leaving.
The intruders have got
the message and are leaving.
These young boys know that they
have picked the wrong fight,
and they're making
a very swift exit.
They get to live another day without
knowing the fury of the Xudum males.
Big Toe and Madumo have protected
their territory,
and their family, for now.
But these intruders are
unlikely to be the last.
Leaving the lions behind
..Anna and Greg are turning
their attention to finding
the Okavango's most elusive
big cat.
Greg and I have decided to
think more like a cheetah,
so we've come to
this burnt open space.
Cheetahs, even though they
do rely on a bit of cover
when approaching prey,
they also really utilise
huge, flat, open areas
to chase prey.
I'm hoping it pays off and
we do find a cheetah here.
After hours of searching
..Greg's local knowledge
is proving invaluable.
If there was a predator around,
we would expect to get a sign
from the other animals as well.
These lechwes are taking
off at full speed.
Lechwes would react like that to
wild dogs and potentially cheetahs.
So that's interesting
sign from the lechwes.
Let's just go a bit
further up and have a look.
Ooh, I'm starting to get excited!
I think I can see something.
It's like, it could be grass,
but it could also be a cheetah
lying flat, looking up.
Please be a cheetah!
My heart rate is just going now.
I'm scared. I'm scared that
this is all just false alarm.
Yes!
Yes!
Finally!
Woo!
Anna, Anna for Greg.
Go ahead, Greg. We've got her.
It's the female that we know,
with the grey patch on
the side of her left cheek.
Amazing news!
Here we go!
I'm extremely excited to have a
cheetah on the end of my lens.
Oh, she's a beauty!
Seven-year-old Pobe is the area's
only resident female cheetah.
Cheetahs are special in so many ways
and the fact that
they're so hard to find.
The most recent stats on cheetahs,
that I'm aware of,
is that there's only about
7,400 left in the world.
So, we're incredibly fortunate.
A savvy, experienced cheetah,
Pobe has survived many wildfires.
But this is the worst
in her lifetime.
She's very active,
she's looking for prey.
She's just stopped
in the flood plain
and there's the
baboons on the ground.
BARKING
She definitely does not want
to get spotted at this point.
Oh, she's running actually.
She's moving out, she's pulling out.
Baboons are barking at her,
and she's like, "I'm out of here."
She's so exposed,
no trouble spotting her and just
immediately sounded the alarm.
Shame.
In this burnt landscape, Pobe is
struggling to find cover and prey.
When you see her
just slinking along,
like she is right now,
she's just so thin.
She must be really hungry.
She's going to have
to start taking risks.
Pobe needs to eat soon
We're rapidly losing
the light once again.
..but she's unlikely to catch
a meal after nightfall.
Of all the big cats,
cheetah prefer to hunt by day.
They're the ones that uses vision
the most in their hunting strategy.
To stick with Pobe,
Anna and Greg will stay
with her through the night.
We've radioed into the camp for them
to bring out the
thermal camera for us.
I'm really hoping that with that,
we're going to be able to
follow her tonight.
It's getting exciting cos I've
never actually followed a cheetah
through the night.
We are about to see a
cheetah on a thermal camera.
Oh, that's so cool!
I wonder how many people can
say that they spent a night
30 metres away from a cheetah.
Ah, super cute!
Ah, she's so sweet.
She's fast asleep, eh?
Yeah, she's having a good sleep.
It's going to be a
good test of patience
if we're going to watch her
sleep until daybreak. Yup.
Anna and Greg are being
rewarded with an intimate view
of this elusive cat.
One thing I've learned about Pobe
is that she is very, very cute
when she sleeps.
She was curled up in a little ball
and she just kept getting up,
having a stretch.
Almost like she was getting
the cold side of the pillow,
she was finding a new little
Little spot for herself.
Xudum, the female leopard, is
poised again to make a tree jump.
Brad is determined to see her
reach this important milestone.
Amazing how things have developed.
When we first started with her,
we weren't certain she was a jumper.
She clearly knows the deal,
seen her with impala underneath
her tree several times,
but we've yet to have
that full execution.
All the potential's there.
It's just now up to Xudum to
really master the skill.
You got a slow trail
of impala arriving
..and they're heading
straight for where she is.
It's going to happen.
Come on, my girl.
Today is your day.
The right tree
..the right position,
the right prey.
She's got it!
That impala is probably
one-and-a-half times her weight.
I hope she can hang on,
she's worked hard for this.
I'm very chuffed for Xudum.
She hasn't eaten in a few days
and we're just talking about her
really being able to
nail it from a tree.
