All language subtitles for BBC.Kingdom.with.David.Attenborough.2025.6of6.1080p.x265.AAC.MVGroup.org

CHIRPING

For five years...

THUNDERCLAP

..we have followed the stories of four
families of animals.

Now it's time to meet the people
behind these dramas.

The scientists and conservationists...

- Be careful!

- ..who helped us understand the
animals.

And the anti-poaching squads...

..who risk their lives to protect
them.

We will also meet the film-makers

who recorded those dramas...

- Come, come! Fast, quick.

- ..of life in the kingdom.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

Our four animal families live in
Nsefu...

..a corner of South Luangwa National
Park in Zambia.

It's an important sanctuary for
wildlife.

SNORTING

And a temporary home for our film
crews.

WHISPERS:
- There are elephants coming.

- A remote base camp enables them to
live alongside animals, day...

..and night.

HIPPO SNORTS

ELEPHANT RUMBLES

They have the latest technology...

..and are able to film in all
conditions.

- How's it going, Nathan?
- I'm loving it!

- Making the series would have been
impossible

without the team of conservationists

from an organisation called the
Zambian Carnivore Programme.

They have studied and safeguarded the
wildlife here for decades...

..tracking the movement of hundreds of
animals,

following their every step...

..both from the air...

..and on the ground.

- Frank, can you please send me the
coordinates for the lions

10km south of here?

- It's a remarkable undertaking,

covering thousands of square miles.

Our film crews rely on them to keep in
touch

with all our animal characters.

- Fraser, do we have the signal?

- Yeah.

- Animals that move huge distances.

The technology that makes this
possible...

..GPS and radio-tracking collars.

The conservation teams fix a collar on
a member of each family.

In a pride, they put it on a lioness.

And for wild dogs,

they usually select a male and a
female.

That allows them to locate and follow
the entire family

throughout their lives.

These collars have to be replaced
every two years,

and today, it's the turn of one of the
lionesses.

Henry Mwape is the leader of the
collaring programme.

First, Dr Sichande sedates the lioness
using a dart gun.

- Right now, we're removing this old
collar,

so that I...

I put the new one on.

- While the lioness is still
unconscious,

Henry makes a general health check.

- OK.

I think some people think it's not
safe

to work with lions.

Of course, the lion is immobilised.

So, if it was fully awake,

I can't get close like this.

- The conservationists are keeping
track

of over 40 animal families.

- My best moment of collaring is when
I see the animal up.

I'm like, "Wow, we've done it."

Without collars, I can't imagine how
we would be doing

what we're doing.

- The collars produce an enormous
amount of information,

which helps the conservationists

to build a picture of the lives of all
the animals.

Where they're hunting...

BRAYING

..what they're eating...

CHOMPING

YOWLING

..how their behaviour affects each
other...

..and even where they choose to make
their dens.

Information that is essential for
conservation,

but also critical for the camera
crews.

Finding the place where a lioness is
hiding

her newborn cubs is proving
particularly difficult.

The crew have searched everywhere.

- It's been about seven days,

just driving around in the bushes.

- And then, at last,

they pick up the radio signal

coming from the lioness's collar.

- I'm very excited to have a signal.

- But Mark knows it could be coming
from any one of these bushes.

MARK:
- Every single bush is a potential
den.

I mean, she's been missing for five,
six days

and we've been combing this whole
area.

But we've found her cubs.

- ASON:
- It's four really beautiful cubs,

and we think the cubs are about four
days, five days,

because their eyes are just starting
opening at the moment.

- We've managed to get shots of them,

so it's a really big moment, actually.

- Our powerful lenses produce images
that enable the conservationists

to see the animals they study in
intimate detail.

This unique collaboration brought many
surprises.

One of the biggest surprises -

finding that one wild dog had only
three legs.

- Go, go.

- He really needs urgent expert
assessment.

- We are leaving camp now.

- Thandiwe Mweetwa and Henry are on
their way.

They recognise that this injury

must have been inflicted by a wire
snare.

- A wire snare is formed in the shape
of a noose.

It's basically a trap for catching
wild antelope,

but any animal can get trapped.

And then, as it struggles, this wire
starts

to cut through whatever body part has
been caught.

- Despite his snare injury,

this wild dog, which the team have
named Flint,

seems to be coping well on three legs.

- Yep. Centre, yep.

- Flint is still an important member
of the wild dog family

that we followed throughout the
series.

His story illustrates the way wild
dogs look after each other.

The pack makes sure he can keep up...

