Original subtitles

Viewers like you make this program possible.

Support your local PBS station.

Call for help! Coming through.

The "Big Cats" 24/7 team...

Anna, back up, please.

Is facing the largest seasonal wildfire

in five years.

It's gotten wildly out of control.

The camp could burn down.

They're fighting to save their base camp.

Are there more guys there?

I need three guys! Three!

We can hold it.

A fire like this is gonna affect...

it's gonna affect everything.

The Okavango Delta in Botswana,

one of Africa's last wildernesses.

Okavango Delta is...

it's 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 filmmakers is working together

to record the cats' lives like never before.

They'll follow individual big cats

for six months, through the day...

This is crazy. This is a battle.

And the night...

Lions have got amazing night vision,

but it's not as good as this.

Capturing their behavior...

He's got the cub. He's got the cub.

24 hours a day.

Welcome to the Okavango Delta.

It gets crazy.

It looks to be going good.

It shouldn't be reaching this side.

It shouldn't reach camp, yeah.

So, it's looking positive. I think we're good.

Overnight, the wildfire

narrowly passes the film camp

but continues to spread farther south.

It just got very worrying.

Such a close call.

We just have to wait and see what the repercussions are

for the animals that...that live here.

Let's roll.

Before dawn, the team is heading out

to see its impact and to find out

if the big cats are okay.

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 gonna be a bit of chaos.

All of the big cats will be just trying

to find their place and readjust

to a whole new burnt landscape.

So, it's of learning

a new map to this area

now that there's been such a lot...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.

Okay. We're just sort of up near the bit of the forest

that's actually burning at the moment.

Wildlife camera team Gordon, Vianet, and Sets

is searching for the lions.

The blaze has terrorized

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 meters 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'll just get down and see if we can find them.

But it's not... not good.

The fire is not far away.

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, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I see a cub.

A cub. There. Could it be a cub?

That's...

a huge relief.

This is the highlight of my day.

Old Uncle Gordon has 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 seemed to shrink in size.

They look smaller and more vulnerable

than they do on a normal day.

80% of cubs won't make it to their second birthday.

So, yeah, I think...

that my concerns are quite legitimate.

Vianet, Sets for Gordon. I've got good news.

Found the cubs. They're all alive.

That's wonderful. All right.

I should see you shortly.

Thank you again.

Copy that.

Whoo! Looky there.

Yeah, Vianet, I can see cubs.

These experienced mothers

have kept their cubs safe.

The entire family is here.

But in this burned landscape,

the safety of the whole pride

is now up to these two lions.

This is Big Toe and Madumo,

two really impressive lions.

They are the pride males.

Madumo and Big Toe are nearly 10 years old.

For half a decade, they've been at the...

at the very top.

With the fire,

them having to meet up like this is good

to get a sense of security

and to relax a bit.

The cubs are coming in.

And look at the cubs.

They're really happy. They're climbing.

They're climbing the tree.

When we're at home with the cubs and the 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

at 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 gonna 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.

So, that's like a lion dropping a...a PIM,

letting everyone know this is exactly

where these two... these two lions are.

A lion's roar can travel more than three miles.

It's a clear signal to intruders

that they're 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 these cubs

and make his own cubs with these females.

With Big Toe and Madumo

asserting their dominance...

The team is sticking with them.

Closer to camp, leopard specialist Brad

is concerned for his favorite cat.

I can just see the... 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 that she would have followed

the unburnt section, heading south.

There she is. It'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 up 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.

It's an ideal setup to ambush impala.

Here in the Okavango,

leopards have learned to hunt in an extraordinary way--

tree jumping...

leaping up to 10 meters 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 an invaluable 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...

the most supreme predator doing its ultimate feat--

skydiving on top of impala.

Greg for Anna. Are you looking at this hippo?

Yeah, it's shocking.

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.

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.

He led us right to some lions.

Hey, Greg, these two subadult males,

I don't recognize them. Are they from our pride?

You know what? Honestly, I don't recognize them either.

They're definitely in the wrong place,

because we're within the pride territory.

