Big Cats 24/7 (2024) s01e06 Episode Script

1
Hello, darling.
How are you doing?
Oh, come on. We know each other.
The Xudum pride is now one of the
largest lion prides in the world.
Last year they had one cub.
This year they've got 15.
But to feed so many mouths
Oh, hang on! It's a crocodile!
They're trying to steal the kill.
..the desperate mothers
are being pushed to extremes.
Quick, guys. Pull him back.
This is a battle. This is crazy.
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
It's down, one
of the zebras is down.
..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.
FIERCE GROWL
MEWS LOUDLY
All the mums are here!
Ah, the cubs are there.
Look, look, look.
I'm pretty sure he's saying,
"Mum, Mum, I'm hungry again!"
There are now nearly 40 lions
and cubs in the Xudum pride.
The mothers, I just don't know
how they do it.
Looking after this enormous family
is hard work.
The mothers have joined each other
on top of the tree,
perhaps to avoid feeding
or suckling the cubs
because it's knackering.
The cubs constantly wanting
some milk from you.
Constantly nagging you.
I couldn't be a mother lion, no way!
Hey, Tsebe!
Young mum Tsebe recently
gave birth to five cubs.
It's breakfast time.
It's very rare to have five cubs.
Only 2% of litters are as big
as Tsebe's.
Most lionesses have only two
or three.
Having so many cubs indicates
a healthy pride
..but their survival
is not guaranteed.
Lionesses only have four nipples.
How do you feed five cubs
simultaneously?
The odds are stacked against her.
Tsebe, she's feeding her own cub,
and one of Naledi's cubs
is just moving in.
ROARS
Oh, I'm not quite sure
she likes that.
Tsebe is baring her teeth.
Ooh!
Poor Tsebe. She's having to deal
with this - she's got a big cub
trying to squeeze in and suckle.
Just really, um, doesn't help.
Poor, poor lady.
At this age,
each cub needs to drink more than
half a litre of milk a day.
Tsebe's going to need
a lot of milk to go around.
I'm really worried about the cubs.
If Tsebe doesn't provide
enough food for them,
the cubs will suffer.
To stay healthy,
and keep her five cubs alive,
Tsebe needs to eat more than
the other lioness mums.
Gordon is taking over
the evening shift,
to see if Tsebe can get
a much-needed meal.
Tsebe looks particularly hungry.
I think she's going to try
and hunt tonight,
so I'm going to set up
the thermal imaging.
OK, climbing down the tree.
Last little hop.
Tsebe's seen or heard something.
ROARING
It's the rest of the pride.
Ah, they're talkative tonight.
I tell you what,
it does get the heart pumping
when you have lions roaring
right next to you.
We've got a huge team of lions out
in the flood plain this evening.
Some of the other lions
have made a kill
and there's a lot of,
"roooar, rooarrrr."
One of the dominant pride males
is joining for his share.
Everyone's just piling in.
All of the females, cubs.
It's a meal that Tsebe needs
I'm going to put the drone up,
see how many are here.
DRONE BUZZES
ROARING
..but there are too many lions
to share it with.
GROWLING
Absolutely insane situation
at the moment.
It's absolute chaos.
There's not much left now -
it's just the ribcage and the spine.
DEEP GROWL
Oh-oh, oh-oh,
somebody's getting clubbed.
You would think that this pride
increasing in number
would make them a stronger pride.
But, actually, it weakens them
in many ways
because you've got limited resources
divided many, many times.
How you gauge success
isn't really just making a kill.
It's how many lions you're
splitting that kill with.
There is so much competition.
Most of the lions,
a lot of lionesses
put in the hard yards
and they've got nothing from it.
FIERCE ROAR
I do feel for these females.
With the lions in this huge pride
now fighting over food
That was intense.
..the team is following
new mum Tsebe,
to see if she can feed herself
and her five cubs.
I just heard some growling,
close to Xudum's den.
We came to investigate,
thinking it was lions,
and we've just seen Xudum with her
cub in her mouth,
which is incredible.
She's moving her cub.
She's got one in her jaws.
Xudum, the resident female leopard,
had two cubs just over a week ago.
It had to happen. Greg calls it in.
Xudum's moving den.
It's a little bit chaotic
for the morning!
Tristen is joining Greg
on Xudum's trail.
It's all very, very strange.
