Big Cats 24/7 (2024) s02e02 Episode Script
Under Siege
1
The Okavango Delta in Botswana
We are in a pristine
environment right now.
one of Africa's last wildernesses
The magnitude of life
here is unparalleled.
and it's a haven
for Africa's big cats
lion,
cheetah,
and leopard.
Big cat country.
Armed with the latest
filming technology,
the "Big Cats 24/7" team
is following individual big cats
for 6 months
Gordon Buchanan:
This is a unique opportunity
to follow these cats round the clock.
through the day
Rea Schulte to Brinke:
I used to think I'd have
a fair fight with a lion,
not so sure now.
and the night
We've got the most sophisticated
thermal imaging technology.
capturing their behavior 24 hours a day.
I have never seen anything like this.
Epic!
With the Xudum pride males missing,
the Rogue Boys are making
their presence known.
OK. We're just gonna look for the cubs.
Gordon is searching for the pride's
most vulnerable members
its young cubs.
We've got some lions up ahead.
The Rogue Boys' roars
travel more than 8 kilometers.
When they hear these rogue males
and intruder males calling,
there's concern,
there's threat, and there's danger.
The females with cubs, they are moving
out of the core part of the territory.
This is the furthest south
that I've seen them.
Separating from the rest of the pride
and keeping so many cubs
on the move is dangerous
They've stopped.
but these mums
with young cubs have no choice.
A good position.
They're up on this termite mound here,
so anything that is coming
through this area,
they're gonna see.
We'll just do a little count.
We've got 9, 9 cubs.
These 8-month-old cubs
belong to pride mothers
Naledi
Tsebe
and Matho.
They are all hanging out together
because they've all
got cubs of the same ages.
My respect goes to these females
because they're doing
all the hard work
keeping these cubs alive
while Big Toe and Madumo,
the heads of the Xudum pride
they're the dominant males
they're nowhere to be seen.
It's been a week since
I've seen Madumo,
and for Big Toe, that's 3 weeks
since anyone has seen him,
so when it comes to invading males,
the burden of protecting the cubs
just lands on the shoulders
of the females.
Right.
They're on the move.
The best thing we can do
is just stick with them.
Water levels are at their lowest
in this 400 square kilometers
of the Okavango Delta.
The annual flood will soon arrive,
making it harder for Matho,
Naledi, Tsebe,
and their cubs to move freely.
Every single one of them
walking in the same direction.
They must put distance
between themselves
and the Rogue Boys, who are just
5 kilometers to their north,
while they still can.
Sets is joining Greg
to keep track of the Rogue Boys.
Oh, my goodness,
they're on a buffalo kill,
3 subadults,
and the big male
is right here in front of me.
Oh, my gosh, really interesting update.
They've killed the buffalo
in the center
of the Xudum lion territory.
It means they are willing to challenge
Big Toe and Madumo, our dominant males.
They really seem to be
making themselves at home
and have the nerve to make a large kill.
The Rogue Boys are staking a claim
to Xudum pride territory
and everything in it.
Dude, what is going on?
I have no idea. This is truly insane.
They're not even trying to hide.
No. They're not.
They made to kill to prove a point.
Mm. Yeah.
They're a very interesting coalition
of one huge male
with 3 subadults.
Adult male lions form coalitions,
lifetime partnerships
for protection and strength.
Typically, you don't
find coalitions like this
with vastly different age
in the same coalition.
I wonder if it's a father
and sons, potentially.
They've got a huge coalition leader.
He's in his prime.
We have decided to call him Dimo.
Dimo just means a giant.
I can see the size
of his mane and how dark it is.
This coalition looks like
it's been fighting quite a lot.
Can take example of
this youngster here.
He has a lot of battle scars
on his face.
With no pride of their own,
The Rogue Boys are looking
for one to take over.
These Rogue Boys,
they're gonna want to mate
with the females,
and that'll mean killing cubs
if they want those mothers
to come back into estrus
so that they can have their own cubs
and no one is defending this territory.
It's crazy, hey?
It's gonna be really hard
to fight off these Rogue Boys.
Leopard specialists Brad and Tristan
have found new mum Lediba.
This is too cute.
Lediba has two cubs 3 1/2 months old.
Really quite sweet.
They've got this whole nursery area
that their mother has put them into,
and she'll walk in and call,
and then they'll reveal
themselves to her.
Lediba's cubs are too young
to go with her when she hunts,
so the nursery keeps them hidden.
It's the perfect nursery here.
It's thick, thick sage.
You know, it's a lot of places
these cubs can learn,
play, and run around.
There's nowhere really better suited
to a leopard raising her cubs
than an area quite like this.
I love that interaction
between a mum and a cub,
something so gentle
and beautiful about it.
Lediba is suckling this one cub.
It's a pretty, little thing.
It's a busy time for a mum,
two cubs that are highly mobile
and needing to be fed.
She'll have a good session of feeding,
and then she'll do
her long hunting forays.
Lediba must hunt every two to 3 days,
traveling kilometers from the nursery.
She can't be there all the time.
Leopard cubs have
very high mortality rates.
They don't have somebody else
to look after them.
This is one of the most vulnerable times
in a leopard cub's life.
Sun's just dipping
behind the tree line,
and Lediba is now on the move.
She's heading off on another hunt.
As Brad follows Lediba
away from the nursery,
she hides in some bushes.
There's a male sitting here on the road.
and he's definitely interested.
Brad and Tristan
have already experienced
how brutal male leopards can be.
Male leopards
are notorious for killing cubs.
We were just so happy with her
having cubs in this area
because there's very little
male traffic through here,
and just when we say that,
a big male rocks up.
They're growling.
You can see the way
his tail is twitching,
he's definitely on her scent.
I just hope that she doesn't
lead him back
to where she's keeping those cubs.