..and that he doesn't go hungry.

But then...disaster.

WHINING

- Just watching the crocodile attack
was incredibly tough.

We're only 20 feet away

and see others trying to save him.

And I found it probably one of the
worst things

I've had to film in 20 years.

- In the end, Flint's snare injury
proves to be too much.

- Oh, my God.

Wow.
- That was good teamwork.

- Missing a leg meant that he wasn't
as fast when escaping danger.

So sad.

- The use of snares is widespread,

and is one of the biggest threats here

to both lions and wild dogs.

So, when news comes in about a lion
caught in a trap,

they know that they must get the snare
off

as quickly as possible,

especially so because that individual
is a dominant male.

HENRY:
- If the snare's not removed very
soon,

it can keep tightening and it can
suffocate the lion.

It will take about ten minutes for the
lion to go to sleep.

- GUN POPS

- This male is protecting 12 cubs.

Losing just one individual can be
catastrophic for any dependent cubs.

- If he dies from this injury,

rival males could take over the pride
and then kill his cubs.

- We can approach and see.

- ENGINE IGNITES

- You want that snare off as soon as
possible,

you know, just in case the lion wakes
up halfway through.

- Wounds from snares can often cause
infection,

so it's important to clean it
thoroughly.

- So... OK.

- By saving this one male lion,

the team has also helped to protect
his cubs.

- Those cubs will end up having more
babies.

So, it's going to be a lot of other
animals

just from the result of one
de-snaring.

Bye.

- There have been 400 cubs born to the
lions

saved by the teams working here.

- Is it worth it, saving just one
life?

The answer is a resounding yes.

- Even though this area is a
sanctuary,

thousands of snares are set here each
year.

One day it could be a lion, the next,
a giraffe,

and that can be particularly tricky.

It takes a big team, and it's
dangerous.

A single kick could certainly kill
someone.

SHOUTING

Giraffes are so sensitive to the
sedative

that the team have less than ten
minutes

from the dart going in to getting the
snare off.

- Hold, hold, hold, hold!
SHOUTING

- Their methods may seem extreme,

but it's the only way to save its
life.

MUFFLED SHOUTS

The clock is ticking.

URGENT SHOUTING

- Extra hand! Careful!

The snare's off? Snare's off.

- GIRAFFE SNORTS

It's a win for the team...

..and the giraffe.

But it takes all sorts of approaches

to keep these animals safe.

Godfrey Mwanza leads the unit working
to stop poachers

killing wildlife in this area.

He sees snares all the time.

Snares are cheap, silent and deadly.

Each can kill dozens of animals,

and does so indiscriminately.

It's not just snares.

Poachers here use guns, too.

In the fight against poachers of every
kind...

..Godfrey has a secret weapon.

Detection dogs.
BARKING

They're so crucial to his work

that the dogs are protected by their
handlers around the clock.

Tonight, the team is responding to a
tip-off that poachers

are operating close to the national
park.

ENGINE IGNITES

By operating at night,

it's more likely the poachers will be
off their guard,

reducing the chance of them opening
fire on the officers.

- Using the dog is very, very
important...

Good boy.

..because the dog will pick up the
scent.

Good checking.

- WHISPERS:
- Good boy.

- The dog's picked up the scent

of the animals previously caught in
this trap.

HE TAPS

But the snare is proof that poachers
are operating here.

And that is a big worry for the film
crew.

Lianne and Will have been filming
Mutima

since she was a tiny cub.

- Mutima was a very small cub,

and she was very shy.

Now she's beautiful and elegant,

but you only see them when they want
to be seen.

- Despite this, Lianne managed to film

a pivotal moment for the family,

when Mutima's mother made it clear it
was time

for the young cat to find a territory
of her own.

SNARLING, YOWLING

Mutima travelled over 100 miles in
search of a new home.

- She actually wandered way further

than we could have ever imagined.

We heard from a guide from far south,

"Oh, yeah, that leopard, we've seen
her here."

Because of her birthmark in a shape of
a heart,

people would recognise her.

- She left the national park

and was forced into an unfamiliar
world.

Beyond the park's boundary, there are
hundreds of villages,

home to thousands of people.

VEHICLE PASSING

Travelling outside a national park can
be dangerous...

..for any leopard.

Godfrey's K9 team is the first of its
kind in Zambia.

As well as finding snares,

guns and ammunition...

..his dogs are also trained to detect
animal skins and ivory.

BARKING

Tonight, his team has gathered new
intelligence

and are heading to a different village

to look for a cache of guns.