She certainly has done that.
She certainly has perfected
this tree hunting.
She's a young cat
with a long way to go.
I can't wait until she has cubs.
That's going to be a
special day and a special time.
She's just such a gem
in this whole thing.
Well done, my baby girl.
You are a legend.
It's nearly impossible to keep
up with Pobe at this point.
She is She's really
in hunt mode now.
Seems like she's got one thing
on her mind and one thing only,
and that is food.
Pobe, the female cheetah,
is struggling to find
prey in this empty, burnt landscape.
Seems like something in
this tree line has made her
stand to attention a bit more.
Greg, Greg for Anna.
We've got Pobe stalking
towards some impala.
Copy that.
Yah, she's entered with
a bit of purpose.
She could easily just come bursting
out of here with an impala. Ooh
I get a bit too
stressed in these moments.
I hope she makes a kill today.
You can do it.
She's trying to figure out
where they are.
She's going, she's going.
Ah She didn't get it.
That was quick!
The speed that she just went at.
She just bolted after some impala
and she went so quickly,
we have no idea where she's gone.
Greg, she's definitely in
the other direction
from where you're currently
pointing. She went that way.
But really, really fast.
Like, I didn't see where they went.
We've lost visual, if you guys
can pull through in this area
and have a scratch with us,
that would be great.
Copy, copy, see you just now.
It feels like if Pobe's ever
going to have a successful hunt,
all of the stars need to align.
The cheetah need to
be in the right place.
The prey needs to
be in the right place.
And she needs to get close
enough without being seen.
That's a lot of stars.
Yes, they've been walking
on this road, I think.
Yeah, I can see their tracks, yeah.
So, if we follow that
Vianet is tracking
Big Toe and Madumo,
who are on high alert after
seeing off two invading male lions.
Madumo and Big Toe patrolling
their territory confidently.
Generally, at this time of day,
lions are sleeping.
It's hot, over 30 degrees,
but Madumo and Big Toe
are still pressing on.
They are both scent marking
in exactly the same place,
right in front of me.
To protect their family,
they're working hard to re-establish
the borders of their
100-square-mile territory.
They seem to be trying to
detect something in the area.
Right now, the threat of invading
males remains very real.
Greg and Anna are searching for
Pobe again after her failed hunt.
Team morale hit an
all-time low, that is for sure.
I've never seen
Greg look quite so sad.
But he's got a big smile on his face
because we've managed
to find Pobe again.
I'm a bit concerned that she's
definitely slimming out a lot.
And every time she attempts
to hunt, she's using
so much of that crucial
energy that she needs.
So, yeah, the pressure is
definitely, definitely on.
Oh, she's She's moving, OK.
There's a load of impala
out in the open,
and Pobe is currently using
the edge of the island as cover.
We think she's going to possibly
give them a go.
Greg, there's an impala
about to run straight past her.
That is crazy!
She is metres away, currently.
What?!
It's like she, she knows that
if she's going to use that energy,
it has to be the one.
Oh!
Greg, she's going for
the one on the right!
She's going, she's
going, she's going.
Oh, my God!
Oh, she didn't get it!
Oh!
I thought that was going to be it.
Cheetahs need time to
recover from a chase
..but lying low is also
the perfect hunting strategy.
She's going again,
she's going again!
Ah, nearly!
Come on, Pobe!
She's got one.
Oh, my God!
Ha-ha-ha!
She's got one.
Pobe's done it.
She has done it!
That was the most hectic thing ever.
It's a magical, magical scene.
I'm just really happy for her.
She's finally got a meal.
Well done, Pobe!
After her successful tree jump,
Xudum, the leopard, also
has a much-needed meal.
We're now coming into night.
I don't know if she's exhausted
but the impala she's killed,
she's barely touched it.
Leopards typically stash
their food in trees
to protect it from thieves,
but Xudum hasn't done this.
The carcass is still on the ground.
There's a good chance that
she's going to get robbed.
I think it's a good idea
to get Anna in here
with a bit of thermal imagery.
We might just spend the night
just watching and observing,
and seeing if she manages to
hold on to this carcass.
This is like the first proper feed
she's had since she killed it.
Oh, really? So, she is hungry!
We can hear her cutting through
the sinew and the bone.
That's a hyena. That's a hyena.
Jesus! Hyena's already got it.
That's why we're hearing
so much noise.
Yeah, hyena has
incredible crushing power,
he'll go through bone.
You can hear it.
