Original subtitles

Previously on Kingdom...

..Mutima, the young leopard, reached independence.

So now it's time for her mother, Olimba...

..to mate again.

GRUNTING

The lion pride has grown in strength.

The males killed one of the hyena mothers, Tam,

and now they have forced Storm and her pack to flee.

GROWLING

BARKS

But no matter how powerful your family,

this place, Nsefu,

is a dangerous place in which to rear young.

LOW RUMBLING

Even lion cubs are vulnerable.

LOW RUMBLING

ROARS

Five years.

Four families.

Who will rule this kingdom?

LOW RUMBLING

Lions are most at risk in their early days...

..so cubs are kept in a secret den,

but if they stray into the open...

SNORTS

..away from their mothers...

YELPS

LOW RUMBLING

..dangers can come from anywhere.

An elephant could crush a cub

with a single step.

CUB YELPS

LOW RUMBLING

YELPS

Better to stay close to Mother.

The dry season here in Nsefu

is tightening its grip.

SNORTS

Elephants needing to quench their thirst

follow well-trodden paths

that lead to the river.

Further along the elephants' path,

the pride are resting...

GENTLE SNORING

..taking a break from the heat of the day.

SNORTS

LOW RUMBLING

When it comes to grumpy elephants,

it's not just cubs

that have to get out of the way.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

LOW GRUNTING

In the grove of ebony trees,

the hyenas Tandala...and Tenta

keep their cubs close.

YAPPING

But Tenta's twins are now at the age

when they want to explore the world for themselves.

YELPS

These sausage trees,

named from the shape of their fruits...

..are bursting into bloom.

The opening of these crimson flowers

is welcomed by many here...

..for, within the giant petals,

there is sweet nectar...

..irresistible to hungry visitors.

They come right to the hyenas' doorstep.

GRUNTS

Time for some fun.

YOWLING

The twins lead the way.

CHIRPING

But not everyone...

YELPS

..is willing to tolerate their games.

GRUNTS

BARKING

The cubs are soon back for some rest...

..and a drink.

Hyena mothers produce

one of the richest of all milks.

But even so,

the cubs need to feed for up to four hours a day.

And each mother provides milk for a year.

GENTLE GRUNTING

The cubs' insistent demands

force Tenta and the other females

to take risks in their search for food.

CAWING

Vultures -

a sign that the lions have made a kill.

CAWING

The commotion has drawn most of the clan,

including Tenta and Tandala.

They are nervous.

GRUNTING WHINE

The males from this pride killed their sister, Tam.

LOW GROWLING

But, today, the males are not here.

This is too good an opportunity to miss.

GRUNTING

As the clan advances...

..their confidence grows.

YAPPING

GROWLS

YAPPING

A brief and uneasy truce.

It's very rare for lions to share a kill with hyenas.

If the males were here,

the situation would be very different.

But where are they?

GENTLE ROARING

They are several miles away -

on patrol.

The brothers regularly travel huge distances

to protect their family,

especially their cubs,

from rival lions.

Roaring males make it clear to anyone for miles around

that this is their territory.

GENTLE ROARING

Their patrol has brought them close to the edge

of the national park.

This deep gully marks the boundary line.

But it's a line that means nothing to the brothers.

Outside the protection of the park,

there are dangers beyond rival lions.

As the brothers cross the boundary,

they leave the safety of the park.

INSECTS FLUTTER

Back in the centre of Nsefu,

one of the females, Rita,

is guarding her cubs.

Rita must keep her young a secret...

..until it's time for them all

to rejoin the pride.

A lilac-breasted roller...

SQUAWKS

..a bush squirrel...

..and a ground hornbill

are unwelcome visitors.

That beak looks nasty.

This little one needs extra help.

He's blind in one eye.

MEWS

GRUNTS

What is more,

these visitors could give away the cubs' location.

SQUAWKING

Prying eyes are everywhere.

Being a mother in Nsefu is not easy.

Mutima is trying to find her own way...

BARKING

..but her youthful clumsiness...

..creates problems.

SQUAWKING

Nearby,

her mother, Olimba,

is calling and scent-marking...

GRUNTING

..signs that she's still looking for a mate.

Her messages have not gone unnoticed.

GRUNTING

A male.

Male leopards spend most of their time alone.

They're unpredictable

and can be very aggressive.

He's a lot bigger

and much more powerful than she is.

If Olimba is to have more cubs,

she will have to take the risk.

Her flirting helps to ease any tension.

This behaviour is rarely seen.

GROWLING

They will stay together for at least 48 hours.

During that time, they mate repeatedly...

GROWLING

..increasing Olimba's chance of pregnancy.

Mutima...

..has never seen her mother with a male before.

It's an aspect of life that will affect both her mother...

..and herself.

In the secrecy of their den...

..Rita is still nursing her cubs.

CUB YOWLS

To keep them fed, she must hunt.

But that means leaving the cubs alone.

GRUNTING NEARBY

LION GROWLS QUIETLY

GROWLING

SNARLING

One on one,

bringing down even a young buffalo is hard.

