Original subtitles

Previously on Kingdom...

...Olimba, the leopard, lost her son.

Can she help her daughter to independence?

Tandala, the hyena, faced enormous challenges,

all whilst expecting her first cub.

Storm, the wild dog...

...fought for the kingdom as a home for her growing family.

But now she's facing a new threat.

A pride of lions.

And one of her puppies...

...is stranded.

Can Storm save him?

Five years.

Four families.

Who will rule this kingdom?

Subtitles: FΛSSTΞCH Addic7ed.com

Storm and her pack must act fast.

Their persistent calls draw the lion's attention away from the pup...

...and it grabs the chance...

...to escape.

This land...

...has become dangerous.

The annual rains transform Nsefu.

The land becomes a green world.

The wild dog pups are enjoying themselves.

This is their first wet season.

The pups are ten months old.

They may look like grown-ups, but they don't behave that way.

And Storm, their mother, must teach them how to hunt.

But the clock is ticking.

She is, once again, pregnant.

After the rain, the grass is so tall...

...just finding prey becomes very difficult.

The hunt is on.

The pups ought to keep up with their mother if they're to learn how it's done.

But, within minutes, they're lost in the long grass.

And the adults don't wait for stragglers.

The pups are still lost.

Up ahead, for the pack...

...success.

The pups may have missed the action...

...but the adults always make sure that the youngest eat first.

Hunting isn't the only lesson the pups need to learn.

Tandala.

A hyena on the prowl must be dealt with swiftly.

First lesson...

...the best form of defence is attack.

The second...

...work together.

And the third...

...do so while avoiding the hyena's bone-crushing jaws.

It's all too much for Tandala.

The stakes for her have never been higher.

She's just given birth...

...to her first cub.

Her den is hidden away in a grove of ebony trees.

It's not just warthogs.

The rest of the hyena family is here too.

This is Tenta, the leader of the clan.

She has just produced not one...

...but two cubs.

Her twins are a little older...

...and a little bolder...

...than Tandala's cub.

And this is Tam, Tandala's sister.

Her cub is so young, he has not yet emerged.

They might all be one extended family...

...but each will only care for her own cub.

Hyena mothers rarely help each other.

It's a busy time for new mothers...

...all across Nsefu.

This season's newborns are taking their first uncertain steps.

But new arrivals and their mothers are easy targets.

The impact of the lions is increasing.

They are top predators.

The lions are not intimidated by anyone...

...even... at night.

A crocodile's bite is more than twice as powerful as a lion's.

But even so...

...the pride just treats this one like a plaything.

And this is merely the warm-up.

When hunting in a group, lions will tackle even a hippo.

Tonight, however, this seems to be demanding too much effort.

And there is another option.

They're so powerful...

...they can simply steal.

Tonight, Storm's family loses out to the lions.

But every family in Nsefu...

...must be on their guard.

These roars proclaim the pride's great confidence and power.

Olimba the leopard is at a pivotal moment in her life.

Her behaviour is changing.

She is marking her territory with scent.

Registering her presence...

...and declaring that she's ready to breed again.

That means her daughter, Mutima, is spending more time alone.

Now, being a year old, she should be able to hunt for herself.

But so far...

...she's all prance...

...and no pounce.

She's got great speed...

...and a phenomenal three-metre leap...

...but she hasn't yet put it all together.

There is an enticing scent in the air.

Olimba has made a kill.

But Mutima is not sure whether her mother is willing to share.

She tries to avoid wakening her.

It could be risky if she's caught.

Leopard mothers can be surprisingly aggressive with their adolescent cubs.

Mutima is in big trouble.

As they wrestle...

...the carcass falls.

And Olimba climbs down to reclaim it.

For Mutima, this is a tough lesson.

She's never experienced aggression like this before.

By refusing to share...

...Olimba is forcing her daughter to go it alone.

There is one more place where Mutima could try to find food...

...a colony of yellow-billed storks...

...the largest in Zambia.

