All language subtitles for Jade.Eyed.Leopard.2020.DSNP.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-NTb-English

[birds chirping]

[tranquil music]

[wildebeest lowing]

[narrator]
In this idyllic paradise,

a place virtually brimming over
with wildlife,

there is always
a certain tension.

They have to be wary,

watching out for that one sign
that will save their lives.

And only those who are alert
will see it.

[birds squawking]

And even then,
it may just be imagined.

Today this phantom is real.

But no threat at all.

She's exhausted in that

drooling, all-dignity-abandoned
kind of way.

Besides her particular style
of relaxation,

this little leopard is unique
in another way.

She has the most unusual
jade-colored eyes.

And this is her story.

Toto is an affectionate
Swahili name for "small,"

and she is tiny.

But she has her name
for another reason as well.

Let's start at the beginning,
or perhaps even before that.

On the banks of a river
in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy

on the edge of the Maasai Mara,

a much larger female leopard
is having difficulty sleeping.

It is hot.

But her discomfort is because
behind these beautiful spots,

inside her swollen stomach,
is where Toto is waiting,

and not too patiently,
to begin her tale.

And her name is Fig,
who, pregnant or not,

seems to enjoy lying face down
and tongue dangling.

But enough of this
lounging around.

Fig must find
a safer place today

in an area with one
the highest concentrations

of lions and hyenas
on the planet.

A nearby safari camp.

Perfect for what
she's planning.

She maneuvers
her way-out-of-balance body

into a very
un-leopard-like descent,

and heads across the small
trickle of a stream.

The camp is on the banks
of this benign little river.

So, today,
a large leopardess called Fig

makes a decision
that changes everything.

She finds a quiet spot
under tent number five.

And here she gives birth

to Toto, a single cub,

who within days is stumbling
around blindly under the deck

and in and out of
the nearby undergrowth.

She's sure of herself,
but not terribly surefooted.

Climbing is in her DNA.

And Fig is seldom far away.

Her landlords, the camp,

decide to just
close off the tent

and mark it as "occupied."

This five-star haven becomes

the cub's earliest
memories of home.

And like her mother,
she has a tongue

that seems to have
a mind of its own.

For two weeks, the leopards
are in residence

in this small camp
that is called Mara Toto.

And hence the cub's name.

Fig was smart enough
to have found a secure refuge.

But having a cub
on the banks of a river

brings its own risks.

[hyenas whooping]

She keeps watch constantly.

And there's little she can do
about the awkward positioning

of a dead hippo
not far from the den,

or the action it attracts.

[whooping]

[yipping]

[whooping]

[shrieking and growling]

While they're distracted

and Toto stays under the brush
and tent, she'll be safe.

But Fig doesn't take her eyes
off the hyenas.

Then she sees it.

One clan member
can somehow smell

beyond the stinking carcass.

[thunder]

Rain in Africa is both
a gift and a danger.

The trick is in deciding
which it is today.

Fig doesn't have the luxury
of using the opportunity now.

If Toto gets confused,
or even adventurous,

she'll wander off, and the rain
will wash her scent away.

Fig must get back, quickly.

[thunder]

But instead of staying
safely under cover,

Fig makes another decision
that may be wise or fatal.

She hears it
and knows what's coming.

With hours of steady rain,

the mild-mannered river has
turned into a raging torrent.

It breaks the riverbanks,
flooding, making new paths

right through their home,
the camp.

Their lair is swamped,

their safety swept away.

Their survival is now
totally up to Fig,

so she's always on the move.

Fig is aware that what lies
beyond the horizon

is another event that
will change their lives,

and it's on its way.

It starts with
the painted horses.

Over 250,000 zebras
splashing across the Mara River

on the way to her territory.

[wildebeest lowing]

The hypnotic sounds
of well over a million wildebeest

startle and amaze Toto now,

and fill the air
with anticipation and chaos.

[lowing]

[zebra braying]

Despite the danger
of being trampled,

Fig is on the lookout
for an even greater threat,

the inevitable nomadic lions.

They'll disrupt everything
with their adolescent attempts

to wreak havoc
across the plains.

Fig is a master at making use

of the ultimate chaotic event
of the year,

but she won't have it
all to herself.

[hyena yipping]

The herds are tired and wary,

so they head into the open,
away from any ambush points.

It may not be what Fig wants,

but the young lions
will hunt in the open.

The hunt is on.

One thing is sure:
Someone will die tonight.

The young nomadic lions
set the ambush.

But they don't give it
everything they've got.

[zebra braying]

Fig watches, desperate for
her chance at a wildebeest.

