Original subtitles

The Luangwa Valley in southern Africa.

Home to an extraordinary female leopard...

Kamuti.

At 13 years old, she's wise and experienced.

And she has some of the best territory around,

full of antelopes.

This prime real estate has been hers

for more than ten years.

But she must work hard to keep it.

She regularly patrols her hunting ground,

marking it with her scent,

sending a clear message to other female leopards...

'This land is mine.'

Now, she's about to face her greatest threat.

A nomadic young female leopard is after her territory.

This will be a battle of age and experience...

..versus youth and vitality.

Two leopards.

One territory.

Who will win?

At 13 years of age,

Kamuti is one of the oldest known leopards in the African bush.

Her long life is all down to where she lives.

South Luangwa National Park in Zambia.

An unspoiled wilderness.

Kamuti's territory covers

only two square miles...

..a tiny area for a leopard.

But this is no ordinary hunting ground.

The mosaic of habitat here,

from grassy plains

to ebony forests,

supports a huge diversity of birdlife.

Guinea fowl and francolins

are very much on Kamuti's menu.

And there are more than 60 species of mammal here...

..including an unusual abundance of her favorite prey.

Antelopes such as impala...

..and puku.

Kamuti has been hunting all morning,

and has killed an impala.

This should keep her going for a week or more.

But there are other more powerful predators about.

Lions have smelt her success,

and are on her trail.

Before she's even finished her first mouthful,

Kamuti is forced to abandon her kill.

No point arguing with a lioness

more than three times her size.

All Kamuti can do is watch from a safe distance.

But she's not far enough away for the lioness' liking.

Kamuti seeks safety up a tree,

where the heavier lion cannot follow.

The rest of the pride are quick on the scene,

and waste no time cashing in on Kamuti's kill.

Now's her chance to escape.

Kamuti, like all leopards,

will always give way to lions.

Not only are they much bigger than her,

they are the only cats that live in big family groups,

so they have strength in numbers.

But there's one kind of cat that Kamuti will stand and fight.

Another female leopard.

Five miles to the east is a rival female.

Olimba.

She's three years old

and coming into her prime.

Strong, supple, and in perfect condition.

Until recently, Olimba lived with her mother.

But now, for the first time,

she's striking out on her own.

This is the start of a new and solitary life.

Right now, she's a nomad.

What she needs is a hunting ground of her own...

with plenty of prey

and lots of cover.

But the best territory around here is already taken.

She won't get it without a fight.

She sets out in search of a new place to call home.

It's the dry season in South Luangwa.

It hasn't rained for more than five months.

As the sun beats down, a herd of impala gathers

at the one remaining source of water...

..the Luangwa River.

Midday is the safest time for impala to be out in the open.

It's too hot for most predators to hunt.

But Olimba is hungry.

Impala are one of the largest animals she can bring down,

and so are top of her menu.

But there's no cover on the sandy river bank.

She's chancing it.

No chance!

A more experienced leopard would have known this was a lost cause.

Until she has her own hunting ground with plenty of cover,

Olimba is always going to struggle.

Her search for a new home is bringing Olimba closer to Kamuti.

She's only three miles away from the older leopard's territory,

and is closing in.

Kamuti is also out hunting in the heat of the day.

As her last kill was stolen by lions, she's still hungry.

But she knows better than to try stalking out in the open.

She's learnt that her best chance of an ambush

is when she's hidden in a dried-up river bed

in the heart of her territory,

where prey can't see her, even in broad daylight.

But years of experience

and the best cover don't guarantee success.

- (Shrieks) - A puku sounds the alarm.

It didn't see her. It smelled her.

A quick change in wind direction is all it takes...

..and her chances are blown.

It's hard for a leopard to slip by unnoticed.

They have scent glands on their heads

and at the base of their tail,

which produce pungent secretions.

Prey is extremely sensitive to her smell.

But Kamuti knows all the old tricks,

and has a clever way to try and disguise her scent.

