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Yesterday across this, there was no water.

Look at it now. The pride is here.

The full spectrum. And, of course, the cubs.

The annual flood has finally arrived.

With the water...

Uh-oh. This is a very risky situation.

comes new prey.

And fresh danger.

This feels like a battlefield.

If anything kicks off here, they're going to be in peril.

They're coming. They're coming. They're coming.

The Okavango Delta in Botswana.

It's wilderness and it's pure.

And it's a stronghold for Africa's big cats--

lion, cheetah, and leopard.

Here, 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 6 months...

Gotten wildly out of control.

Camp could burn down.

battling the elements...

It's desperate times. It's hostile, dry, and harsh.

to capture the cats' behavior.

Holy moly. Lions are scattering

24 hours a day.

Welcome to the Okavango Delta. It gets crazy.

Look at the birds. Look at the stork.

From a completely sober atmosphere to a burst into life.

There they are.

Vianet is following the Xudum Pride's mothers and cubs

as the flood transforms their home.

That's Mathata right there.

At 7 months old, Mathata is the eldest cub.

Mathata, he sees me. He knows who I am.

Ha ha! I have developed quite a soft spot for Mathata.

He's so bold. He's always up for it.

He's very playful.

Mathata in Congo-Brazzaville, where I come from,

means trouble.

8 weeks older than the other cubs...

He's so much bigger. Look at his belly.

Mathata needs to eat at least

10% of his body weight every day.

He has reached that sort of age

where he's started to be very inquisitive

about anything that he can eat.

Look at the distance he's left his mother.

The first two years of a lion's life

are its most vulnerable.

Oh, Mathata.

Only one in 5 cubs survive to adulthood.

Look, he's going.

He will drag his siblings or his mate into danger.

Mathata's first flood is going to be

a steep learning curve.

The big cats team is working

in a 150-square-mile area of the Okavango Delta.

Trillions of gallons of rainwater

are now flowing into the delta from the north...

bringing in animals from miles around.

And one arrival is going to change everything

for the Xudum Pride.

I can see the big herd of buffalo.

I'm gonna get the drone up.

Wow. We just have not seen

this number of animals together since being in the delta,

so it is really something special.

As the water pours in, it draws thousands of

Cape Buffalo to the delta's floodplains.

Oh, our lions are going to be

licking their lips when they see this.

Weighing nearly a ton, one buffalo could feed

the mothers and cubs for a week.

These are some of the most dangerous African mammals.

They are formidable.

Even a solitary buffalo

could seriously hurt or even kill a lion.

Not only are they absolutely huge,

they also have safety in numbers.

To hunt this new prey, the lions must be careful,

especially with inexperienced cubs around like Mathata.

It's going to be a real challenge

for our lions to take down any of these.

It's almost like unlocking a new level on your video game.

The buffalo have entered the game.

- To the north... - All the cubs are

walking with purpose with the mothers

towards the buffaloes.

The lions are approaching another huge herd.

Could be about 100.

Actually, a few more buffalo than I thought here.

Vianet, Rea, and Sets

are following the action.

Buffaloes are a good prize for lions.

It ranks up there in one of their favorite meals.

But getting a buffalo comes at a great cost

because a buffalo puts up a fight.

They have dangerous horns,

so they really need to be cautious

when approaching the buffalo herd.

The lionesses, they have to play very careful here.

Simply because they've got cubs.

All the lions are moving up from this grass.

The posture they're taking right now

is literally saying that we're going for it.

These cubs are close.

Mathata is here. He's trying to

get a go at the buffalo, which is quite risky.

This is how they learn to hone their skill.

Like seeing the moms in action.

I can see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 cubs.

5 cubs are having a little staredown with the buff.

What they should do is eventually fall back.

I'm actually pretty surprised how close they are

to the buffalo right now. It's dangerous.

If the buffalo were to charge, you wonder if the cubs

will get away in time.

As soon as they break, one of them from the herd

is when they're going to pounce.

Lion incoming.

Heart is beating.

The buffalo are just charging to the lions here.

Oh. Very close to the cubs. The cubs are scattering.

Oh, it doesn't even come.

Got the buffalo again with another charge.

The prey is chasing the predator.

1, 2, 3, 4 cubs.

Super close to Mathata.

Oh, baby.

The buffalo have pushed off the lions.

The lions have waved the flag of defeat.

It's tough out here.

It's a lucky escape for Mathata.

Buffaloes are too big for them to get involved with.

But the pride hasn't eaten in days.

With more buffalo arriving,

the danger to the cubs is building.