He's letting Lediba know that he's here.
Not gonna sleep easy tonight.
The lion mums
are still moving their young cubs south.
To their north, the intruding Rogue Boys
have left their buffalo carcass
unguarded.
Oh, this is ballsy.
Some other members of
the Xudum pride have found it.
These two boys are enjoying a free meal.
It's the pride's two subadult males.
This is really bold of him.
The Rogue Boys,
they are heading to have a drink
at a nearby waterhole not far
from here, about 500 meters.
He's quite nervous,
looking around because he knows
when those males come back,
it is not gonna be pretty.
These two youngsters
might look almost fully grown
There's some grunting.
That's Dimo.
but the Rogue Boys' leader Dimo
is almost twice their weight.
The big boy,
he's about a 50 meters behind me.
He's advancing.
You can see how massive he is.
He is showing signs of aggression,
his body posture.
Oh, he's chasing. He's chasing.
Ah. The lions have run off.
They ran like hell out of there.
Hopefully, they're safe.
Dimo is victorious.
He is going to feel a sense
of pride and accomplishment.
Two subadults are no match for Dimo.
The absence of Big Toe and Madumo
is leaving the pride defenseless.
It just shows how bold he is.
It's a clear challenge.
Dimo and the Rogue Boys
are now taking more ground,
moving south towards the mums
and young cubs.
Just begs the question,
where are Big Toe and Madumo
when all of this is happening?
Got Pobe and the cubs. Ha ha!
Dimitraidis, on radio: Excellent news.
I will be there ASAP.
and Anna are with Cheetah mum Pobe
and her 5-month-old cubs.
Schulte to Brinke:
Pretty cool to watch these guys.
I mean, when we're following
them every single day,
you literally see their development.
It's like having your own baby
going from crawling to walking.
It's a feeling of accomplishment,
watching your little children grow up.
Now, Rea and Anna know the cubs,
they've named them
Kea the confident female
and Bo her shy brother.
Only a few weeks ago,
they were reliant on their mum's milk,
but now they are full-blown carnivores.
Schulte to Brinke:
Cubs are looking pretty hungry.
They've Their bellies are concave.
Kea and Bo must now eat
more than a pound of meat a day.
Cubs are really far in the distance.
This could be a moment for Pobe
to get a successful hunt in
without her cubs distracting her.
Pobe needs to catch a meal every day
to feed the cubs.
Schulte to Brinke: She went.
She went, she went, she went for them.
They should be coming out to your side.
Where is she?
Oh.
She's done it.
Well done, Pobe.
What an absolute genius.
Guys, she's got one. She's got one.
I'm sh
My hands are shaking.
Everything is shaking.
That was incredible,
and, you know,
she's done that for her cubs,
and I can see them coming in.
This is going to be
an absolute feast for these two.
Schulte to Brinke: What
Kea and Bo need is for Mummy
to open up this carcass
so they can have a meal.
The cubs' teeth won't be sharp enough
to tear through skin
for another two months.
Schulte to Brinke: Pobe
needs to catch her breath
a little bit.
Cheetah's main tactic
for hunting is a full-on sprint.
Sometimes being able to go
over 100 kilometers per hour,
very hard for cheetahs.
They are not really able
to sweat properly.
You can see her right now.
She's having a very heavy pant.
"Hah hah hah" Ha ha!
That's just to help with cooling.
This is a really
dangerous time for cheetah
because there was
quite a lot of commotion
when that all went down,
a lot of alarm calls.
Cheetahs lose one in 10 of their meals
to other predators.
Schulte to Brinke: Pretty much
every single predator
can chase our lovely cheetahs
off this kill.
Sadly for them,
amongst all our big cats,
they are the underdogs.
Being such a small cat like a cheetah,
you really are down the pecking order.
The challenge for Pobe now
is keeping hold of their meal.
With the annual flood due any day
Hey, girls.
We have run into the mums and cubs.
Greg has found
the pride's mums and youngest cubs
It's Naledi, Tsebe, and Matho
with their crew of cubs.
at the southern limit
of Xudum pride territory.
The lionesses are all very much on edge
about male lions,
and there's just, you know,
anxiety and stress and built-up tension.
Hold on. I think we have
another lion there.
Oh, it's big male.
Who is this?
Here comes Matho,
the most formidable lioness.
Matho is approaching as if this
could be one of the intruders.
Whoa! Yoo, she's upset.
Wait a minute.
I think that this is Madumo.
Big Toe has very obvious eyebrows,
whereas Madumo does not.
I'm so pleased to see Madumo back
looking strong and healthy
at a time when we've had
so much upheaval from the Rogue Boys.
Matho looked so angry.
She was ready for battle.
She was just assuming that every male
that approaches her
is about to go after her cubs.
That was amazing
just aggression from her.
Even Madumo has to approach
with caution.
Now that the mums, including Matho,
have calmed down,
everyone's approaching Madumo.
Oh, it's a snuggle with Dad.
The cubs are so excited.
That's so sweet.
Gordon. Gordon for Greg.
Buchanan, on radio: Hey, Greg. Go.
Madumo is back in town.
Wow.
Madumo, my boy.
He is a handsome fellow.
Last time I saw him,
he was severely skinny.
Look at him.
He's put on a lot more weight.
One question I always have
whenever I see Madumo on his own
is, where his Big Toe?
Lately, Madumo
has been seen with the pride
from time to time,
but his coalition partner Big Toe
has now been missing for almost a month.
Since we've been following the pride,
I've never had it that the big boys
have been separated for so long.
Alone, Madumo is no match
for the 4 advancing Rogue Boys.
No matter how determined and how strong
and how big he is, he's not gonna win
against multiple lions,
so until we find Big Toe
it's still a very precarious
moment for the pride.