The dominant males from our pride

aren't gonna 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 the Xudum pride territory.

I'll come and check in with you.

Nice. That sounds like a plan. I'll 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.

It'll be interesting to see what happens

if our two males move up into this area.

That's when things could get really interesting.

We'll 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 gonna try and hunt from the tree,

literally dive out of the tree and tackle impala.

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, we're waiting to see,

and hopefully we get lucky, and she does.

She's fully intent on hunting from the treetops.

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 gonna be a waiting game...

but worth the wait, I think.

Mastering a new skill, though...

She's gonna 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.

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.

Hundreds of 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.

Deer must be close by.

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 gonna happen.

This is, uh... not good for my heart.

If you don't do it now, you're never gonna do it.

Oh, I cannot believe this.

It's such a perfect opportunity.

She had impala underneath her.

That's the closest we've come.

Just a perfect setup,

and she just let them walk by.

Maybe the impala were just out of range.

Maybe she didn't have a good footing.

If she makes a mistake, she gets hurt badly.

Animals who get hurt out here don't survive very long.

Xudum must master this new skill soon.

She's definitely very, 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.

Her, it's, you know... it's life and death.

Big Toe and Madumo are on an evening patrol.

They are announcing to everyone

and every living thing...

That they're the kings.

Big Toe and Madumo

could be picking up the scent of the intruder male lions.

Through the night,

they stay close to the cubs,

and they're on high alert.

More than a mile away,

Anna and Greg are following the intruder males,

who are showing no signs of leaving.

Oh, these boys are getting a bit too close to our car.

Stay calm.

Oh. Wow.

Oh, my god. That was terrifying.

Greg, these boys

enjoy getting quite close, don't they?

As one was coming up to your vehicle,

I was just thinking, "Oh, gosh. Hold you breath."

I'm pretty sure a little bit of pee came out.

Ha ha. 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 meters away,

Sets and Gordon are trailing Big Toe and Madumo.

Okay. 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 it opened this whole area.

So, for these young intruding males,

they're gonna be able to see Madumo and Big Toe

from half a mile away and take appropriate action,

and appropriate action is to get out of here.

They're calling.

Ooh, you hear that?

So, that's Big Toe and Madumo.

They're just roaring,

and they're just making it known that they're nearby.

The 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...is very serious.

So, Madumo and Big Toe both calling.

At least a quarter of lion fights

end in serious injury or death.

Any male that can hear that

would be intimidated.

They mean business.

Big Toe and Madumo's scare tactics are working.

These boys are quick to be leaving.

The intruders have got the message and are leaving.

These young boys know

that they've 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.

With Gordon and Sets monitoring the lions...

Anna and Greg are free to resume their search

for a more 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 little bit of cover when approaching prey,

they also really utilize 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 spots some positive signs.

These lechwes are taking off at full speed.

Lechwes would react like that

to wild dogs and potentially cheetahs.

So, that's an interesting sign from the lechwes.

Let's just go a bit further up and have a look.

Whoo! I'm starting to get excited.

Yeah, come on. Surely.

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. Oh.

I'm scared. I'm scared that this is a false alarm.

Yes! Yes!

Finally! Whoo!

-Hello, Anna for Greg. -Go ahead, Greg.

We've got her. It's the female that we know

with the gray patch on the side of her left cheek.

Amazing, yes.

Here we go.

I'm extremely excited

to have a cheetah on the end of my lens.

Ah, she is 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 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.

Very active. She's looking for prey.

She's just stopped in the flood plain,

and there's baboons on the ground.

She definitely does not want to get spotted at this point.

She's running actually.

She's moving out. She's pulling out.

The 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.

A 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 gonna have to start taking risks.

We're rapidly losing light once again.

Pobe is going to struggle

to get a meal after nightfall.

We've radioed in to the camp

for them to bring out the thermal camera for us.

I'm really hoping that, with that,

we're gonna be able to follow her tonight.

It's getting exciting,

because 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've spent a night 30 meters away from a cheetah.

Ah, super cute.

She's so sweet.

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 spot for herself.