Heading out to go and find Xudum.

Leopard specialists Brad and Tristen

are looking for their favorite cat.

She's the prominent female leopard that lives

opposite our camp, and I haven't seen her for quite a while,

so, quite excited to get back on her trail.

Is that a leopard? Uh, it is a leopard.

All right. OK, cool. We're in business.

Uh, Brad, Brad, Brad for Tristen.

I've got a leopard, uh, just off the camp

west of the hippo pool.

OK. Copy.

This is very, very, very promising stuff

for so early in the morning.

Yeah, it's definitely Xudum.

3 months ago, the team witnessed Xudum

mating with an unknown male leopard.

She got up and turned around, and you could just see

a little bit of a bulge.

See something there.

See? That's...interesting.

She is pregnant from that mating.

It's like next week.

Xudum has had cubs once before,

but they didn't survive.

If she's going to have a cub,

I'd love to get an idea of where she's hanging out.

I want to see her moving around a little bit.

I don't want to see her start looking for dens.

I wonder where we're going now.

Looks like she might be on a territorial mission today.

Oh.

She's just really trying to nail down

the heart of her territory

and make sure it's all safe before she drops.

This behavior that we're seeing now

really seems to tie in with all of that.

Leopards regularly scent mark

to communicate with other cats.

Let's hit the road.

She just darted into the long grass.

Just looks like Xudum's really reacting in a territorial sense

to the presence of other cats in the area.

Fresh markings help secure her borders.

Kind of just doing her due diligence

before she goes denning.

She's in one of her favorite trees.

Close to home, close to camp.

I would have put money on the fact that

Xudum would den very, very close to our camp.

It's where she was born.

You know, this is really the center of her world.

This feeling, like she's kind of coming home

and she's becoming more immobilized for this process

if she's about to give birth.

She's smelling, she's advertising,

she's making the statement, really.

This is my place. This is my ideal.

So much game now all around us

with the arrival of the flood.

Rea is joining Anna...

What?

who has some exciting news.

No way! I've actually found a cheetah.

Rea, Rea, for Anna. You will not believe this,

but I have finally found a cheetah.

It's like a young male. Really small.

I don't think it's one that I've seen before.

If it's a young male, could be

Mushimani, or Mushi.

It means little boy.

Oh, that's really cute.

He's on the move. He's on the move.

He's going south.

It was definitely Mushi over here.

He's, like, between two to 3 years old,

so he could have just recently departed from his mum.

Amazing how much energy he's got,

and he is clearly hungry because

he's not resting as much as I would expect him to.

There's no question about whether he's hungry or not.

He is definitely hungry.

Young males need to eat every two to 3 days.

Oh. You really see how skinny he is right now.

The flood is drawing plenty of prey in...

There's a couple of lechwe

just here on the flood plain

where Mushi is heading to.

but it's making it hard for cheetahs to catch it.

Lechwe on the water.

And there's no way he's getting them.

Lechwe are wetlands specialists.

They're the fastest antelopes in water.

Mushi must be patient

if he's going to catch a meal.

With the flood drawing thousands of buffalo

into the area...

Gordon and Sets are given

a stark illustration

of just how dangerous this new prey can be.

Gonna put the drone up.

He's looking in a bad way. A really bad way.

OK. How are you, boy?

Looks as if he's taking his last breath.

Can still see him moving a little bit.

I think it's such a beautiful face.

He just looks like a cub.

One thing's for sure is he is not of the Xudum Pride.

This guy, he's only a youngster,

but he has got a story to tell.

Sad to see a youngster like this

not just on his own, but in a really bad way.

He is as skinny as skinny could be.

Yeah, it looks like he hasn't eaten in a while.

Yeah, from where I'm sitting, he just looks like a bag of bones.

The situation like this, you can learn about lions.

If they don't make the right decisions,

this is how they could end up.

Gosh.

It seems like the elephant has caught wind of the lion,

but he is oblivious. He doesn't know

he's being approached by these 3 elephants.

He is fast asleep.

Oh, he's spotted them now.

He has spotted them now.

Oh. Poor guy. Look at him.

Oh, he can't even use his leg.

Oh, my goodness me.

Oh, there's hardly anything of him.

And that's not a cut, a scratch, or a bite.

So, stamped by or kicked by a buffalo.

Is catastrophic for this lion.

That's a leg that's completely out of action.

Poor boy. It's heartbreaking.

Young male cheetah Mushi...

Rea, have you got, like, a general direction

that he's looking in?

is still hunting for a meal.