But at what risk?

The thermal images
unveil the night

that Fig and the lions inhabit.

It's a view into the world
through heat.

And she spots
an overheated wildebeest,

courtesy of hours
of bungled lion attempts.

[yowl]

[bellow]

It's a standoff.

And sometimes
it's useful to display,

even against
an opposing species.

[grunting]

She might be able to take on

the pregnant
young female hyena.

But hyenas can't keep
their spoils secret for long.

The word is out.

[yipping]

Even more hyenas will appear
from the darkness all the time.

One last defiance
and she has to leave.

[lowing]

And as suddenly
as they arrived,

the herds turn south into Tanzania,

and leave the Olare Conservancy
and the Mara quiet once again.

[birds chirping]

[braying]

The migration stayed
in her territory

much longer than expected this year.

Three vital months for Fig

to be able pass on
some tricks of the trade

and to develop Toto's
tree-climbing skills.

Their bond grows each day.

But Toto isn't aware that these
lazy days are also changing,

as the heat climbs

and the herds go off away
from the now-stagnant river,

following their noses to new water

across the shimmering plains.

[braying]

Besides the lessons in climbing

and being confident
up high in the trees,

Toto has to be taught
a lot of other skills.

The departing herds leave
short, cropped grass;

a challenge for any
Thomson's gazelle

that could really use the cover
now to give birth.

One of Toto's lessons
is to look outside

of her small bubble
with her mother.

She hasn't noticed
what Fig is watching.

[birds squawking]

Fig's sudden move nearly sends
Toto flying out of the tree.

And she's heading
for the newborn.

Thomson's gazelles
have a tactic evolved for just this.

They simply leave the fawn
and step away as a decoy.

Now, at last,
she has Toto's attention.

Fig circles.

But the Thomson's gazelles'
tactic even fools a zebra,

and that complicates matters.

To the young stallion,

something about the grass
just doesn't seem quite right.

For the zebra,
it's quite a surprise

when the small brown spot
in the grass

gets up and walks away.

Well, walking may not be
the best description

for this particular move.

But it's innovative enough
to keep the zebra interested.

Each time
the Tommy fawn stumbles,

his new zebra minder is there
with a helping nudge.

But this relationship is not
helpful to Fig's ambitions.

But perhaps it teaches
Toto something.

She'll be more aware
of her surroundings now.

Demanding and hungry cubs
often force mothers

to go out hunting
again and again.

But in the wake
of the migration,

Toto isn't hungry
and is very forgiving.

But there are
more opportunities

in the Olare Conservancy
after the main migration leaves

when stragglers and lost
individuals come through.

[braying]

It's a time of abundance.

Many young don't make
the crossings.

So now Fig and Toto
take advantage

and just scavenge
these easy meals.

The first thing she does

is analyze the placement
of Fig's kill.

It doesn't help that she sees
everything that moves

as something to play with.

[purring]

Fig coaxes Toto to take over,
to test her strength.

With so few trees here,

knowing how to get a kill up high
is vitally important.

Fig's sudden movement to chase
flies, however, is a mistake.

It signals Toto to play.

It may not have been
the intended lesson of the day,

but it'll work.

This one is all about
mock hunting.

[yipping]

The usual suspects hear
the rough and tumble,

or smell the fresh kill.

It was Toto's responsibility
to position the kill higher.

Oh, well. Mother saves the day.

Another valuable lesson
about distraction.

[yipping]

[yipping]

Since the early days
under the tent,

Toto has grown up
with the ever-present threat

of this particular clan of hyenas.

And they have
a specific family perfume

and very puzzling
social arrangements.

[shrieking and growling]

[yipping and whooping]

Surprisingly enough,
this is all about mating,

and winning the attention
of the lead hyena female,

who they gang up on and attack.

It's a curious courtship,

but it's the way that things are done

in this particular clan.

[whooping]

It's once the ritual is over
that Toto has to be careful.

[snarling]

[snarl]

Toto and the hyenas are
way too close for comfort.

[yipping]

But she has backup.

Having chased off the hyenas,

well, in her view anyway,

Toto has a new spurt of confidence.

She's a killer in small spots.

[growling]

When Fig patrols
to warn the hyenas,

it's Toto's chance
to get things squared away.

She has good strength for her size.

And she's busy
solving the puzzle:

Placing a floppy item
into the forks of trees.

But the thorns and gravity don't help.

They watch her,
perhaps recognizing

that there's a lot
that could go wrong.

But Fig's back.

[growling]

Mistakes like this often lead
a mother to reprimand her cub.

But Fig and Toto seem to have
a very different relationship.