Tristan and Brad
are checking in on Lediba
after finding a male
leopard close to her nursery.
Lediba is back in the nursery area.
One cub showed up.
Looks like Mum might be trying
to pick up the second one now,
and she seems to be getting
a little bit concerned.
She's calling, searching,
broadcasting her presence.
The male cub is missing.
I've never seen this amount
of vocalization
coming from a single leopard
in such a short space of time.
She's just desperate for a response
and she's just not getting it.
She's sawing.
This call, known as sawing,
is unique to each individual leopard
and can travel almost 3 kilometers.
The fact that she's trying this hard
really starts to
scare me, to be honest.
It's not a good sign.
The longer it's missing
the lower its chances drop.
Less than 50% actually survive
because they do get left alone.
They do have to fend for themselves.
Now she's high up,
she's increasing her throw of her call.
She's throwing caution to the wind now.
She may draw other predators,
and I think what we're seeing
is a very desperate mother.
It's looking more and more likely
that we've lost a cub already.
Life for all the big
cats of the Okavango Delta
is about to change.
Ha ha ha!
They're actually by the flood.
The annual flood has arrived.
We're expecting it
to be here within the next week,
but it's here now.
This is now. Ha ha ha!
This is the first time seeing
the flood come in in real time.
Hey, Gordon,
I have something amazing to show you.
I'm intrigued.
We're on the right road.
I can see your tracks,
so, yeah, I'll bump into you soon.
The waters of the Okavango
have come a long way,
close to 600 kilometers
from the highlands of Angola
through 3 countries,
finally ending up in Botswana
It goes from pure, dry floodplain
to a flowing river
within a matter of hours.
to create a spectacle
that's beyond words.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I don't need to ask what
you've got to show me.
Oh, yeah. You can see it already.
The speed. Listen.
I was here yesterday,
it was just bone dry.
Yeah, it was completely dry.
Yeah. It's really
gonna affect the lions.
It really is.
The territory is going to shrink.
These waters,
they are dangerous for them.
Yeah.
For the mums and smaller cubs,
they'll be restricted.
They can't really move around as freely
as they used to before
the flood has arrived.
Mm. There's less dry ground.
Yeah.
With the flood waters rising,
the mums and cubs
are running out of safe space.
The Rogue Boys
are now just a kilometer away.
Buchanan, on radio: Don't know
if anyone else heard that,
but I heard some roaring.
It's Dimo.
This is a sign
that these boys mean business.
The mums and cubs can't rest.
On a still night like this,
Dimo's roar will carry
throughout this whole territory.
What he's saying is,
"Be afraid. Be very afraid."
This is when it all starts to get
a little bit scary for cheetahs,
especially when they're on a fresh kill.
Anna is with Pobe and her cubs.
They still have the kill.
Nothing's come in to take it.
I think that could be something
to do with her smart tactics,
which involve basically
covering the carcass with dust.
She's trying to cover the scent
because when it turns to night,
things start to get a little
bit dangerous around here.
Pobe needs to be on high alert
all of the time.
Who knows what predators
could be lurking in the shadows?
I wonder if there's something there.
Ooh, jackal.
The cubs are essentially learning
how to guard their food against animals,
and level one is the
the lovely jackal.
Jackal doesn't really pose
much of a threat for these cubs.
I am super chuffed
that Pobe and the cubs
have managed to keep hold of this meal,
but it's when the big things come in,
like lions and leopards,
that's when it's gonna get
really real for these cubs.
The flood is making it harder
for the mums with young cubs to escape.
Nothing quite like crashing
through a floodplain.
To stop the advancing Rogue Boys,
the pride needs
both of its dominant males
Loads of vultures here. What's going on?
so Greg is searching for Big Toe.
We've looked in all the regular spots,
so we're gonna look in areas
that we would never normally go.
Ah!
I think we've got Big Toe tracks.
Yes! Finally!
Ha ha!
He must be not far from here.
Let's go and find him.
Oh. Uh-oh. Oh, oh.
Somebody up ahead of us.
This is a big male lion
just in front of me,
so who is this?
Ahh! Oh, gosh.
Please, please, please, please, please.
Come on. It's Big Toe.
Yes! What?
I can see those eyebrows.
The mighty Big Toe,
he's back in the game.
Greg has finally found Big Toe,
but he's a long way
from the usual pride territory.
This is an area where I've, in fact,
never seen
any of the Xudum pride before,
and it begs the question, you know,
where has Big Toe been
this whole time that he's been missing?
But he's definitely
on some sort of mission here.
It looks like he's
about to cross the water.
Haven't seen him for
for weeks, and it seems like
I'm only gonna have him
for a few minutes.
Come on, Big Toe.
Don't do this to me now, please.
I'm just not sure how I'm follow him
because I don't want to get stuck.
All right.
We're gonna have to do
a big water crossing here.
Oh, that's not ideal.
Ooh, hoo hoo! Ooh. Hoo hoo.
Oh. Oh, dear.
Ha ha!
It's flowing.
Not too bad.
We're through.
This is wild.
Trying to keep up with Big Toe
through the fresh flood
is not for the faint-hearted.
He's just picked up a scent
and is following it very intently.
He's sniffing, sniffing, sniffing.
He's trying to find another lion.
OK. We've just got visual
of other lions now.
Who are these lions?
What's going on there?
It's very, very strange.
I can't believe this.
This is not Xudum pride.
This is a whole different pride.
It appears that
Big Toe has another pride.
Well, that was unexpected.
At a time when the Xudum pride,
you know, needs him the most,
that is a problem.
That is a big problem.
Gordon. Gordon for Greg.
Go, Greg.
Gordon, you are not gonna believe this,
but I finally found Big Toe.
He's busy fooling around
with other lionesses.
You are kidding me.
It's not good, not good at all.