He's looking back where he came from.

He's definitely looking hungry

and like he's going to go for something.

It is such a shame that the majority of the prey

around is quite large.

So I think he's going to have to really focus on

the smaller prey items.

All it takes is for one lechwe or for one impala

to wander in front of him, and it's got

a good chance of getting it.

This could be his spot right here on this open floodplain.

Oh, I can see a young lechwe in there

that's much smaller than the others.

On dry land, cheetahs are almost

twice as fast as lechwes.

Well, I reckon that's going to be his target.

But the flood levels the playing field.

I reckon there is about 150 meters

between him and the lechwe,

and there's a really big body of water behind them as well.

So he's going to have to get to them

before they get to the water,

because once they're in the water,

they definitely have the advantage.

He's gone.

Ooh. Those lechwe have just bolted for water.

Oh.

Oh. He's missed.

That was a real close one.

Oh. I honestly thought that

that was going to be a successful hunt.

We've got to remember that Mushi's really young.

It's not been long since he left his mom,

but every one of those failed attempts

is a learning experience.

And cheetahs have a really steep learning curve.

It was a really good attempt, but he's going to

need to do a little bit better next time.

It's just so beautiful.

Vianet is with Mathata and some of the family.

Mathata is on top of the fallen tree.

He's playing the king of the castle

with other cubs.

Look--he's blocking everybody else.

So cute.

It's just coming up to sunset now.

As night falls, Vianet switches

to the thermal imaging camera.

Something caught their attention,

and I'm wondering whether they want to hunt.

Some mothers go and hunt.

Some stay and look after the cubs.

Gordon, Gordon, do you copy?

-Go ahead. -3 lionesses

appear to be actively hunting.

Roger, roger.

Vianet is sticking

with the baby-sitters and cubs.

This is a formidable trio.

Gordon starts tracking

the hunting lionesses.

They are the hunting elite.

At the moment, all of these lions,

they're kind of holding a kind of constant path.

They're heading straight towards the floodplain.

I think there might be a whole flood of buffalo.

Oh, my word.

Possibly the biggest herd that I've seen.

Without the cubs getting in the way...

Holy moly.

the lionesses are hunting with more focus.

There's a lot of horns.

Man alive.

Things could change very quickly.

But the buffalo are not backing down.

Oh, man. Every time a lion runs,

the buffalo chases.

Big boo! Coming in.

Lions are scattering.

Super close.

That's not how it's supposed to be.

It seems that this plan... it hasn't worked out.

The hunting party is returning empty-handed.

Lions are tough

and lions can put up with food scarcity

and they can go hungry for a very, very long time.

Cubs can't.

Mathata and his siblings haven't had meat for days.

Really want to get some miracle right now.

But with so many aggressive buffalo close by...

it looks like the mothers are on the move.

The females are moving the cubs to a safer location.

Determined to find food... OK.

the hunting party splits off again

in search of more prey.

Guys walking straight towards those lechwe.

This is when things get potentially very interesting.

My goodness. Somebody's going wide.

In position.

Lechwe typically use water for safety.

The lechwe doesn't know that the lion's there.

But these lions have a strategy

that Gordon has never seen before.

Baby, baby, baby.

She is creeping through that water.

They're hunting in water.

Doesn't want to make a sound, make a mistake.

One is right in the deep water. My goodness, look at that.

These lions really are clever.

Hunting lechwe in water.

Especially at nighttime.

I mean, this is just amazing.

That is real skill and strategy here.

Whoa! Running.

Oh, my goodness, they're running straight towards her.

Come on, girl. Is there something you can do?

Oh, right over her head.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Oh, you are so unlucky.

It hasn't worked out.

That was an amazing, amazing dash.

Hard luck, ladies.

This is...ah, just truly extraordinary aquatic lion.

The lions may have missed out

on a kill during the night,

but the area's most elusive big cat has had better luck.

Anna, Anna, do you copy?

What's that for Anna, Rea?

You will not believe that I'm just here

close to Cheetah Pan and I've got

a very full stomach Mushi.

No way.

Well, I'm glad that he has had a meal,

but I'm also slightly gutted that we missed that.

Um, I'm gonna come and have a look at him.

Oh, Mushi.

Mushi's got a massive belly. Oh, Mushi.

A male cheetah can eat up to

30 pounds of meat in one sitting.

Hey, Rea. I can't believe it.

What's the chances of that?

I know, though. His belly's very full.

It kind of looks quite freshly full.

Could have hunted this morning, I guess.

Oh, he's got blood on his nose.

