BBC Kingdom (2025) s01e03 Episode Script

1
Previously on Kingdom
Mutima, the young leopard,
reached independence.
So now it's time
for her mother, Olimba
to mate again.
The lion pride has grown in strength.
The males killed one of
the hyena mothers, Tam,
and now they have forced
Storm and her pack to flee.
But no matter how powerful your family,
this place, Nsefu,
is a dangerous place
in which to rear young.
Even lion cubs are vulnerable.
Five years.
Four families.
Who will rule this kingdom?
Lions are most at risk
in their early days
so cubs are kept in a secret den,
but if they stray into the open
away from their mothers
dangers can come from anywhere.
An elephant could crush
a cub with a single step.
Better to stay close to Mother.
The dry season here in
Nsefu is tightening its grip.
Elephants needing to quench their thirst
follow well-trodden
paths that lead to the river.
Further along the elephants' path,
the pride are resting
taking a break from
the heat of the day.
When it comes to grumpy elephants,
it's not just cubs that
have to get out of the way.
In the grove of ebony trees,
the hyenas Tandala and Tenta
keep their cubs close.
But Tenta's twins are now at the age
when they want to explore
the world for themselves.
These sausage trees,
named from the shape of their fruits
are bursting into bloom.
The opening of these crimson
flowers is welcomed by many here
for, within the giant petals,
there is sweet nectar
irresistible to hungry visitors.
They come right to the hyenas' doorstep.
Time for some fun.
The twins lead the way.
But not everyone
is willing to tolerate their games.
The cubs are soon back for some rest
and a drink.
Hyena mothers produce
one of the richest of all milks.
But even so, the cubs need to
feed for up to four hours a day.
And each mother
provides milk for a year.
The cubs' insistent demands
force Tenta and the other females
to take risks in their search for food.
Vultures,
a sign that the lions have made a kill.
The commotion has drawn most of
the clan, including Tenta and Tandala.
They are nervous.
The males from this pride
killed their sister, Tam.
But, today, the males are not here.
This is too good an opportunity to miss.
As the clan advances
their confidence grows.
A brief and uneasy truce.
It's very rare for lions to
share a kill with hyenas.
If the males were here,
the situation would be very different.
But where are they?
They are several miles away, on patrol.
The brothers regularly travel huge
distances to protect their family,
especially their cubs, from rival lions.
Roaring males make it clear
to anyone for miles around
that this is their territory.
Their patrol has brought them
close to the edge of the national park.
This deep gully marks the boundary line.
But it's a line that means
nothing to the brothers.
Outside the protection of the park,
there are dangers beyond rival lions.
As the brothers cross the boundary,
they leave the safety of the park.
Back in the centre of Nsefu, one of
the females, Rita, is guarding her cubs.
Rita must keep her young a secret
until it's time for them
all to rejoin the pride.
A lilac-breasted roller
a bush squirrel
and a ground hornbill
are unwelcome visitors.
That beak looks nasty.
This little one needs extra help.
He's blind in one eye.
What is more, these visitors
could give away the cubs' location.
Prying eyes are everywhere.
Being a mother in Nsefu is not easy.
Mutima is trying to find her own way
but her youthful clumsiness
creates problems.
Nearby, her mother, Olimba,
is calling and scent-marking
signs that she's
still looking for a mate.
Her messages have not gone unnoticed.
A male.
Male leopards spend
most of their time alone.
They're unpredictable
and can be very aggressive.
He's a lot bigger and much
more powerful than she is.
If Olimba is to have more cubs,
she will have to take the risk.
Her flirting helps to ease any tension.
This behaviour is rarely seen.
They will stay together
for at least 48 hours.
During that time,
they mate repeatedly
increasing Olimba's
chance of pregnancy.
Mutima
..has never seen her
mother with a male before.
It's an aspect of life that
will affect both her mother
and herself.
In the secrecy of their den
Rita is still nursing her cubs.
To keep them fed, she must hunt.
But that means leaving the cubs alone.
One on one, bringing down
even a young buffalo is hard.