It's behaviour that
I haven't really seen before.
I don't know if she's making poor
decisions or if she's actually just
being very calculated and moving
the den just to keep them alive.
There's such a chance that she'll
just bump into something.
A lot of the animals out here
are so much bigger than her.
It really would be tragic
for anything to happen to this cub
at such a young stage in its life.
With Tristen
and Greg tracking Xudum
..Brad is with her other cub,
trying to understand
Xudum's unusual behaviour.
Greg, any chance that the
growling was leopard?
Yeah, every chance.
I just assumed lion because I would
have expected it from the lions.
But it could easily have
been a leopard.
Yeah, it's probably likely
leopard, eh?
Maybe a male she's upset with.
The team recently found male leopard
tracks near Xudum's den.
I think that a male has
come into the area
and he's harassing her,
and she's got to be careful.
Keep him away
and move the cubs out of the area.
To keep her cubs safe,
she needs to find a new den.
This could be a very,
very good choice on her part,
but, yeah,
I guess only time will really tell.
She's just climbed into a huge
thicket of blue bush,
which is perfect for a den.
There she is,
she's bloody carrying it.
Tristen, she's carrying it again.
Carrying, carrying, carrying.
I thought she'd hold this den -
a beautiful bush here,
but I don't think she liked exactly
what she felt in that little bush,
so she's decided to move
to another one.
She's currently got the leopard,
the baby, in her mouth.
It's like a house cat.
The second you pinch a house cat
by the scruff of their neck,
they kind of go limp.
And it's the same
with all these cats out here.
She'll just very, very delicately,
very slowly,
just walk it to wherever
she needs to go.
These big cats are so, so delicate
with their cubs.
It's actually quite remarkable.
This is quite interesting, eh?
I think she might cross this
entire grassland.
Yeah. It's quite far.
She's moved at least 700m now.
This is by far the longest that I've
ever seen a leopard move a cub.
Normally, I've seen leopards,
it's 50 to 150m.
So she's really, really trying to
take these cubs out of that area.
SQUEAKING
I'm sitting at the original den site
and she's left one here.
You could definitely see a size
difference between the two.
One is a male and one is a female,
and she's left the girl behind here.
I'm just hoping that she stays put.
She's come right up to the entrance,
almost falling out,
which would be a disaster.
There would be a lot of crying
and every chance that somebody comes
and snacks on her.
So she just needs to bed down
and stay hidden.
MEWING
Just stay put.
Just stay put,
and stop calling.
Oh, OK. She's looking.
Her eyes have just gone straight up.
Yep, there she goes.
She's just gone straight up
the ebony.
That's ridiculous.
There seems to be a little
bit of like a hollow in the ebony,
and she seems to have gone
straight into that.
And I'm presuming that is going to
be our new den.
Brad? Brad for Tristen.
What's happening in updates
with Xudum?
I have some interesting news.
Our girl has got a den in a tree.
OK. That's good news.
Is she on her way back yet?
No. Negative.
She's just in the den.
We'll let you know when she's out.
All right. We're just going to stay
put and keep an eye on this cub
while Mum's out,
and wait for her to come back.
Copy, copy
RADIO BEEPS
Loud and clear, Anna.
Anna and Rea are checking in on
Tsebe and her five cubs.
Just getting a glimpse of the cubs.
They are so tiny.
She is looking so thin
and so hungry.
Really concerned about her.
Tsebe's on the move.
This is really unexpected.
It is 12 o'clock.
Lions quite often are just flat
under a tree at this time
but Tsebe looked really hungry.
It seems like she's picking up
the scent of something.
She's lifting up her head.
She's just making her way through
the bushes here.
She's definitely walking
with purpose.
Just in front are some lechwe.
I see about three lechwe rams.
One looks a little bit younger,
maybe not as fit.
Could be quite the tasty meal
for a mum with cubs.
Hunting alone can easily half her
chance of making a successful kill.
She's going.
If Tsebe can pull this off, she can
keep the meal all to herself.
So, Tsebe's on the run.
She's actually pouncing.
She's going onto the flood plain
right now.
This is crazy!
Oh, no, Tsebe.
Oh! They just bolted.
Didn't really think she was going
to have much luck with that
but she gave it a go.
At five years old, Tsebe is
the pride's youngest mother
Oh, my God, this is weird.
..and her inexperience is showing.