Wait a minute.
Looks like there's actually
another male here, as well.
Oh, no.
This is, in fact
Madumo.
That is unbelievable.
The dominant males
have been dividing their time
between the Xudum pride
and this new pride.
What's happening is, our big males
are mating with other lions,
and that's why
we don't see them very often.
While Madumo has been coming and going,
Big Toe has been here.
What's potentially
at play here is the fact
that amongst the Xudum pride lionesses,
all the older lionesses
have cubs at the moment,
and there's a fair chance
that all the younger lionesses
are related to Madumo and Big Toe.
In fact, they could be their daughters,
so the mating opportunities
within the pride are limited.
That might explain why
the boys have gone outside
to look for the chance
of siring more cubs.
Hmm.
Problem is,
if they're paying so much attention
to other lionesses,
they're neglecting the Xudum pride,
and that's why we've had
so much drama and chaos,
and that is gonna be a very
serious risk to those cubs.
The Xudum pride mums have been left
to defend their cubs alone
from the advancing Rogue Boys.
Lediba the leopard has been searching
for her missing cub
for almost two days,
but there's no sign of it.
Well, she's led us back to one cub.
She is entirely that one's world.
Just one
and I think she's moving it
to a new space.
Bestelink, on radio:
There's no daughter cub.
I just hope now,
with all her attention focused
on a single individual,
that cub stands a better chance
of staying alive.
It's still a miracle in itself
that she has one healthy,
surviving, and thriving, really.
That's a testament
to her abilities as a mother.
Lediba's surviving cub will soon pass
this most vulnerable age
and leave the nursery with her
when she hunts.
Pobe the cheetah is looking
for her next meal.
Wow. I think she's gonna go.
Go on. Go on. Go on. Go, go, go, go, go.
Yep. She's done it again.
Schulte to Brinke, on radio:
Pobe, Pobe, Pobe.
Those two cubs are insanely lucky
that they've got Pobe as their mum.
Cheetah mum Pobe has
secured her cubs another meal
as long as she can keep it
through another night.
I'm really, really chuffed
for Pobe and the cubs.
She's doing an incredible job
at feeding them.
Wait a second.
What's she seeing?
Pobe looks like she's getting into,
like, a weird stalk mode.
She's seen something.
There is something
sat
about 100 meters from her.
That is big.
Oh, God, I think that's a leopard.
That's a male leopard.
It's running in. It's running in.
I think she's trying to lure
this leopard away from the cubs.
This feels like a mad move from Pobe.
This hungry male leopard
is 1 1/2 times Pobe's weight
and could easily overpower her.
Pobe can't save her food,
but she can protect her cubs.
She just jumped at it.
She just jumped on the floor
to try and make a sound
to lure it away.
She's so, so clever.
Pobe might be smaller
than the leopard
but she has one clear advantage.
Pobe is not at her max. effort
in terms of speed, but that leopard
is really struggling
to keep up with her.
This is crazy.
Pobe has diverted
the leopard's attention
from the cubs
OK. This leopard is going to a kill,
but their meal is lost.
Off he goes.
That's so annoying.
That must have been terrifying
for those cubs
but we've seen tonight Pobe is capable
of essentially fighting off
a male leopard
to protect her cubs.
These are the lengths that
a mother cheetah will go to.
What an incredible cat she is.
OK.
Up ahead, we have a cluster of lions.
Gordon is also on the night shift.
We can put the drone up,
hopefully spot it from the air.
The Rogue Boys are closing in
on the Xudum pride mums and cubs.
Madumo and Big Toe,
they're out of the equation,
hanging out with a second pride,
and at some point,
these Rogue Boys,
they are gonna push towards these cubs,
and that could be tonight
so whenever a Dimo goes,
I'm just gonna keep up with him
as best I can.
He's on the trail.
The Rogue Boys are now close enough
to be picking up the females' scent.
Now things are serious.
Dimo is making his presence known
in sound and in scent.
Yeah. He's belting it out
with all his might.
Whoa.
A roar like that
just gets you in the belly.
Things are gonna escalate.
They're running.
I don't want to lose them.
Where are we going, pal?
Dimo just ran off into this forest
so at the moment, I've lost them.
The Rogue Boys have vanished
just 500 meters
from the mums and young cubs.
I think they've
disappeared into the forest.
This is really bad.
After losing
the Rogue Boys in the night,
the whole team is out at dawn
searching for lions.
Oh, my gosh, mums.
What a relief.
Anna has found the mums and young cubs.
OK. We're all safe. I can't believe it.
What incredible mums.
OK.
"I'm just coming to say hi."
Morning, Tsebe.
Hi, gorgeous girl.
You are beautiful, aren't you?
Well done for keeping your cub safe.
Oh, my God. Look.
What an amazing morning.
Schulte to Brinke, on radio:
Anna, Anna, are you reading me?
This is such just, like,
a dreamy, tranquil scene.
Anna, Anna, do you copy?
Anna Amazing.
The Rogue Boys are coming
towards the mums.
Oh, my God.
Rea, yeah, it's Anna.
Yeah. Anna, Dimo is right here,
and the 3 subadult males
looking super keen in your direction.
The Rogue Boys are heading
straight towards the mums and cubs,
and this is exactly
what we don't want to happen.
This is really, really dangerous.
Schulte to Brinke:
They're trying to pick up scent.
You can see them right now
with their noses, their mouth,
and then they put
their head up and go
There's absolutely no chance
that these lionesses,
with this amount of cubs,
are gonna be able to outrun
the Rogue Boys.
There's no way.
Rea, Rea, do you have an update?
Like 100 meters. They're super close.
I see them. I see them.
OK. Tsebe has seen them.
She's seen them.
Oh, they're coming in.
They're coming in.
I've never heard a noise like that ever.