Each wet season, hundreds of them come here to nest.

A fallen chick...

...a good meal for a leopard.

And one worth guarding.

Hunting practice will resume tomorrow.

Tucked away in a secret den, Storm has just given birth...

...to her second litter since arriving in Nsefu.

She has nine puppies, her biggest litter yet.

At this early age, they're very vulnerable.

Storm won't leave their side for several weeks.

She will rely on the rest of the pack to bring her food.

Last year's pups have stepped up just in time...

...returning with dinner.

The whole family will be needed to raise this litter.

And they are about to be tested...

...because Nsefu is being transformed once again.

The floodwaters are receding.

And as they do, there is a changing of the guard.

The young yellow-billed storks begin to leave their nests.

The river banks are now exposed and provide excellent homes

for the recently arrived bee-eaters.

And thousands of Cape buffalo start trudging towards the Luangwa River.

Their path brings them close to Storm's hidden hideout.

Buffalo might trample the new pups.

The family work together to drive the buffalo away.

Back at the den...

...disaster.

The den has collapsed and the pups are trapped underground.

Storm has only minutes to save her pups.

A survivor.

But eight others are still trapped.

The other adults now follow Storm's lead...

...while she carries the survivors to safety.

Despite their efforts, the pack cannot save them all.

Five pups, however, have made it.

The dry season forces animals towards the river...

...and towards each other.

Great buffalo herds keep coming...

...trailed by the lions.

This could bring a new opportunity for the hyena mothers...

...Tandala, Tenta and Tam.

But to take it, they must leave their cubs behind.

If the lions bring down a buffalo, there's a good chance the hyena mothers

may be able to steal a meal.

But it's never easy to steal from lions.

The lions must be very careful.

The exhausted buffalo is down.

Now the hyenas will have a chance.

But trying to claim a share of this kill immediately...

...would not be sensible, and Tandala gets a warning.

Female lions are aggressive...

...but males are even more so.

With the males here...

...will the mothers now have to give up the opportunity to feed?

The night echoes to the sound of skirmishes.

Next morning, back at the den,

the hungry cubs are eagerly awaiting their mothers' return.

But there has been a tragedy.

One of the hyena mothers has been killed.

There's nothing left for the others to do...

...but to return home, still hungry.

Tenta is first to arrive.

Tandala's cub is still waiting.

At last, Tandala is back...

...with her son.

But Tam's cub...

...is still alone.

He will never see his mother again.

And without her, he can't survive.

Olimba is doing something that is rarely seen.

These calls can carry for miles and tell males that she's looking for a mate.

While Olimba is occupied...

...Mutima takes the opportunity to hunt in her mother's territory.

This could be a good hiding place.

Maybe not.

Time to change tack.

She waits...for night.

Her nocturnal vision is better than that of her prey.

In the darkness...

...and hiding in the gully, she has a chance.

She needs to get within ten metres.

At last.

Although the antelope weighs twice as much as she does...

...Mutima will have to drag it to a safe place...

...before any hyenas get here.

A feast.

She can now hunt for herself...

...evade scavengers...

...and is even bold enough to chase this rival away.

Mutima is no longer reliant on her mother

and is ready for the next chapter of her life.

Her mother's calls have attracted a powerful male leopard.

He's hunting near Storm's new den.

The pack instinctively rush to drive him away.

But whenever a pack leaves the den, the pups are always at risk.

Lions have been a threat for months...

...and they've found the den.

Worse, they've killed a pup.

Storm can't keep her family safe any more.

They turn and run...

...and keep running...

...retreating beyond Nsefu's border.

Will they ever be able to return?

The lions are now in the ascendant.

And hidden away is a key to their future.

The first cubs in more than a year...

...born to lioness Rita.

She is nine years old and the most experienced lioness here.

But even protected by a seasoned mother...

...her family may face danger at any time...

...and from anywhere.

Elephants won't step aside...

...for anyone.

It will now be the lions' turn...

...to feel the pressure.

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