This guy's come in and
there's nothing disturbing him,
and he's going to fill
himself as fast as possible.
Xudum is no match for a hyena.
She's retreating
to the bushes nearby.
I mean, imagine having made
the effort of killing this
and then sitting in the grass
listening to the guy eat your food.
Yeah. Talk about
where hatred develops.
This guy really is gorging.
Mm-hm.
I know it's hard to tell now,
but do you think there'll be
enough food left to sustain her?
With hyenas taking most of it,
she's going to be on the hunt
again in the next couple of days.
We'll have to follow
her quite closely, then.
We'll be on her to the
best of our abilities.
She doesn't make it easy, does she?
She doesn't make it easy,
but I feel sorry for her losing it.
Yeah.
Got lots of vultures
in the trees around here,
so I'm having a little mooch around
to see if there's anything dead.
It's a good way of finding lions,
is looking for vultures.
Gordon is searching for
Big Toe and Madumo.
Vultures in the tree here,
there's vultures here.
The dominant pride males
were last seen
on a massive territorial patrol.
Oh, my goodness! Look, look,
look, look, look, up ahead.
Who is it?
Sets, Sets for Gordon.
Go ahead, Gordon.
Ah, it's a buffalo kill
and it's Madumo and Big Toe.
I'll be there shortly.
This will keep them locked
into this area for quite a while.
Even for two big lions like these
guys, that is a lot of food.
This clearly shows how
strong these boys are,
that two of them can bring
down a buffalo between them.
Gordon, I don't think this
is Big Toe and Madumo.
What?! Yeah.
Really? Yeah, especially
the one that's just got up.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not.
This isn't Big Toe and Madumo.
Two completely different males,
but well inside Big Toe
and Madumo's territory.
Big Toe and Madumo have another
set of intruders on their patch.
They are big. I'd say same kind
of size as Big Toe and Madumo.
Goodness me! Who are you, boys?
These males haven't snuck in.
They've kicked down the front door
and made themselves right at home.
Yeah, if they're big enough
to take down a buffalo,
might be big enough to
take on Big Toe and Madumo.
This is the clear
sign of a challenge.
Hmm.
I was not expecting that.
Every minute, every hour,
every day, they stay
here uncontested,
their confidence is going to grow.
In their minds,
they're going to think,
"Ah, this is a place
we could set up home."
What they are looking for
is exactly what
Madumo and Big Toe have.
And Madumo and Big Toe, their reign
has lasted a long, long time.
And these guys look like the kind
of lions that can topple kings,
and these boys are moving on.
They've pulled out.
I thought they were going for a lie
down, but they've actually moved.
They're heading further in.
They're heading closer
towards Madumo and Big Toe.
You are a huge lion, my word!
Two bold characters.
We've been with these two intruding
males on this buffalo kill,
but they've moved out
and their heading westward.
Lights off.
Got one of the males,
he seems to have lost his brother.
Being out here,
a lone, solitary,
invading male lion
..that is a really
dangerous position.
He needs to reunite
with his pal and fast,
before Big Toe and Madumo find him.
He's making a low
Not a roar, but a
low grumbling sound.
LOW GRUMBLING
This type of vocalisation,
it's a kind of short-range call
LOW GRUMBLING
..so if his friend is within
a couple hundred metres,
he should be able to hear.
If you're an invading male, the
type of calling that is avoidable
is a full-on bellow,
that big roar,
because that's a noise that will
carry far and wide,
right into the fluffy ears
of Madumo and Big Toe -
and if that happens,
they would race here.
LOUDER GRUMBLE
Hear that?
He's picked up the
volume of that call
..because he hasn't been
able to find his friend,
so he's calling louder.
The louder he calls,
the more trouble he could be in.
I think he's seen another lion.
I think he doesn't know who it is.
He's started trotting
and I presume that was in response
to hearing something,
something that I couldn't hear,
but he certainly did.
Who have we got there?
We've got both of them!
They've got a bit of a
spring in their step.
Individually, Madumo and Big Toe
have nothing to worry about,
about one of these boys,
but them together,
that's where the danger comes.
Hang on!
There's another lion!
OK. I don't know who it is.
Another lion, another lion
BLEEP
I think this is Madumo and
Big Toe, they've come in.
They are in hot pursuit.
I'll get round.
Where have they gone?
I can't see them.
OK. They're on them.
They're on them.
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
These boys were taking a huge risk,
coming into this area,
and they have met the two lions that
they really do not want to meet.
They're on them.
They've got him.
This is going to Oh, jeez,
this could be a fight to the death!