Where are the cubs?
Please don't be dead.
The Okavango Delta in Botswana
We are in a pristine
environment right now.
one of Africa's last wildernesses
The magnitude of life
here is unparalleled.
and it's a haven
for Africa's big cats
lion,
cheetah,
and leopard.
Big cat country.
Armed with the latest
filming technology,
the "Big Cats 24/7" team
is following individual big cats
for 6 months
Gordon Buchanan:
This is a unique opportunity
to follow these cats round the clock.
through the day
Rea Schulte to Brinke:
I used to think I'd have
a fair fight with a lion,
not so sure now.
and the night
We've got the most sophisticated
thermal imaging technology.
capturing their behavior 24 hours a day.
I have never seen anything like this.
Epic!
With the Xudum pride males missing,
the Rogue Boys are making
their presence known.
OK. We're just gonna look for the cubs.
Gordon is searching for the pride's
most vulnerable members
its young cubs.
We've got some lions up ahead.
The Rogue Boys' roars
travel more than 8 kilometers.
When they hear these rogue males
and intruder males calling,
there's concern,
there's threat, and there's danger.
The females with cubs, they are moving
out of the core part of the territory.
This is the furthest south
that I've seen them.
Separating from the rest of the pride
and keeping so many cubs
on the move is dangerous
They've stopped.
but these mums
with young cubs have no choice.
A good position.
They're up on this termite mound here,
so anything that is coming
through this area,
they're gonna see.
We'll just do a little count.
We've got 9, 9 cubs.
These 8-month-old cubs
belong to pride mothers
Naledi
Tsebe
and Matho.
They are all hanging out together
because they've all
got cubs of the same ages.
My respect goes to these females
because they're doing
all the hard work
keeping these cubs alive
while Big Toe and Madumo,
the heads of the Xudum pride
they're the dominant males
they're nowhere to be seen.
It's been a week since
I've seen Madumo,
and for Big Toe, that's 3 weeks
since anyone has seen him,
so when it comes to invading males,
the burden of protecting the cubs
just lands on the shoulders
of the females.
Right.
They're on the move.
The best thing we can do
is just stick with them.
Water levels are at their lowest
in this 400 square kilometers
of the Okavango Delta.
The annual flood will soon arrive,
making it harder for Matho,
Naledi, Tsebe,
and their cubs to move freely.
Every single one of them
walking in the same direction.
They must put distance
between themselves
and the Rogue Boys, who are just
5 kilometers to their north,
while they still can.
Sets is joining Greg
to keep track of the Rogue Boys.
Oh, my goodness,
they're on a buffalo kill,
3 subadults,
and the big male
is right here in front of me.
Oh, my gosh, really interesting update.
They've killed the buffalo
in the center
of the Xudum lion territory.
It means they are willing to challenge
Big Toe and Madumo, our dominant males.
They really seem to be
making themselves at home
and have the nerve to make a large kill.
The Rogue Boys are staking a claim
to Xudum pride territory
and everything in it.
Dude, what is going on?
I have no idea. This is truly insane.
They're not even trying to hide.
No. They're not.
They made to kill to prove a point.
Mm. Yeah.
They're a very interesting coalition
of one huge male
with 3 subadults.
Adult male lions form coalitions,
lifetime partnerships
for protection and strength.
Typically, you don't
find coalitions like this
with vastly different age
in the same coalition.
I wonder if it's a father
and sons, potentially.
They've got a huge coalition leader.
He's in his prime.
We have decided to call him Dimo.
Dimo just means a giant.
I can see the size
of his mane and how dark it is.
This coalition looks like
it's been fighting quite a lot.
Can take example of
this youngster here.
He has a lot of battle scars
on his face.
With no pride of their own,
The Rogue Boys are looking
for one to take over.
These Rogue Boys,
they're gonna want to mate
with the females,
and that'll mean killing cubs
if they want those mothers
to come back into estrus
so that they can have their own cubs
and no one is defending this territory.
It's crazy, hey?
It's gonna be really hard
to fight off these Rogue Boys.
Leopard specialists Brad and Tristan
have found new mum Lediba.
This is too cute.
Lediba has two cubs 3 1/2 months old.
Really quite sweet.
They've got this whole nursery area
that their mother has put them into,
and she'll walk in and call,
and then they'll reveal
themselves to her.
Lediba's cubs are too young
to go with her when she hunts,
so the nursery keeps them hidden.
It's the perfect nursery here.
It's thick, thick sage.
You know, it's a lot of places
these cubs can learn,
play, and run around.
There's nowhere really better suited
to a leopard raising her cubs
than an area quite like this.
I love that interaction
between a mum and a cub,
something so gentle
and beautiful about it.
Lediba is suckling this one cub.
It's a pretty, little thing.
It's a busy time for a mum,
two cubs that are highly mobile
and needing to be fed.
She'll have a good session of feeding,
and then she'll do
her long hunting forays.
Lediba must hunt every two to 3 days,
traveling kilometers from the nursery.
She can't be there all the time.
Leopard cubs have
very high mortality rates.
They don't have somebody else
to look after them.
This is one of the most vulnerable times
in a leopard cub's life.
Sun's just dipping
behind the tree line,
and Lediba is now on the move.
She's heading off on another hunt.
As Brad follows Lediba
away from the nursery,
she hides in some bushes.
There's a male sitting here on the road.
and he's definitely interested.
Brad and Tristan
have already experienced
how brutal male leopards can be.
Male leopards
are notorious for killing cubs.
We were just so happy with her
having cubs in this area
because there's very little
male traffic through here,
and just when we say that,
a big male rocks up.
They're growling.
You can see the way
his tail is twitching,
he's definitely on her scent.
I just hope that she doesn't
lead him back
to where she's keeping those cubs.
He's letting Lediba know that he's here.