Huh. Then yeah, maybe, yeah.

Then it is from today.

He's clearly very clever, and he knows what he's doing.

What a little dude.

He just came down from the termite mound.

He's in the shade there. I think

his plan for the rest of the day is just relax.

I know he's just a young boy, but I'm thinking

we should have given him a little bit more credit. Clearly.

I mean, the evidence is there with his massive stomach.

I think he's got a pretty bright future.

A really bright future

and a really big belly.

Yeah.

Greg is with the Xudum Pride

and a large herd of buffalo.

If there was ever a place that I wouldn't want

to be as a lion, it's here,

stuck between all of those buffaloes

and a big river channel.

Despite the fact that buffalo is a food for the lions,

they're also very much foe.

But the stakes are even higher now with the cubs here.

A lot of the big bulls and more aggressive buffaloes

are at the front here, which is not good.

If they can get their hooves on a cub,

there's going to be problems.

The lions still haven't eaten,

and now they're the ones being challenged.

Imagine what Mathata feels like right now looking at that.

Lionesses have made their way with the cubs

right onto the water's edge.

They have nowhere to go.

Dominant pride male Big Toe

moves in to slow the buffalo advance.

Big Toe has parked himself off

right in between the buffalo and the rest of the pride.

He's trying to hold his ground here.

Uh-oh.

But the buffalo have the upper hand.

You almost squashed Mathata.

Okavango lions are capable swimmers.

But this is Mathata and the cubs' first flood.

They've never had to swim before.

The cubs are panicking.

Can easily attract crocodiles.

The lionesses are hesitating.

They don't want to get into deep water.

They're swimming after them.

Two of the mums are with the cubs.

Even a big lion like him is vulnerable to crocodiles.

They're still in deep water now.

Still deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep.

Yo! That was close.

They've made it across to this side of the channel.

Oh, that was too much.

Oh, that's amazing.

With the lions in retreat, the buffalo are leaving.

Their point has been proven.

That was insane.

Ah. You can see that everybody is just so pleased

that we're all safe and sound and across the channel.

Mathata has survived

his closest call yet,

but he's still without a meal.

He doesn't look like a cat that's just had

a run-in with buffaloes and crocodiles.

It's danger every day for these cubs.

But look at them now.

All's well that ends well, huh?

With floodwater changing the cats' behavior...

Vianet is setting up camera traps...

Such a warm day.

to find out who's visiting camp during the night.

I've been hearing a lot of rustling

around this section here.

Triggered by movement, these cameras

will capture any activity after dark.

Let's see what we got.

Oh.

Ooh, ooh. What have we got here?

Hippopotamus.

The amount of traffic you get every night is unbelievable. Oh!

Oh! You see that?

Wow.

They're so close to the mess tent.

Leopard, leopard, leopard.

That's Xudum.

Brad's suspicions that Xudum,

the pregnant female leopard,

will give birth near camp are looking promising.

I've got Xudum the leopard

prowling beneath my cabin.

I'm not sure I'm going to sleep tonight.

Sure enough... at first light,

Xudum is found nearby.

Hey, girl. How are you doing?

With the birth of her cubs imminent,

Brad and Tristen are following her every move.

Come say hello to us.

She's definitely very relaxed with us.

I mean, it's of her own free will in her own domain.

And, you know, it's a very, very beautiful thing to happen.

Random one. There's a leopard

in the middle of the floodplain moving through the water.

But only 500 yards from Xudum...

So weird.

Greg spots something unusual.

Broad daylight, and there's a leopard

just--ha!--walking through the water.

, Greg, you're gonna go for it.

Yeah, I'm on it.

If you need any backup with that leopard,

just let me know. I'm not far from you.

Anna's joining Greg with the drone.

If you ask anyone, oh, yeah, leopards moving through

water at noon, why would a leopard be moving around now?

Not something you see very often.

This is Metsi, the young male leopard

we've seen around a few times of late, actually.

I wonder what he's up to.

He's been paying so much attention to the smell of

something underneath where he's been walking.

He could be sniffing around and smelling

Xudum, actually.

That's a possibility.

Metsi's nose is leading him closer to Xudum.

Oh, there he is. Wow. So camouflaged.

What he might be smelling is her scent.

Considering that she's in a sausage tree

only about 200 meters, 300 meters south of us.

Really unlucky for Xudum then at the moment,

because we've got a flood coming in.

It's pushing males onto these islands in higher densities.

Which is a challenge.

Especially, you know, with potential cubs on the way.

Any male leopard who finds cubs that are not his

is very likely to kill them.