The lechwe have almost ganged up
and are making sure
that they all have eyes on Tsebe
..and are just moving her along.
She doesn't stand a chance now.
That attempt from Tsebe screams
desperation at this point.
I think she's just really,
really keen to get that meal.
She's not thinking clearly,
I don't think.
..with a half-eaten kill.
OK, copy that.
I'm going to come over.
Six-year-old male leopard Mosweu
is in the heart
of Xudum's territory.
He's got some very,
very distinctive features.
This guy's ears are all tattered
and shredded,
which has got a lot to do
with his character.
He's a bit of a brawler.
Mosweu's a little bit smaller than
most of the big dominant males here.
And he makes up for his lack
of stature
in just sheer determination
and aggression.
We also have Xudum's tracks,
probably about 100m south of us.
She probably made the kill here,
and this big boy has come in
and stolen it.
It's not often that male leopards
kill a steenbok.
They don't stalk well enough.
They sort of go for slightly bigger
prey.
Mainly warthogs, actually.
If she did make this kill,
hopefully she managed to get
a little bit of it cos otherwise
she's really had some really,
really bad luck.
Lions taking her kill.
Big male leopard taking her kill.
Mosweu's presence may explain
why Xudum is moving her cubs.
The last time we saw Mosweu
was when Xudum was being mated,
interestingly.
Three months ago, the team found
Xudum mating with a rival male.
If Mosweu tracks down cubs
that are not his, he will kill them.
It's a dominance thing for them,
and they don't want somebody else's
kids coming into this world
in their territory.
She's going to be in for a very,
very long few months
with this guy hanging around.
It's going to be very,
very stressful for her.
Biggest threat to leopards
is other leopards.
More leopards die at the hand of
their own kind than anything else.
And just to have him show up again,
is not good.
Hey, Rea.
I've just found Tsebe up what seems
to be her favourite tree.
Ooh. She's stretching.
New mum Tsebe has been away from the
pride for nearly two days
She knows she needs to eat,
she needs to feed her cubs.
..on a solo hunting mission.
She needs to be in
a healthy state.
Her cubs' survival
depends on her eating soon.
Means that she's very likely
to hunt again today.
You can see her ribs on the side.
Yeah, she's looking hungry.
I'm thinking she's
looking for warthogs.
They just sit in the grass,
trying to dig up the roots, and
GRUNTS
..they can't see the lions.
Tsebe's just entered this
big bush here.
I don't have any visual at all.
I think it might be drone time.
Oof. She's super vigilant.
She's scanning about.
We have warthog straight
ahead of her.
It's completely unaware.
Come on, Tsebe, you can do this.
She's starting her jog.
She's going, she's going,
she's going, she's going.
WARTHOG SQUEALS
Oh, no!
She's just missed it.
No.
Ah, Tsebe.
ANNA SIGHS
She's failed yet again.
What is she going to do now?
Now she's just staring
in front of her.
We're not sure really if there's
potentially a warthog
or something there.
There must be something
that we don't see.
She's got something.
She's got a rabbit.
She's got a rabbit.
Go on, Tsebe.
Nice!
Of all things she could have got,
she got a rabbit!
Oh, my gosh.
That's a fully grown lion
who has just hunted a rabbit.
A hare, sorry, I believe it is.
I am really, really glad for her.
She deserved something.
Yeah. I mean,
it's better than nothing.
It just shows how desperate she is,
eh?
Tsebe should be eating for six.
She's got five cubs.
Five cubs to feed.
I really don't think this small hare
is going to sustain
all of those mouths.
Away from Tsebe, Rea spots the
Okavango's most elusive big cat
Yeah!
That's a cheetah!
What is the chance of that?
..right in the heart
of lion territory.
We've got a male.
We've got Sepoko here.
Our four palms monument,
he's literally at the bottom of it.
Our pride den here all the time.
He's got an extremely full belly.
RADIO BEEPS
Anna? Anna. Anna, do you copy?
Go ahead, Rea.
Got some pretty good news here,
Anna.
We're just close to four palms here
and just found Sepoko.
No way!
That is incredible news.
I honestly did not think we were
going to see a cheetah again.
I didn't expect it at all.
What a blessing.
There's just so many lions about
at the moment.
If I was a cheetah, I probably
wouldn't be hanging around here.
Sepoko is a brave man.
Oh, Rea.