Not gonna sleep easy tonight.
The lion mums
are still moving their young cubs south.
To their north, the intruding Rogue Boys
have left their buffalo carcass
unguarded.
Oh, this is ballsy.
Some other members of
the Xudum pride have found it.
These two boys are enjoying a free meal.
It's the pride's two subadult males.
This is really bold of him.
The Rogue Boys,
they are heading to have a drink
at a nearby waterhole not far
from here, about 500 meters.
He's quite nervous,
looking around because he knows
when those males come back,
it is not gonna be pretty.
These two youngsters
might look almost fully grown
There's some grunting.
That's Dimo.
but the Rogue Boys' leader Dimo
is almost twice their weight.
The big boy,
he's about a 50 meters behind me.
He's advancing.
You can see how massive he is.
He is showing signs of aggression,
his body posture.
Oh, he's chasing. He's chasing.
Ah. The lions have run off.
They ran like hell out of there.
Hopefully, they're safe.
Dimo is victorious.
He is going to feel a sense
of pride and accomplishment.
Two subadults are no match for Dimo.
The absence of Big Toe and Madumo
is leaving the pride defenseless.
It just shows how bold he is.
It's a clear challenge.
Dimo and the Rogue Boys
are now taking more ground,
moving south towards the mums
and young cubs.
Just begs the question,
where are Big Toe and Madumo
when all of this is happening?
Got Pobe and the cubs. Ha ha!
Dimitraidis, on radio: Excellent news.
I will be there ASAP.
and Anna are with Cheetah mum Pobe
and her 5-month-old cubs.
Schulte to Brinke:
Pretty cool to watch these guys.
I mean, when we're following
them every single day,
you literally see their development.
It's like having your own baby
going from crawling to walking.
It's a feeling of accomplishment,
watching your little children grow up.
Now, Rea and Anna know the cubs,
they've named them
Kea the confident female
and Bo her shy brother.
Only a few weeks ago,
they were reliant on their mum's milk,
but now they are full-blown carnivores.
Schulte to Brinke:
Cubs are looking pretty hungry.
They've Their bellies are concave.
Kea and Bo must now eat
more than a pound of meat a day.
Cubs are really far in the distance.
This could be a moment for Pobe
to get a successful hunt in
without her cubs distracting her.
Pobe needs to catch a meal every day
to feed the cubs.
Schulte to Brinke: She went.
She went, she went, she went for them.
They should be coming out to your side.
Where is she?
Oh.
She's done it.
Well done, Pobe.
What an absolute genius.
Guys, she's got one. She's got one.
I'm sh
My hands are shaking.
Everything is shaking.
That was incredible,
and, you know,
she's done that for her cubs,
and I can see them coming in.
This is going to be
an absolute feast for these two.
Schulte to Brinke: What
Kea and Bo need is for Mummy
to open up this carcass
so they can have a meal.
The cubs' teeth won't be sharp enough
to tear through skin
for another two months.
Schulte to Brinke: Pobe
needs to catch her breath
a little bit.
Cheetah's main tactic
for hunting is a full-on sprint.
Sometimes being able to go
over 100 kilometers per hour,
very hard for cheetahs.
They are not really able
to sweat properly.
You can see her right now.
She's having a very heavy pant.
"Hah hah hah" Ha ha!
That's just to help with cooling.
This is a really
dangerous time for cheetah
because there was
quite a lot of commotion
when that all went down,
a lot of alarm calls.
Cheetahs lose one in 10 of their meals
to other predators.
Schulte to Brinke: Pretty much
every single predator
can chase our lovely cheetahs
off this kill.
Sadly for them,
amongst all our big cats,
they are the underdogs.
Being such a small cat like a cheetah,
you really are down the pecking order.
The challenge for Pobe now
is keeping hold of their meal.
With the annual flood due any day
Hey, girls.
We have run into the mums and cubs.
Greg has found
the pride's mums and youngest cubs
It's Naledi, Tsebe, and Matho
with their crew of cubs.
at the southern limit
of Xudum pride territory.
The lionesses are all very much on edge
about male lions,
and there's just, you know,
anxiety and stress and built-up tension.
Hold on. I think we have
another lion there.
Oh, it's big male.
Who is this?
Here comes Matho,
the most formidable lioness.
Matho is approaching as if this
could be one of the intruders.
Whoa! Yoo, she's upset.
Wait a minute.
I think that this is Madumo.
Big Toe has very obvious eyebrows,
whereas Madumo does not.
I'm so pleased to see Madumo back
looking strong and healthy
at a time when we've had
so much upheaval from the Rogue Boys.
Matho looked so angry.
She was ready for battle.
She was just assuming that every male
that approaches her
is about to go after her cubs.
That was amazing
just aggression from her.
Even Madumo has to approach
with caution.
Now that the mums, including Matho,
have calmed down,
everyone's approaching Madumo.
Oh, it's a snuggle with Dad.
The cubs are so excited.
That's so sweet.
Gordon. Gordon for Greg.
Buchanan, on radio: Hey, Greg. Go.
Madumo is back in town.
Wow.
Madumo, my boy.
He is a handsome fellow.
Last time I saw him,
he was severely skinny.
Look at him.
He's put on a lot more weight.
One question I always have
whenever I see Madumo on his own
is, where his Big Toe?
Lately, Madumo
has been seen with the pride
from time to time,
but his coalition partner Big Toe
has now been missing for almost a month.
Since we've been following the pride,
I've never had it that the big boys
have been separated for so long.
Alone, Madumo is no match
for the 4 advancing Rogue Boys.
No matter how determined and how strong
and how big he is, he's not gonna win
against multiple lions,
so until we find Big Toe
it's still a very precarious
moment for the pride.
Tristan and Brad
are checking in on Lediba
after finding a male
leopard close to her nursery.