BUFFALO GRUNTING

It's a battle of endurance.

Rita will not be able to keep this up

for much longer.

This is Rita's younger sister.

She has heard the struggle.

Now it's two against one.

After weeks of nursing her cubs by herself,

it's a welcome change for Rita

to have her sister at her side.

GRUNTING

SNORTS

PANTS QUIETLY

YELPING CALLS

GRUNTING

YELPING

Hyena.

YELPING

They appear whenever lions make a kill.

YELPING

But, tonight,

they don't seem to be heading this way.

They were going to the lions' den.

YELPING AND BARKING

PANTING GRUNTS

Without their mother, the cubs were defenceless.

None have survived the hyenas' attack.

BIRD CHIRPS

The rest of the family

are unaware of the disaster that occurred overnight...

GENTLE SNORING

..and that the next generation of their pride

has been lost.

Rita and her sister...

..return to the others...

..alone.

Lions are the most social of all big cats.

The sisters can find solace in their family.

The loss of the cubs is not the only blow to the family.

After leaving the safety of Nsefu,

both of the pride males

were shot and killed.

For any animals living here,

fortunes can change in an instant.

The temperature is now reaching

nearly 50 degrees Celsius.

GRUNTING

Month after month of extreme heat

and the lack of rain

has caused the water level in the river to drop.

Once a mighty torrent,

it's now reduced

to a series of shallow channels

and sandy islands.

The river is no longer

the impassable barrier it once was.

The buffalo herds are leaving Nsefu,

looking for grazing beyond the far banks.

LOW GRUNTING

Buffalo are the main source of food

for the hungry lions.

In the dry season,

the Luangwa has some of the densest populations

of crocodiles and hippos found anywhere on Earth.

If the pride want to hunt buffalo...

..they will have to cross.

LOW GRUNTING

They must choose their route carefully.

GRUNTS

The deepest water

can hide the greatest dangers.

LOW GRUNTING

BUFFALO GRUNTING

Now on the other side...

..the pride will need to split up the herd...

..if they are to have any success.

SNORTS

Working together, they cause a stampede.

BUFFALO GRUNTING

They are looking for any sign of weakness.

Success.

PANTING

LOW GROWLING

This is a sound the pride does not want to hear.

LOW GROWLING

GROWLING

A rival pride.

This is their home.

Without the power of their males...

..Rita and her sisters are in real danger.

Lions will kill rivals

who encroach on their territory.

SNARLING

GROWLING

The lionesses have no choice but to retreat.

GRUNTING

SNORTING

PANTING

Now the pride has no males,

no cubs,

and its favourite prey

has moved into the territory of rival lions.

The future of this family...

..is in jeopardy.

THUNDER RUMBLES

After months of almost unbearable heat...

..clouds begin to build at last.

THUNDER CRACKS

These storms mark the end of the dry season.

THUNDER CRACKS

PANTING

THUNDER CRACKS

BIRD CALLS

Rain reshapes the land.

The river refills.

And only the strongest will be able to cross.

SNORTS

This year, the downpours have lasted much longer than normal.

The river has burst its banks,

flooding Nsefu in a way not seen for years.

For the hyena family,

living in the ebony grove,

this is a disaster.

Before the rains came,

the clan had been going from strength to strength.

But the waters have completely flooded their den.

Many of the cubs have died,

and what remains of the clan is scattered.

Tenta and her twins are the only ones left here.

YOWLS

They were stronger than the younger cubs

and so better able to escape the rising water.

But now, hungry and homeless,

they must navigate the watery labyrinth

to find food.

The twins have never before travelled as far as this.

SNORTS

YELPS

This strange new world

can seem overwhelming.

Tenta hears a familiar sound on the wind.

DISTANT YOWLING

It's her clan -

or, at least, some of them.

YOWLING

Unfortunately, without their queen to lead them,

they have become undisciplined.

Fighting is rife...

..especially over food.

LOW GROWLING

YOWLING

But now Tenta is back.

She is quick to restore order.

YOWLING

And with order will come strength.

What is more, her twins can now feed.

It pays to be the daughters of the queen.

SQUAWKING

Although many of the clan are here,

Tandala, Tenta's closest ally,

is still missing.

Mutima is thriving in her second wet season.

The gullies are full of water,

so it's now impossible to hunt in them.

But there is an alternative

at this time of year.

The annual gathering of yellow-billed storks.

Every year, these trees are full of chicks...

..too young to fly away...

..and a promising opportunity.

SQUAWKING

No nest is out of reach...

..even right up here in the thinnest of branches.

Last year, Mutima didn't have the skills

to make the most of this tree-top larder.

But she's now an accomplished and resourceful hunter.

Her mother's focus, however,

is not on finding food.

It's on her future.

If Olimba is going to raise more cubs...

..the last thing she needs

is competition.

And her daughter has become her rival.

PANTING

Mutima has no idea of the danger coming her way.

Danger from her own mother.

Mutima can flee...

RUSTLING

..or turn...

..and fight.

SNARLING