This time round, they've been informed

that the guns have been hidden inside
the house.

CAR DOOR SHUTS

- Checking.

Good checking.

OK, OK, let's go.

- The team have searched everywhere,

but there's still no sign of the guns.

This is where the dogs really come
into their own.

At last, the dog sits down.

It's a sign he has detected something.

So far this year,

Godfrey and the team have seized over
80 illegal guns,

many of them handmade,

but they are still able to kill a
leopard.

Thankfully, Mutima eventually made it
back

to the sanctuary of the national park.

LIANNE:
- She was pretty adamant to come back

and she is still here,

and I think she's waiting for her
mum's territory.

- Despite Godfrey's team's success...

..they're facing a setback.

- Rudi has been one of the best dogs.

But he is old, and he has a condition
on the legs.

- It's time for Rudi to retire.

- I'm proud of Rudi.

I'm going to miss him.

He was like a family member.

- Godfrey has only four dogs

to patrol tens of thousands of square
miles.

He needs more canine recruits.

This is Ody, the latest trainee.

HANDLER:
- Down.

- It's essential that his new handlers
build a relationship

from the first moment they meet...

..and start to build a bond.

- You are a nice dog.

- Good boy.
- ODY PANTS

Looking good and healthy.

- To catch poachers,

the pair will both need to be at the
top of their game.

Not only for their success, but for
their safety.

First...

..obedience training.

- Swim!

He still has to learn some things
because he is young.

All right, come.

Like this morning, though I was asking
him,

he didn't want to come.

Come on, come.

He could hear me,

he was just pretending.

Ody, come.

Come!

That's why we are doing the obedience
training,

so that when we go in the field...

Good boy, man.

..he will listen to me as a handler.

Ody, come.

Sit. Wait.

- There's a lot riding on this young
recruit.

Will he be able to make the grade
before Rudi retires?

For one of our camera team,

South Luangwa is more than his
workplace.

It's his home.

- If you come from South Luangwa,
wildlife is a part of you.

When you see the elephants in the
park, filming them...

..you can easily tell they are, you
know, like, relaxed.

They're just minding their own
business.

- But that's not always the case.

There is another side to elephants.

As we saw in earlier programmes,

they can be aggressive.

ELEPHANT RUMBLES

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS CUB YAPS

ELEPHANT BELLOWS

ELEPHANT SHRIEKS

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

Growing up in a village beside the
national park,

Samson Moyo has experienced two sides
of the wildlife.

These villages are mostly farming
communities

and the entire park is unfenced...

..which means wildlife is free to move
in and out at will.

SAMSON:
- Elephants are huge, and when they
come

to your village, it's scary.

I've heard a sound and peered out of
the window

to see an elephant eating our crops.

I know how terrible it is.

But people fear hunger more than
elephants.

So, people risk their lives

in trying to protect their food.

- As dusk falls,

it's approaching the time when
elephants come

to villages like Samson's.

It's hard to imagine.

But Samson has a chance to use the
Kingdom filming tech

to show what it's really like

to have hungry elephants on your
doorstep.

- This is the first time I've had
access

to night-vision technology.

We just sit,

wait for the elephants to come.

- RUSTLING

LOUD RUSTLING

ELEPHANT SNORTS

RUSTLING, SNORTING

ELEPHANT RUMBLES

SHOUTING

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS LOUDLY

SHOUTING

ELEPHANTS TRUMPET, RUMBLE

Mangoes are very valuable to the
villagers.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

THUDDING

SHOUTING

HORN BLASTS

TRUMPETING DOG BARKS

SHOUTING

HORN BLASTS

COMMOTION CONTINUES

SHOUTING

HORN BLASTS

ELEPHANT GROWLS

HORN BLASTS

SHOUTING ELEPHANTS BELLOW

This can last for hours,

until the crop fields are empty and
the mango trees bare.

But there is a potential solution.

There's a new team in town.

The Rapid Response Unit.

The only one in Zambia.

Tonight, Samson is joining them.

CHRIS:
- They know that this is not their
area.

They just come here to steal food from
the community.

- The Rapid Response Unit has
developed the imaginative technique

of using guns that fire chilli oil.

- So, the bullet carries chilli
liquid.

Once you fire, if you hit the
elephant,

that scent of chilli will stick to the
animal.

They don't want to smell chilli and
they all run.

- The unit is responding to a call
from a farmer

who has elephants in his field.

FAINT CLATTERING

MUFFLED CONVERSATION

- Where are you?
- There. Elephants.