Lediba is back in the nursery area.
One cub showed up.
Looks like Mum might be trying
to pick up the second one now,
and she seems to be getting
a little bit concerned.
She's calling, searching,
broadcasting her presence.
The male cub is missing.
I've never seen this amount
of vocalization
coming from a single leopard
in such a short space of time.
She's just desperate for a response
and she's just not getting it.
She's sawing.
This call, known as sawing,
is unique to each individual leopard
and can travel almost 3 kilometers.
The fact that she's trying this hard
really starts to
scare me, to be honest.
It's not a good sign.
The longer it's missing
the lower its chances drop.
Less than 50% actually survive
because they do get left alone.
They do have to fend for themselves.
Now she's high up,
she's increasing her throw of her call.
She's throwing caution to the wind now.
She may draw other predators,
and I think what we're seeing
is a very desperate mother.
It's looking more and more likely
that we've lost a cub already.
Life for all the big
cats of the Okavango Delta
is about to change.
Ha ha ha!
They're actually by the flood.
The annual flood has arrived.
We're expecting it
to be here within the next week,
but it's here now.
This is now. Ha ha ha!
This is the first time seeing
the flood come in in real time.
Hey, Gordon,
I have something amazing to show you.
I'm intrigued.
We're on the right road.
I can see your tracks,
so, yeah, I'll bump into you soon.
The waters of the Okavango
have come a long way,
close to 600 kilometers
from the highlands of Angola
through 3 countries,
finally ending up in Botswana
It goes from pure, dry floodplain
to a flowing river
within a matter of hours.
to create a spectacle
that's beyond words.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I don't need to ask what
you've got to show me.
Oh, yeah. You can see it already.
The speed. Listen.
I was here yesterday,
it was just bone dry.
Yeah, it was completely dry.
Yeah. It's really
gonna affect the lions.
It really is.
The territory is going to shrink.
These waters,
they are dangerous for them.
Yeah.
For the mums and smaller cubs,
they'll be restricted.
They can't really move around as freely
as they used to before
the flood has arrived.
Mm. There's less dry ground.
Yeah.
With the flood waters rising,
the mums and cubs
are running out of safe space.
The Rogue Boys
are now just a kilometer away.
Buchanan, on radio: Don't know
if anyone else heard that,
but I heard some roaring.
It's Dimo.
This is a sign
that these boys mean business.
The mums and cubs can't rest.
On a still night like this,
Dimo's roar will carry
throughout this whole territory.
What he's saying is,
"Be afraid. Be very afraid."
This is when it all starts to get
a little bit scary for cheetahs,
especially when they're on a fresh kill.
Anna is with Pobe and her cubs.
They still have the kill.
Nothing's come in to take it.
I think that could be something
to do with her smart tactics,
which involve basically
covering the carcass with dust.
She's trying to cover the scent
because when it turns to night,
things start to get a little
bit dangerous around here.
Pobe needs to be on high alert
all of the time.
Who knows what predators
could be lurking in the shadows?
I wonder if there's something there.
Ooh, jackal.
The cubs are essentially learning
how to guard their food against animals,
and level one is the
the lovely jackal.
Jackal doesn't really pose
much of a threat for these cubs.
I am super chuffed
that Pobe and the cubs
have managed to keep hold of this meal,
but it's when the big things come in,
like lions and leopards,
that's when it's gonna get
really real for these cubs.
The flood is making it harder
for the mums with young cubs to escape.
Nothing quite like crashing
through a floodplain.
To stop the advancing Rogue Boys,
the pride needs
both of its dominant males
Loads of vultures here. What's going on?
so Greg is searching for Big Toe.
We've looked in all the regular spots,
so we're gonna look in areas
that we would never normally go.
Ah!
I think we've got Big Toe tracks.
Yes! Finally!
Ha ha!
He must be not far from here.
Let's go and find him.
Oh. Uh-oh. Oh, oh.
Somebody up ahead of us.
This is a big male lion
just in front of me,
so who is this?
Ahh! Oh, gosh.
Please, please, please, please, please.
Come on. It's Big Toe.
Yes! What?
I can see those eyebrows.
The mighty Big Toe,
he's back in the game.
Greg has finally found Big Toe,
but he's a long way
from the usual pride territory.
This is an area where I've, in fact,
never seen
any of the Xudum pride before,
and it begs the question, you know,
where has Big Toe been
this whole time that he's been missing?
But he's definitely
on some sort of mission here.
It looks like he's
about to cross the water.
Haven't seen him for
for weeks, and it seems like
I'm only gonna have him
for a few minutes.
Come on, Big Toe.
Don't do this to me now, please.
I'm just not sure how I'm follow him
because I don't want to get stuck.
All right.
We're gonna have to do
a big water crossing here.
Oh, that's not ideal.
Ooh, hoo hoo! Ooh. Hoo hoo.
Oh. Oh, dear.
Ha ha!
It's flowing.
Not too bad.
We're through.
This is wild.
Trying to keep up with Big Toe
through the fresh flood
is not for the faint-hearted.
He's just picked up a scent
and is following it very intently.
He's sniffing, sniffing, sniffing.
He's trying to find another lion.
OK. We've just got visual
of other lions now.
Who are these lions?
What's going on there?
It's very, very strange.
I can't believe this.
This is not Xudum pride.
This is a whole different pride.
It appears that
Big Toe has another pride.
Well, that was unexpected.
At a time when the Xudum pride,
you know, needs him the most,
that is a problem.
That is a big problem.
Gordon. Gordon for Greg.
Go, Greg.
Gordon, you are not gonna believe this,
but I finally found Big Toe.
He's busy fooling around
with other lionesses.
You are kidding me.
It's not good, not good at all.
Wait a minute.