What is the chance?
I just can't believe that
he's managed to get himself
in the middle of all these lions,
to be honest!
He is really living up to his name
Sepoko, which means ghost.
Hunting here,
right under the noses
of so many lions,
takes stealth.
A lot of the times, their kills
are stolen from them,
but looks like our friend Sepoko
here managed to have a full meal.
His strides are so long.
He seems to be floating
through the grass.
Living up to his ghostly status
and just blending in.
He's weaving between these lions
and they have no idea.
Ah, he's so cool.
He's got a lot of character.
I think he's got a kind of
"bad boy" vibe.
He walks with a lot of purpose
but it's got a swag to it, too.
Yeah, Sepoko, he is, he is!
Pretty badass.
He earns the title.
Yeah, he really does.
Xudum, the leopard, has moved
one of her cubs to a new den.
Tristen is with her.
She's taken the male cub.
2km away,
Brad is with Xudum's female cub
at the original den.
She's left the girl behind here,
and we're sitting,
waiting for her imminent return.
It makes me anxious
when they're separated.
The longer this cub is alone,
the more dangerous it gets.
SOFT MEWING
Xudum's just got down.
If she's able to really figure out a
nice path back, she stands a pretty
good chance of getting the cub here
safely without getting spotted.
This little girl on her own
is starting to wake up.
The temperature has dropped
and temperature change generally
stimulates them
to move around a bit.
And I just hope that this little one
keeps her head down
and stays concealed
and doesn't shout out too much.
Tristen, Tristen - Brad.
Have you got an update?
She's heading back to the den.
I think Xudum has deliberately
taken a long path to get here.
She's had to avoid leaving
a scent trail.
She doesn't want to make a thread
between the old den and the new den.
Yeah, copy that.
That might be a good point, eh?
Trist, she's here.
Xudum's finally made it back
to her old den.
It's really nice to see
these two back together.
Ah, she's going to suckle.
The cub is very hungry.
To keep the cub quiet
she needs to feed it quickly
before they begin that journey
to the new den.
It's quite a haul.
Tris, Xudum has just arrived.
OK, cool.
Copy that. We'll make our way
over the other side.
BIRDS CHIRP AND CALL
Xudum's up.
She's heard something.
What is that?
You see that?
Guys, there's something going on.
There's another leopard here, Tris!
This is not cool.
This is really not cool.
It's going into the den.
BLEEP. This is a male.
Tris, we've got a male here
at the den.
He's going into the den,
I'm sure this is Mosweu!
TRISTEN SIGHS
BLEEP.
OK, she's coming back in.
She's come back in.
OK. She's got the cub.
Go, go, go. Take it, take it.
Get out of there.
He's coming out of the den.
She's confronting him.
GROWLING AND HISSING
He's got the cub.
He's got the cub.
LOUD THUD
Go round the back of the tree.
ENGINE STARTS
They've just had a big fight
in front of the den here.
And the male's taken the cub.
I think it's I think it's done.
Mosweu's just taken the cub.
He's just picked it up in a fight
and taken it.
TRISTEN SIGHS
The worst nightmare.
The thing that I was so damn
concerned about has played out
and it just fills me with horror.
One of the more harrowing things
that I've ever seen.
She fought hard,
she confronted that guy head on.
Males are almost double the size
of a female.
Ohh
It's that danger of male
leopards, you know,
male leopards are ruthless.
You know, they
They're responsible
for a lot of these deaths.
I mean, the majority of
the cub deaths.
Mosweu's a real bastard.
He's a scary cat.
I'm not sure that this is over.
He's killed one of the cubs already,
and he's now following her scent.
I just hope that he isn't able to
trace her back towards her new den
and take out the other cub.
SNIFFS
He's desperately trying
to pick up a trail.
He is smelling every grass blade.
LOW GROWL
He's wandering across towards you.
I think he's following her scent.
She seems to be leaving a trail,
trying to lead him away.
It looks like Xudum is trying to
scent mark a little bit,
as she's going. She seems to be
scent marking and moving
and scent marking and moving.
She seems to be trying to lead
him in the opposite direction.
He's stopped pursuit.
It seems to be working.
Xudum is completely leaving
the scene now.
Yeah, I think she's just trying
to get the hell out of here.
But she's been through
quite an ordeal.
Maybe let's just let her go,
call it a night.