Yeah, we don't want him sniffing around after Xudum.

He looks beautiful, but he is also sinister.

Luckily for Xudum, Metsi is picking up

the scent of something else.

Those lechwe cottoned on

that something's not quite right.

He's hunting.

Trying to pick up on lechwe lambs.

A young lechwe lamb would be perfect for him.

The big leopard wouldn't want to be so obvious.

And Metsi is, I don't even think

a leopard could get more obvious.

Amazing, amazing. I've never seen a leopard

hunting like this before.

Whoa.

Here's a female lechwe that has just

followed this leopard onto an island,

so I can't think of another reason why she would be

following him other than to protect her baby.

Female lechwe hide their young after birth.

She's not happy with him going in there.

Just the fact that the lechwe is reacting like this

tells me that her baby is in there.

The lamb is stashed in deep vegetation to keep it safe.

Hopefully for the baby, it's by the elephants,

because I don't think Metsi is going to want to get

too close to the elephants.

It's too well hidden and Metsi gives up.

Oh.

That's a surprise. You've climbed the tree.

Metsi's no threat to Xudum right now.

But Brad has recently seen other male leopards

straying into her territory.

There's a lot of male activity. We're on

11 males in this area.

Identified males.

Xudum is searching the area.

- It's not a good sign. - Covering more than

6 square miles...

It's going from bush to bush,

sniffing, looking, being very delicate

To find the safest spot

to keep her vulnerable, new cubs hidden.

This is exactly the thick cover type of area

that she would be looking to den in.

She's definitely looking at den sites here.

She marched very deliberately to this one...

and disappeared inside and she hasn't emerged yet.

Disappeared into a really thick blue bush forest.

And she was very deliberate about it.

It could be a den site.

It's a nice structure in it and it's well hidden

and she's got good access in and out of here.

If this is the den site,

Xudum's cubs will arrive any day.

I mean, it's a little too early to say for definite.

But the threat of male leopards still looms.

OK. This is the biggest

gathering of the pride that I've seen at nighttime.

Gordon is back on the nightshift with the lions.

We've got 8 lionesses. We've got

Mathata and the rest of the gang.

So this is...a big hunting party.

They're definitely very, very focused.

All of the cats have suddenly got up and moved.

They have seen or heard something.

Oh, my goodness.

I've got a little herd of buffalo up ahead.

And there is...5 of them.

Could be more.

Yeah, there's more coming. More behind.

Such a big hunting party

could finally provide a meal for the cubs.

And there is a big, a big risk

that these cubs bombing about the place,

making a lot of noise, could ruin things.

Mathata and his siblings

need to stay out of the way.

Not a single one of these lions

can make a mistake.

Somebody's running.

Whoa, we're really close.

We've got subadult males. And on this hunt,

it's good to have a bit of muscle.

Oh, this might be it.

Buffalo spotted them.

Buffalo's chasing them.

Lions running towards the buffalo.

OK, they've cornered it.

OK. Running.

Oh, they got it. They got it. Oh, no. Have they?

Then round.

Oh! Run right past me. Where is it?

Where is it?

Where is it?

Oh, man, that is a pile on.

It's all over.

So we've got whole herd of buffalo.

This one just made the mistake of splitting away from the herd.

And with this many lions around, you know, they really don't.

It didn't stand a chance.

It's taken nearly the whole pride,

but the lions finally have their ultimate prize.

This is quite something for these cubs.

Mathata is getting his much-needed meal.

They are just clambering over this mountain,

is this dead buffalo.

So you're talking about life experiences for a lion cub.

This is a moment to remember.

I had a funny feeling about tonight.

I had a good feeling.

Vianet is joining Mathata and the triumphant lions.

I love mornings like this.

I just love mornings like this.

In 4 hours, they smashed through this buffalo.

Something's moving inside it.

And I'm wondering what that is.

Oh. This is so good for the cubs.

Buffalo is the best you can get.

All this prey will fuel

Mathata's latest growth spurt.

They've pretty much finished it. Now look at their bellies.

They look so full now.

He's expected to double in size

in the coming months, so he needs to make the most

of this food supply while it lasts.

I'd want to see you grow strong.

Strong, strong, strong, Mathata.

But the flood will soon dry up.

The buffalo will leave...

and Mathata will face his next challenge.

When I first met him,

he lived up to his name,

Mathata...which means trouble.

But now he has developed so much into this sort of

confident and calm young man.

He's boisterous. Very protective.

All his beautiful characters I expect to see

from a future king of the savannah.