Looks like there's actually
another male here, as well.
Oh, no.
This is, in fact
Madumo.
That is unbelievable.
The dominant males
have been dividing their time
between the Xudum pride
and this new pride.
What's happening is, our big males
are mating with other lions,
and that's why
we don't see them very often.
While Madumo has been coming and going,
Big Toe has been here.
What's potentially
at play here is the fact
that amongst the Xudum pride lionesses,
all the older lionesses
have cubs at the moment,
and there's a fair chance
that all the younger lionesses
are related to Madumo and Big Toe.
In fact, they could be their daughters,
so the mating opportunities
within the pride are limited.
That might explain why
the boys have gone outside
to look for the chance
of siring more cubs.
Hmm.
Problem is,
if they're paying so much attention
to other lionesses,
they're neglecting the Xudum pride,
and that's why we've had
so much drama and chaos,
and that is gonna be a very
serious risk to those cubs.
The Xudum pride mums have been left
to defend their cubs alone
from the advancing Rogue Boys.
Lediba the leopard has been searching
for her missing cub
for almost two days,
but there's no sign of it.
Well, she's led us back to one cub.
She is entirely that one's world.
Just one
and I think she's moving it
to a new space.
Bestelink, on radio:
There's no daughter cub.
I just hope now,
with all her attention focused
on a single individual,
that cub stands a better chance
of staying alive.
It's still a miracle in itself
that she has one healthy,
surviving, and thriving, really.
That's a testament
to her abilities as a mother.
Lediba's surviving cub will soon pass
this most vulnerable age
and leave the nursery with her
when she hunts.
Pobe the cheetah is looking
for her next meal.
Wow. I think she's gonna go.
Go on. Go on. Go on. Go, go, go, go, go.
Yep. She's done it again.
Schulte to Brinke, on radio:
Pobe, Pobe, Pobe.
Those two cubs are insanely lucky
that they've got Pobe as their mum.
Cheetah mum Pobe has
secured her cubs another meal
as long as she can keep it
through another night.
I'm really, really chuffed
for Pobe and the cubs.
She's doing an incredible job
at feeding them.
Wait a second.
What's she seeing?
Pobe looks like she's getting into,
like, a weird stalk mode.
She's seen something.
There is something
sat
about 100 meters from her.
That is big.
Oh, God, I think that's a leopard.
That's a male leopard.
It's running in. It's running in.
I think she's trying to lure
this leopard away from the cubs.
This feels like a mad move from Pobe.
This hungry male leopard
is 1 1/2 times Pobe's weight
and could easily overpower her.
Pobe can't save her food,
but she can protect her cubs.
She just jumped at it.
She just jumped on the floor
to try and make a sound
to lure it away.
She's so, so clever.
Pobe might be smaller
than the leopard
but she has one clear advantage.
Pobe is not at her max. effort
in terms of speed, but that leopard
is really struggling
to keep up with her.
This is crazy.
Pobe has diverted
the leopard's attention
from the cubs
OK. This leopard is going to a kill,
but their meal is lost.
Off he goes.
That's so annoying.
That must have been terrifying
for those cubs
but we've seen tonight Pobe is capable
of essentially fighting off
a male leopard
to protect her cubs.
These are the lengths that
a mother cheetah will go to.
What an incredible cat she is.
OK.
Up ahead, we have a cluster of lions.
Gordon is also on the night shift.
We can put the drone up,
hopefully spot it from the air.
The Rogue Boys are closing in
on the Xudum pride mums and cubs.
Madumo and Big Toe,
they're out of the equation,
hanging out with a second pride,
and at some point,
these Rogue Boys,
they are gonna push towards these cubs,
and that could be tonight
so whenever a Dimo goes,
I'm just gonna keep up with him
as best I can.
He's on the trail.
The Rogue Boys are now close enough
to be picking up the females' scent.
Now things are serious.
Dimo is making his presence known
in sound and in scent.
Yeah. He's belting it out
with all his might.
Whoa.
A roar like that
just gets you in the belly.
Things are gonna escalate.
They're running.
I don't want to lose them.
Where are we going, pal?
Dimo just ran off into this forest
so at the moment, I've lost them.
The Rogue Boys have vanished
just 500 meters
from the mums and young cubs.
I think they've
disappeared into the forest.
This is really bad.
After losing
the Rogue Boys in the night,
the whole team is out at dawn
searching for lions.
Oh, my gosh, mums.
What a relief.
Anna has found the mums and young cubs.
OK. We're all safe. I can't believe it.
What incredible mums.
OK.
"I'm just coming to say hi."
Morning, Tsebe.
Hi, gorgeous girl.
You are beautiful, aren't you?
Well done for keeping your cub safe.
Oh, my God. Look.
What an amazing morning.
Schulte to Brinke, on radio:
Anna, Anna, are you reading me?
This is such just, like,
a dreamy, tranquil scene.
Anna, Anna, do you copy?
Anna Amazing.
The Rogue Boys are coming
towards the mums.
Oh, my God.
Rea, yeah, it's Anna.
Yeah. Anna, Dimo is right here,
and the 3 subadult males
looking super keen in your direction.
The Rogue Boys are heading
straight towards the mums and cubs,
and this is exactly
what we don't want to happen.
This is really, really dangerous.
Schulte to Brinke:
They're trying to pick up scent.
You can see them right now
with their noses, their mouth,
and then they put
their head up and go
There's absolutely no chance
that these lionesses,
with this amount of cubs,
are gonna be able to outrun
the Rogue Boys.
There's no way.
Rea, Rea, do you have an update?
Like 100 meters. They're super close.
I see them. I see them.
OK. Tsebe has seen them.
She's seen them.
Oh, they're coming in.
They're coming in.
I've never heard a noise like that ever.
Where are the cubs?
Please don't be dead.