- Let's go, let's go, let's go.

Stop.

There, there. OK.

He's... He's firing now.

- GUNSHOT
Eh, fire.

- Reload, reload.

- GUNSHOT
Go ahead, fire.

PANICKED TRUMPETING

- Stay away!

- TRUMPETING

SAMSON:
- The Rapid Response Unit are doing
such an amazing job,

but a lot of people need their help,

and they can't be everywhere.

- THUNDER RUMBLES

In South Luangwa National Park,

animals move freely.

They are truly wild.

WHINING

And throughout filming, the dog pack
moved

into and out of the kingdom.

At the end of the series,

they were last seen heading over the
border

and out of the national park.

But thanks to the signal from the
alpha male's collar,

Henry can still keep tabs on the
family from afar.

We know now the wild dog pack

is looking for a new home outside the
park.

GPS data shows wild dogs travel huge
distances.

Some even cross international borders.

Conservationists can use this data to
help protect wildlife.

It can be used to identify safe
corridors,

both within Zambia and between
neighbouring countries.

It can even identify likely hot spots

where poaching and conflict might take
place.

PHONE RINGS

Today, Godfrey's team is targeting one
such hot spot,

setting up a wildlife checkpoint.

- You conduct a search in every
vehicle

which passes your roadblock.

- Godfrey and Ody have been training
hard,

and now Ody is ready to be tested.

ODY GRUMBLES

He's certainly enthusiastic...

..but will he pass the test?

The team has hidden ivory

in one of their own patrol vehicles

to see if Ody can find it.

If Ody sniffs it out, he should sit
down,

to signal that he's found something.

ODY SNIFFS RAPIDLY

- Oh, wow, Ody! Oh, yes!

- Ody has graduated.

- Good boy!

Good boy! Good dog!

- To me, he did well

because this is a new environment for
him.

- And just in time,

because a new challenge is
approaching.

THUNDER CRASHES

As the season moves on,

South Luangwa transforms.

THUNDER RUMBLES

At the end of the year comes an
intense rainy season.

And even the first rain showers

make it difficult for teams to get
around.

- We've been trying to get to some of
the lions we've been filming.

Most of the roads are very bad.

- Getting stuck out here is not ideal.

There could easily be lions hiding in
any one of these bushes.

CHEERING, SINGING

In a matter of weeks, roads will
become rivers.

Not only will filming become
unfeasible...

FLIES BUZZ

..but more importantly,

tracking poachers by vehicle

will be almost impossible.

The race is on for a solution.

- This afternoon, we'll be doing
helicopter training with Ody.

- Using the helicopter,

the team will be able to reach all
areas of the park - and fast.

But none of the older dogs will go in
the helicopter.

They're scared of the sound of the
rotors.

- They don't like the helicopter
because of the sound.

They did not receive the helicopter
training

when they were young.

- So now, hope is pinned on their
newest recruit.

- All right.

- Will he even get on board?

- It's a very big success if Ody goes
into the helicopter.

Up.

- Ody jumps straight in...

..but he does look a little nervous.

How will he respond to the sound of
the rotors?

- Good boy. Good boy.

- Turns out, Ody's a natural flyer.

This is game-changing for Godfrey.

Now nowhere is out of reach.

Using a combination of the helicopter

and the dog team is a big deterrent
against poaching.

- Ody, I may say, is our hope for the
future.

- The tactics used on helicopter
missions

in the national park are top secret...

..but across their operations this
year,

they have arrested 76 suspected
poachers.

- It's part of my job to arrest
people.

I'm also a human being...

..where I feel guilty arresting
people,

taking people to jail.

Cos maybe he's doing this to put food
on the table.

But that's what I was employed for -

to stop poaching.

- And by stopping poaching,

Godfrey is helping to protect both the
old...

..and new generations in South Luangwa
National Park.

LION ROARS

CUB YELPS

A symbol of what is possible

when the people who know this place
work hand in hand.

- I am hopeful that as long as we
continue doing what we are doing,

- BEEPING
we have a bright future.

A future where the animals can live
out their natural wild lives.

THANDIWE:
- My hope for South Luangwa is that

people and wildlife just continue to
thrive.

I just hope that 20, 30 years down the
line,

this place will still be as amazing as
it is today.

Or maybe even more amazing.

- South Luangwa's wildlife

is protected by an army of local
people,

working tirelessly to address the
challenges

of our modern world.

People who have known this place all
their lives.

Perhaps this is the secret to
conservation success.