There's a bond that usually
starts to wear off

around this age.

[whooping]

[grunting]

[whooping]

[barking]

Now, when Fig goes off hunting
at night, Toto follows.

Just watching her mother,
the skilled huntress,

should be enough,

but as a typical adolescent

she's now determined
to make her own way.

[snorting]

She's learned
that blending-in lesson,

much of which isn't really
her doing anyway,

but something she inherited
just by being a leopard.

[snorting]

She's still small, a Toto,
but she's constantly on the move.

A mongoose catches her attention,

but then, everything does.

Unlike Fig,
she moves though the open,

even though she's quite obvious

to anyone who can
see well at night.

[squeaking]

[squeaks]

And she's experimental.

[hisses]

A newly-emerged monitor lizard baby
is worth a tentative prod.

[squeaks]

This phase of her life
is all about exploring

this strange nocturnal world
that she'll soon inherit.

The undergrowth yields endless
possibilities for adventure.

But curiosity comes with risks,

and tonight she'll
certainly discover that.

Eerie beings watch
Toto from above.

But there are
enticing creatures

on the ground for her...

some of them armed
with sharp attitudes,

unwilling to be intimidated.

This porcupine seems
the right size prey for Toto.

It's simply
a test of confidence.

[rattles]

[rattling]

When barbed quills aim in her
direction, enough is enough.

Sometimes when Toto
meets spiky strangers

in the shadows,

she defaults into
appearing harmless,

or even a little mad.

The take-home lesson
from her night along the river

is that being
a solitary leopard here,

it's just not that easy.

[distant roaring]

Cute or not, she's going
to need more training.

And Fig is back
to provide just that.

Toto doesn't seem to hold on
to the disappoint of failure

for very long.

It's probably a leopard trait
she's inherited,

like so many others.

The ability to just shake it off
and move on.

But all cubs need to supplement
what comes naturally

with the real skills they get
by watching their mothers.

Now, the next lesson.

A flush of young warthogs may allow
just that opportunity.

[oinking]

She watches as her mother
turns into silent liquid.

[oinking]

[oinking]

Fig's kill and her strategy
that led to it

are well-absorbed.

And now it's Toto's turn
to recreate what she learned.

And it's through these moments
of mock killing and play

that she learns how the muscles
of a warthog respond.

The weight, the smell.

She's starting
to see food as prey.

Toto's kill ends
in exactly the same way,

a meal nicely delivered
back to her mother.

Toto's attention span is still
shorter than it should be,

and the Thomson gazelle lesson
taught her to be aware

of everything around her.

Today the industrious hamerkop,
or lightning birds,

quickly catch her eye.

Now she has
a management problem.

She must keep her kill

and investigate the huge
architecture in the sky.

So, she simply takes her
pig kill along with her.

[squawking]

But when she commandeers
the nest,

all the birds' intricate work
on the roof structure

is destroyed.

Toto barely notices.

For her, it's a high-rise play platform.

It's hard to tell if Fig
is indeed impressed

or just positioned
nearby in case.

It's all quite exhausting.

The very stable structure

makes a perfectly good hammock
even better,

because it's just
a little bit higher

than Fig's perch for the day.

Persistent, but it's folly.

The renovations will
cost more in energy

than just starting
from scratch downstream.

[squawking]

What Fig has to decide soon

is when to let Toto go,

to let her begin life on her own.

She's still small.

Will she be ready to outsmart
the constantly agitated hyenas?

When will her play
turn real enough

for her to kill on her own?

Maybe tonight.

This could be Toto's big night.

She's spotted a sleeping antelope.

[heartbeat]

But she fails to watch behind her.

Energy burn on a missed kill is high.

[snorting]

A scrub hare.

More her size?

The patience lesson pays off.

But the timing
isn't quite right.

Time to find something bigger
and slower, perhaps.

It's a swift kill.

[squeaking]

And it's her first.

A momentous moment.

Pumped with success,

she gets the kill up as high
as she can manage,

and this time without fault,

despite the immediate arrival
of the competition,

and with no backup from Fig.

And it's right here, right now,

that Toto becomes entirely
what she was born to be,

the perfect leopard.

A blend of both
her inherited qualities

and what she learned
from her diligent mother.

As Toto,
this jade-eyed leopard,

surveys her domain and enjoys
the peace of a full stomach,

we must ask
what her future might be.

Can we learn to understand
her value as an individual,

as real character struggling to
survive in this fragile mosaic?

And if we can learn to respect,
protect and celebrate

all such leopards,

then she may well have a future.

[distant grunting]