Original subtitles

Previously on Kingdom...

..Olimba, the leopard, lost her son.

Can she help her daughter to independence?

CHATTERING

Tandala, the hyena,

faced enormous challenges,

all whilst expecting her first cub.

Storm, the wild dog...

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

..fought for the kingdom

as a home for her growing family.

But now she's facing a new threat.

A pride of lions.

BARKS

And one of her puppies...

..is stranded.

WHINES

Can Storm save him?

Five years.

Four families.

Who will rule this kingdom?

Storm and her pack must act fast.

GROWLING AND WHINING

LION SNARLS

GROWLING AND WHOOPING

Their persistent calls

draw the lion's attention away from the pup...

BARKS

WHINING

WHOOPS

..and it grabs the chance...

WHOOPS

..to escape.

WHINING AND CHATTERING

This land...

..has become dangerous.

The annual rains transform Nsefu.

The land becomes a green world.

CHATTERING

The wild dog pups are enjoying themselves.

This is their first wet season.

GRUNTING

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.

EXCITED CHATTER

HONKS

But the clock is ticking.

BIRD HONKS

She is, once again, pregnant.

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

..just finding prey

becomes very difficult.

The hunt is on.

BARKING

The pups ought to keep up with their mother

if they're to learn how it's done.

WHINING

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.

BARKS

A hyena on the prowl must be dealt with swiftly.

First lesson...

CHATTERS

..the best form of defence is attack.

CHATTERS

GROWLS

The second...

..work together.

GROWLING AND SNARLING

And the third...

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

DEEP GROWLING

SNARLING

WHINING AND SNARLING

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.

GRUNTING

GRUNTS

GRUNTS INSECTS BUZZING

SNORTS

WARTHOGS SQUEAL

It's not just warthogs.

SQUEALING

GRUNTS

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.

WHINES

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.

CHATTERING

SHRIEKING

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

..all across Nsefu.

This season's newborns

are taking their first uncertain steps.

SQUEAKS

GRUNTING

But new arrivals and their mothers

are easy targets.

SNORTS

BARKING

BARKS

DISTANT ALARM CALLS

CHIRPING

BARKING

SQUEALING

The impact of the lions is increasing.

GROWLING

They are top predators.

The lions are not intimidated by anyone...

..even...at night.

BELLOWING CALL

RUMBLING

BARKS

BARKS

SNORTS

GRUNTS QUIETLY

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

HISSES

LIONS GROWL

But even so...

..the pride just treats this one

like a plaything.

HISSES

HISSES

And this is merely the warm-up.

When hunting in a group,

lions will tackle even a hippo.

GRUNTING

LOW GROWLING

BELLOWING

BELLOWING

BELLOWING

Tonight, however,

this seems to be demanding too much effort.

And there is another option.

SNARLS

They're so powerful... ROARS

..they can simply steal.

Tonight,

Storm's family loses out to the lions.

But every family in Nsefu...

..must be on their guard. LION SNARLS

ROARS

ROARING

NEARBY ROARING

ROARS

These roars proclaim

the pride's great confidence and power.

ROARING

NEARBY ROARING

ROARING CONTINUES

Olimba the leopard

is at a pivotal moment in her life.

Her behaviour is changing.

She is marking her territory with scent.

SQUAWKING

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.

SQUAWKING

ZEBRA BRAYING

BARKING

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.

SNORING

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.

SNARLS

GROWLING

As they wrestle...

..the carcass falls.

And Olimba climbs down to reclaim it.

For Mutima, SNARLS

this is a tough lesson.

She's never experienced aggression like this before.

By refusing to share...

SNARLS

..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.

CHATTERING

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.

PUPS WHIMPER AND SQUEAK

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.

GRUNTING

And thousands of Cape buffalo

start trudging towards the Luangwa River.

GRUNTING

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

SNORTS

BARKING AND WHINING

Buffalo might trample the new pups.

The family work together

to drive the buffalo away.

BELLOWING

Back at the den...

..disaster.

The den has collapsed

and the pups are trapped underground.

WHINING

Storm has only minutes to save her pups.

PUP SQUEAKS

A survivor.

But eight others are still trapped.

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

QUIET WHINING

..while she carries the survivors to safety.

YELPS

YELPING

Despite their efforts,

the pack cannot save them all.

Five pups, however, have made it.

WIND GUSTS

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.

CHATTERING

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.

SNORTING

WHINING

But it's never easy to steal from lions.

The lions must be very careful.

BUFFALO BELLOWS

The exhausted buffalo is down.

CHATTERING

Now the hyenas will have a chance.

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

..would not be sensible, HYENA YELPS

and Tandala gets a warning.

Female lions are aggressive...

..but males are even more so.

CHATTERING

With the males here...

..will the mothers now have to give up

the opportunity to feed?

HYENAS SCREECH

GROWLING

The night echoes to the sound of skirmishes.

GROWLING AND SCREECHING CONTINUES

BIRDSONG

Next morning, back at the den,

the hungry cubs are eagerly awaiting their mothers' return.

But there has been a tragedy.

CAWS

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.

WHOOPS

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.

GUTTURAL GRUNTING

Olimba is doing something that is rarely seen.

These calls can carry for miles

and tell males that she's looking for a mate.

GUTTURAL GRUNTING

While Olimba is occupied...

..Mutima takes the opportunity

to hunt in her mother's territory.

LOW GROWLING

This could be a good hiding place.

TWIG SNAPS SNORTS

BARKS

CASCADE OF ALARM CALLS

Maybe not.

BARKING

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.

ALARM CALLS

At last.

HYENAS WHOOP

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.

BIRDSONG

A feast.

She can now hunt for herself...

..evade scavengers...

YOWLING

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

YOWLING

BARKS

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.

BARKS

He's hunting near Storm's new den.

CHATTERING

The pack instinctively rush to drive him away.

CHATTERING

LOW GROWLING

SNARLING

But whenever a pack leaves the den,

the pups are always at risk.

YOWLING

Lions have been a threat for months...

..and they've found the den.

Worse, they've killed a pup.

BARKS

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.

MEWLING

The first cubs in more than a year...

..born to lioness Rita.

She is nine years old

and the most experienced lioness here.

YOWLS

But even protected by a seasoned mother...

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

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

..and from anywhere.

LOW RUMBLING

Elephants won't step aside...

..for anyone.

It will now be the lions' turn...

SNORTING

CUB YELPS

..to feel the pressure.

RUMBLING

ROARING