It's gonna be a good test of patience

if we're gonna watch her sleep until daybreak.

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.

We've seen her with impala

underneath her tree several times.

But we have yet to have that full execution.

All the potential is there.

It's just now up to Xudum to really master the skill.

Got a slow trail of impala arriving,

and they're heading straight for where she is.

It's gonna happen.

Come on, my girl. Today's your day.

The right tree,

the right position...

the right prey.

She's got it.

That impala is probably 1 1/2 times her weight.

I hope she can hang on.

She's worked hard for this.

I'm very touched 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 gonna be a special day and a special time.

She is just such a gem in this whole thing.

Well done, my baby doll.

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.

It 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.

Yeah, she's entered with a real purpose.

She could easily just come bursting out of here

on an impala.

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.

Oh, she didn't get it.

That was quick.

The speed that she just went at.

Hold on.

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 exactly 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.

If Pobe is 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 here.

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 the day,

lions are sleeping.

It's hot, over 30 degrees.

But Madumo and Big Toe are still pressing on.

They are both scent-marking the exact same place,

right in front of me.

To protect their family,

they're working hard to reestablish the borders

of their hundred-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 moving. Okay.

There's a load of impala out in the open,

and Pobe's currently using the edge of the island as cover.

We think she's gonna possibly give them a go.

Greg, there's an impala about to run straight past her.

That is crazy.

She is meters away currently.

What?

It's like she knows that if she's gonna use that energy,

it has to be the one.

Oh.

There. She's going for the one on the right.

She's going. She's going. She's going.

Oh, my god.

Ah, she didn't get it.

Oh.

I thought that was gonna 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.

Oh, nearly.

Come on, Pobe.

She's got one. My god.

Ha ha ha.

Oh, my. She's got one. Pobe's done it.

She has done it.

That was the most hectic thing ever.

That'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.

And now, coming into night,

I don't know if she's exhausted,

but the impala she killed,

she's barely touched it.

Leopards typically stash their food in trees

to protect it from thieves,

but Xudum hasn't done this.

If the carcass is still on the ground,

there's a good chance that she's gonna get robbed.

I think it's a good idea to get Anna in here

with sort of thermal imaging,

and we might just spend the night

just watching and observing and seeing

if she manages to hold onto this carcass.

This is, like, the first proper feed she's had since she killed.

Oh, really? So, she is hungry.

We can hear her cutting through the sinew and the bone.

It's a hyena.

Jesus. Hyenas. Hyenas already got it.

That's why we're hearing so much noise.

A hyena has incredible crushing power.

He'll go through bone. We can hear it.

This guy has come in, and there's no one disturbing him,

and he's gonna fill himself as fast as possible.

Xudum is no match for a hyena.

She's retreating to the bushes nearby.

I would 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 developed.

This guy really is gorging.

Mm-hmm.

I know it's hard to tell now,

but do you think there will be

enough food left to sustain her?

With hyenas taking most of it,

she's gonna 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.

Gordon is searching for Big Toe and Madumo.

That's a good way of finding lions,

is looking for vultures.

Vultures in the tree here. There's vultures here.

Oh, my goodness. Look, look, look, look up ahead.

Who is it?

Sets. Sets for Gordon.

Gordon.

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.

Yeah, especially the one who's just stood up.

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 back.

They are big.

I'd say the 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,

they 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.

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're heading closer towards Madumo and Big Toe.

We've been with these two intruding males

on this buffalo kill, but they've moved out,

and they're heading westward.

Lights off.

Got one of the males.

He seems to have lost his brother.

Being out here alone,

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.

Making a low...

not a roar,

but a low kind of grumbling sound.

This type of vocalization

is like a kind of short-range call.

So, if his friend is within a couple hundred meters,

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.

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 I couldn't hear, but he certainly did.

So, what 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.

Okay, I don't know who it is.

Another lion. Another lion.

What the ?

I think this is Madumo and Big Toe.

They've come in. They are in hot pursuit.

Got to get around them.

Where have they gone? I don't see them.

Okay. 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 them.

This is gonna-- Oh, jeez.

This could be a fight to the death.