It's a battle of endurance.
Rita will not be able to
keep this up for much longer.
This is Rita's younger sister.
She has heard the struggle.
Now it's two against one.
After weeks of nursing her cubs by
herself, it's a welcome change for Rita
to have her sister at her side.
Hyena.
They appear whenever lions make a kill.
But, tonight,
they don't seem to be heading this way.
They were going to the lions' den.
Without their mother,
the cubs were defenceless.
None have survived the hyenas' attack.
The rest of the family are unaware of
the disaster that occurred overnight
and that the next generation
of their pride has been lost.
Rita and her sister
return to the others
alone.
Lions are the most
social of all big cats.
The sisters can find
solace in their family.
The loss of the cubs is not
the only blow to the family.
After leaving the safety of Nsefu,
both of the pride males
were shot and killed.
For any animals living here,
fortunes can change in an instant.
The temperature is now reaching
nearly 50 degrees Celsius.
Month after month of extreme
heat and the lack of rain
has caused the water
level in the river to drop.
Once a mighty torrent, it's now reduced
to a series of shallow
channels and sandy islands.
The river is no longer
the impassable barrier it once was.
The buffalo herds are leaving Nsefu,
looking for grazing beyond the far banks.
Buffalo are the main source
of food for the hungry lions.
In the dry season, the Luangwa
has some of the densest populations
of crocodiles and hippos
found anywhere on Earth.
If the pride want to hunt buffalo
they will have to cross.
They must choose their route carefully.
The deepest water can
hide the greatest dangers.
Now on the other side
the pride will need
to split up the herd
if they are to have any success.
Working together, they cause a stampede.
They are looking for
any sign of weakness.
Success.
This is a sound the pride
does not want to hear.
A rival pride.
This is their home.
Without the power of their males
Rita and her sisters
are in real danger.
Lions will kill rivals who
encroach on their territory.
The lionesses have
no choice but to retreat.
Now the pride has no males,
no cubs, and its favourite prey
has moved into
the territory of rival lions.
The future of this family
is in jeopardy.
After months of almost
unbearable heat
clouds begin to build at last.
These storms mark
the end of the dry season.
Rain reshapes the land.
The river refills.
And only the strongest
will be able to cross.
This year, the downpours have
lasted much longer than normal.
The river has burst its banks, flooding
Nsefu in a way not seen for years.
For the hyena family, living in
the ebony grove, this is a disaster.
Before the rains came, the clan had
been going from strength to strength.
But the waters have
completely flooded their den.
Many of the cubs have died, and
what remains of the clan is scattered.
Tenta and her twins are
the only ones left here.
They were stronger than the younger cubs
and so better able to
escape the rising water.
But now, hungry and homeless,
they must navigate the watery labyrinth
to find food.
The twins have never
before travelled as far as this.
This strange new world
can seem overwhelming.
Tenta hears a familiar
sound on the wind.
It's her clan, or,
at least, some of them.
Unfortunately,
without their queen to lead them,
they have become undisciplined.
Fighting is rife
especially over food.
But now Tenta is back.
She is quick to restore order.
And with order will come strength.
What is more, her twins can now feed.
It pays to be
the daughters of the queen.
Although many of the clan are here,
Tandala, Tenta's closest ally,
is still missing.
Mutima is thriving in
her second wet season.
The gullies are full of water,
so it's now impossible to hunt in them.
But there is an alternative
at this time of year.
The annual gathering
of yellow-billed storks.
Every year,
these trees are full of chicks
too young to fly away
and a promising opportunity.
No nest is out of reach
even right up here in
the thinnest of branches.
Last year, Mutima didn't have the skills
to make the most
of this tree-top larder.
But she's now an accomplished
and resourceful hunter.
Her mother's focus, however,
is not on finding food.
It's on her future.
If Olimba is going to raise more cubs
the last thing she
needs is competition.
And her daughter has become her rival.
Mutima has no idea of
the danger coming her way.
Danger from her own mother.
Mutima can flee
or turn and fight.