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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.