I think she's going to need some
time to gather herself.
Yeah, copy that.
That's a horrific thing
for a mother to go through,
especially after giving birth, like,
a week ago.
TRISTEN SIGHS
And yeah
At least we've got one
cub, eh?
At least we've got one cub.
Thank God she moved him.
I think Xudum knew
the dangers that were here
and she was really smart to move
that cub early in the morning.
I just hope that Xudum has done
enough to disguise her trail
back to the new den.
Anna and Rea are still
with Sepoko, the cheetah.
LOUD YAWN
It is six in the morning
and just spent all night
staring at a sleeping Sepoko.
Making sure that we don't lose him
because losing a cheetah here
would be devastating.
ENGINE STARTS
Well, Sepoko's up.
He's so beautiful.
Oh, he's so cool.
He's a cool dude.
This time that we've got
with Sepoko,
we're going to make sure we stay
in touch with him as long as we can.
It looks like he's headed
for the flood plain.
This morning,
he's woken up with purpose.
We've got Sepoko here just having
a little drink of water.
Cheetahs don't
actually need to drink water.
They get the majority of their
liquid intake
from the prey that they kill.
Like vampires, they drink the blood
and they also drink any urine
left inside their prey.
It's pretty brutal!
It does make you look at cheetahs
in a slightly different way.
Sepoko is crossing
the floodwaters.
This is really unusual to see.
Yeah, it's pretty special, hey?
Our cheetahs, how in the delta
they're forced to adapt.
They do water crossings.
Even with the flood here,
it's not blocked them off
from going anywhere.
Our cats, they just go
where they want to.
I believe he wants get out of the
area, move to a new place.
Don't forget, this is lion
central here.
Stay like a ghost.
Sepoko can cross the water
Doesn't look too promising.
..but it's a different story
for Rea and Anna.
I don't think we're
going to cross here.
I thought I would walk it,
but this looks very creepy!
I'm in two minds about it.
I don't think I'm going to take
a walk through here.
Oh! Ha!
I knew it didn't feel
very safe to go in the water here.
Yeah, that's a croc.
And I was going to go in with my!
HE LAUGHS
Trust your instinct. If your
instinct tells you no, don't do it.
I'll get the drone up and
then we can try and stay with him.
It's quite funny that this cheetah -
who supposedly doesn't like water -
but yet, he's straight through there
and we're stuck on the other side!
Ah!
He's so beautiful!
Oh!
What an amazing animal.
Whew!
Just got a bit emotional.
I don't know why.
Maybe the fact that
they are nearly endangered now.
Cheetah are classified
as a vulnerable species.
They're on the red list.
And we're
looking at one of only 7,000
that are left in the wild.
It's really not a lot.
Oh, yeah, Rea,
I think we have officially
lost Sepoko. He is gone.
At least we know he's fed
and he looks very, very chilled,
so
Yeah. For sure. He's a happy cat.
Bye, Sepoko!
Hopefully see you soon!
RADIO BEEPS
Tsebe the lioness has been
struggling for food.
The team hasn't seen her
cubs for over 24 hours.
HE CHUCKLES
I cannot tell
you what we've got here!
Magic!
What we've got here!
Look at those little!
Oh, my goodness!
CHUCKLES
Ah! They're so tiny.
This is looking a bit confusing.
I can only see two cubs here.
It could be possibly Tsebe has
lost three of her cubs.
We have to be realistic about this.
Without enough food,
it's hard for Tsebe to make enough
milk to keep all five cubs alive.
Hang on - a third one.
A third one!
That's the fourth one.
The fourth one is coming.
This is getting exciting.
Oh, man! I think
she's got all the cubs.
What a mum!
Five!
This is beautiful.
My heart sings right now.
She's made it to
here with her five cubs!
Oh, man.
Well done, Tsebe.
She's always going to be hungry,
because the amount of milk - that
rich milk she's producing
for those five cubs, is immense.
So she's on constant
lookout for a meal.
And right on cue, she's off again.
BIRDS CALL
Oh, alarm calling.
Lions on the move!
That's Tsebe and one of the girls.
They're moving quite fast.
These lionesses, they're tuned
into cues that we're not aware of.
This time, she has the help
from another hungry female
from the pride.
Oh, hang on, I can see there's a
lechwe struggling in the water!
Whoa, whoa, whoa. You see that?
There's a crocodile.