What better perfume than mud

mixed with a good dose of giraffe urine?

Now she waits for the cover of darkness.

A revolutionary military-grade thermal camera

reveals the night-time world of the Luangwa Valley.

In the black of night,

a good sense of smell is all-important.

A porcupine uses its nose to sniff out nutritious roots.

The stench of a rotting hippo brings on a feeding frenzy

amongst the crocodiles in the river.

Away from the water, the scent of another carcass

has led a crocodile deep inland.

An elephant shrew's highly-sensitive nose

allows it to hunt insects

and other small invertebrates in the darkness.

Its moveable snout is a bit like an elephant's trunk,

and that's no coincidence.

Amazingly, this tiny creature is more closely related

to these giants than to rodents and other small mammals.

(Elephants trumpet)

Elephants have the best sense of smell in the animal kingdom.

And that's all down to their long trunks.

Air drawn in through the two nostrils at a trunk's tip

passes over millions of receptor cells in its lining.

A signal is then relayed to the brain, which interprets different scents.

Their incredible trunk enables elephants

to smell water as far as 12 miles away.

Having a good sense of smell is also important for Kamuti.

She's on the hunt again,

closing in on a herd of impala.

She might have the better night vision,

but she knows her scent could give her away.

She's trying desperately to stay downwind of her prey.

She must get within twenty feet before she can strike.

Any farther

and the antelope will have too much of a head start.

She's not as quick as she used to be.

But she's smart.

Once again, she rolls in urine.

This time, in the antelopes' latrines.

She's covering her scent with that of her prey.

Maybe now she'll outwit them.

She inches forward.

Confident that her scent is well disguised,

she picks up speed.

The antelope are on red alert.

They must have heard her.

Kamuti decides to call it a night.

Once again, she's left hungry.

It's early morning,

and the guinea fowl are already out and about, foraging for food.

These are helmeted guinea fowl,

named after the bony mound on their heads.

They're not fussy eaters.

Like chickens, they scratch the ground

with their strong claws

and are happy to eat seeds, berries, worms, insects...

Anything goes.

Typically, they live in groups of around 25 birds.

Plenty of eyes to look out for danger.

But they haven't spotted the young nomad Olimba,

who's quietly watching their every move.

She's right on the outskirts of Kamuti's territory,

less than a mile from the older leopard.

There's no impala here,

but a bird might make a nice breakfast.

Once again, her prey is out in the open.

There's no cover.

It's far from ideal.

But Olimba's not put off.

The untimely distraction by the tree squirrel

has cost her another meal.

Having missed out on breakfast,

Olimba is hungry for some supper.

The guinea fowl are settling down for the night.

Though they spend their days feeding on the ground,

they feel safest when they're roosting as high as possible.

Olimba's night vision is far superior to theirs,

but they're right at the top of the tree.

Scaling the vertical trunk

looks effortless for this fit, young cat.

She may be agile,

but up here the birds have a clear advantage.

You can't fault her enthusiasm.

But eagerness alone is not enough.

What Olimba really needs

is to find a hunting ground full of antelope...

..one that she can claim for herself.

(Growls)

As Olimba enters Kamuti's territory,

she makes her presence known.

As well as sound, she's using smell,

scraping the ground with the scent glands in her hind paws.

Olimba's approach is bad news for Kamuti.

A rival female leopard is a serious threat.

Kamuti has held her hunting grounds for more than ten years.

But that could be about to change.

Kamuti's got to act fast.

She immediately sets off on patrol,

laying claim to her territory with her scent.

She rubs her head on important landmarks.

Her sebaceous glands release an oily secretion...

..a chemical signature that will stay here for up to five days.

This is an important spot for Kamuti.

It's her favorite lookout.

Just for good measure, she also sprays it with urine,

infused with secretions from her anal glands...

..a clear sign that tells intruders

in no uncertain terms to keep out.

Kamuti must hold on to her territory.

Her life depends on it.

Olimba, the young contender,

is now inside Kamuti's territory...

..and is making herself very much at home.

She's trying to get some rest,

but the noisy residents are disturbing her peace.

(Bird calls)

Swainson's francolin.

For such a small bird, they have a big voice.

(Screechy call)

(Growls)

Olimba's not impressed.

A tree squirrel has spotted her.

It's the final straw.

She gives up any idea of sleep, and moves on.

This is more like it.

A clearing teeming with antelope.

It's just the hunting ground that Olimba needs.

But the scent on this tree

tells her this patch is already taken.

It's one of the trees that Kamuti marked.

And it's covered with vital information.

Just by smelling her scent,

Olimba can tell that Kamuti is female,

elderly, and was here very recently.

Olimba now knows she is the younger and fitter of the two leopards

and that she has a good chance of winning this land for herself.

There's further proof that this territory belongs to someone else.

(Insects buzzing)

She's found Kamuti's larder.

A muscular body and short powerful legs

give Olimba the perfect balance of strength and agility.

It's a dead puku.

(Flies buzzing)

Leopards have been known to drag carcasses three times their weight into a tree.

It's the one place they know a lion or hyena can't steal it.

But instead of eating the puku,

she only sniffs it.

Kamuti must have stashed it here a long time ago.

The meat has gone off.

Olimba may be hungry,

but she's not desperate enough to eat rancid meat.

Olimba lays down her own marker.

It's a clear message for Kamuti...

..and a declaration of war.

Kamuti has heard Olimba and now picks up her scent.

She's in no doubt there's an intruder right in her territory.

She can tell that her rival is a young leopard, who's reaching her prime.

This is a threat she cannot ignore.

(Grunts)

She has no intention of giving up hunting ground

that's been hers for the past decade.

Undeterred, the young rival Olimba has pushed on

into Kamuti's favorite hunting spot.

The gully.

She checks out the lay of the land,

and finds a hidden bonus.

One of the few remaining water holes.

This late on in the dry season, they're at a premium.

This territory has got everything going for it.

Olimba wants it for herself,

and claims it with her urine.

Some puku have wandered close to the gully's edge.

Finally, a chance to stalk in the daytime unnoticed.

Success depends on surprise.

But she's upwind of her prey.

Olimba's got a lot to learn if she wants to get the most out of this hunting ground.

And there'll be plenty more opportunities,

if she can claim the gully for herself.

To win it, first she must fight for it.

Olimba has youth and strength in her favor.

But Kamuti has years of experience,

and has successfully fought off many intruders in the past.

There's no telling which way the fight will go.

A few days later, Olimba is resting up a tree overlooking the gully.

She's tired, but is finding it hard to get comfortable.

And there's a reason.

She has a nasty gash on her foot.

A wound almost certainly from another leopard.

Kamuti is lying low.

She may be old, but she's still strong enough to have injured her young rival.

As she emerges from her hideout,

it's clear she's in a lot of pain.

She keeps licking a deep wound on her back.

Her movements are stiff and she looks worryingly thin.

It's not only her back that's hurt.

She has a serious injury on her left hind leg.

In her fight with Olimba, Kamuti has definitely come off worse.

There's no chance of hunting impala now.

She has to make do with whatever she can get.

A mongoose is hardly a prize meal.

Secretions from anal glands means mongoose smell and taste foul.

She badly needs to eat,

but she can't keep this unpalatable meal down for long.

Kamuti's age and experience have lost out to Olimba's youth and vigor.

Leopards rarely live more than 14 years in the wild.

At 13, Kamuti has had a good run.

But now her journey is coming to an end.

(Thunder rumbles)

A few weeks later,

and the long dry season is over.

The rains transform the Luangwa Valley

into a lush, green paradise.

There's a new queen of these rich hunting grounds.

Olimba reigns supreme.

The impala have given birth

and all the young fawns are easy prey.

Not only has Olimba got the perfect territory...

..she's also found a mate.

As one leopard's story comes to an end...

..another's is only just beginning.