GUTTURAL GROWL
This is crazy!
They are trying to snatch
the lechwe from the crocodile.
Crocodile is pulling back.
They're pulling as well!
This is a battle.
This could be dangerous for them.
That is a Nile crocodile.
That could pull a lion in
that water and kill it.
What a scene.
Oh, jeez!
They've got it.
I mean, this is one of the most
craziest things I've ever witnessed.
Seeing Tsebe bolting into
that water,
snatching a meal from a crocodile!
This is certainly
a very substantial amount of meat.
A lioness would need around
about 35kg per week.
And when suckling cubs,
it's even more.
And now she's able
to produce super-high-energy milk
to keep her cubs going.
Tsebe has been so,
so desperate for food.
The last time she had something
was a tiny, little hare.
Anna and Rea were
hoping that she gets a big meal.
Times like this, you realise why the
Xudum pride numbers are growing.
It is because how
dedicated these mothers are.
They have adapted to this
scavengers mode
and that's a survival skill.
This - happy days!
Brad and Tristen don't know
if Xudum's male cub is safe.
I'm hoping she starts to make
her way back to the den
and we kind of get that clarity
that there's still one surviving.
It's been really hard to swallow
what we witnessed with Mosweu
and the cub.
The aggressive leopard behaviour
the team saw last night
is very rarely filmed.
These animals are like family to us.
I've spent more time with this cat
than I have with my own family
over the past few years.
I understand why Mosweu did this.
It's ingrained, and he's just trying
to protect his chances of mating.
But it's still a horrific,
horrific experience for Xudum.
When Mosweu grabbed that one cub,
he was so intent on following her,
and it was amazing to see how she
didn't just bolt back to the den.
She actually deliberately
led him astray.
It's quite exceptional.
Today, Mosweu is nowhere to be seen.
Xudum is finally heading
towards her new den.
Xudum's inbound.
They come very quietly.
Probably just passed us here.
This is too exciting for words.
She's coming up to the tree now.
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
Oh, I can see the cub!
Oh, hello, little guy!
Oh, I'm so glad.
Hello!
Oh, you sweet little thing.
This is the moment
we've been waiting for.
Xudum is now in the den.
The cub is still alive.
She's showing us where it is
and that it's OK.
Oh, you cute thing!
That is beautiful.
CUB MEWS
She's just moved
it down further in the den.
She's positioning herself now.
The cub can suckle.
What a clever girl.
Oh! It looks like
everything is fine -
she's looking great,
the cub looks healthy.
It's really, really amazing,
actually, just to have them
both in the tree together
and having the family back together.
It's a big, big relief,
I have to admit.
I think the fact that Xudum has
any cubs alive still,
is testament to the mother
that she's becoming.
I think it was her quick thinking
and her decisions she made
that has kept one alive.
Back to a happy space.
Mum, tiny cub, leopard cub,
and elephants breezing past.
Just everyone carrying on
with their lives.
Just the best.
RADIO BEEPS
With a full stomach, Tsebe is
heading back
to the rest of the pride.
Here she is.
She's rubbing heads with
one of the females.
It's very affectionate.
I think they're telling Tsebe,
"Just chill."
"Tsebe, you sit down. You've been
working hard. Just relax.
"Let's gain our energy."
Yes, there's a sense
of community and togetherness.
Just remarkable.
Vianet, do you copy?
Copy, copy.
Big Toe and Madumo, they are
slowly moving your way.
VIANET CHUCKLES
They are all here!
The entire pride.
The males looking majestic
with their manes.
The Big Cats team is now near the
end of its time here.
We have, every day, got to know all
of these cats better and better.
In the last six months, this
lion pride has grown
to be one of the
largest in the world.
The success of the Xudum pride is
brought about by
the unity the pride has.
In the case of these lions -
lions that stand a chance
of losing a beautiful
piece of the Okavango
and a huge pride.
They really have
each other's backs.
But the pride's fate is uncertain.
All good things come to an end.
As their numbers have grown,
they're getting less to eat.
I think something has to give.
Into the next season,
when times get tough -
when the water disappears,
when the prey disappears -
what cracks will begin to show?
It could be that these cubs,
they're the straw that breaks
the camel's back.
I think, in the near future, we're
going to see a split in this pride.
The carving off of some
of these lions.
Trying to make their own way.
Change is coming.