All language subtitles for Cheetahs Growing Up Fast BBC Natural World 2017 1080p HDTV x265 AAC MVGroup org. EN Sub

There are a few sights in nature
as dramatic

as a big cat battling its prey.

But cheetahs aren't born ready
to hunt.

It's a skill their mothers teach
them over many challenging months.

What does it take to turn tiny cubs
into fully formed predators?

To find out, one film-maker forged
an extraordinary bond

with a wild cheetah family

and, over a year and a half,

recorded their lives
in remarkably intimate detail.

Thanks to his unique relationship,

we can witness cheetah family life
extremely close up...

..and reveal the heartbreak and
triumph a cheetah mother faces

as she battles to raise
the next generation.

On Malilangwe Game Reserve
in Zimbabwe,

a female cheetah
has been keeping a secret.

She is the mother of five new cubs.

This is a dangerous place for such
small ones,

so she's been hiding them
in thick undergrowth.

But her secret is about
to be discovered.

Conservationist and cameraman
Kim Wolhuter

has spent his entire adult life
filming Africa's wild animals.

He had been following the female,
gaining her trust,

until she disappeared,
six months earlier.

I had a call on the radio that there
was a cheetah with small cubs.

And I thought, "Oh, maybe it's her."

And, lo and behold, it was the same
mother cheetah

and she had five new little cubs.
And they were tiny.

They were probably just
nearly three months old.

Like all cheetah mothers,

she has no partner or sisters
to help her feed and protect

these vulnerable cubs.

That responsibility is hers alone.

And she's just over a year
to teach them

how to survive
in the wilderness without her.

But the question for Kim was -

would she allow him back
into her world?

And it must have been within the
first week, I think,

I got out and I was filming and the
cubs came right up to me.

HIGH-PITCHED SQUEAKS

And the mother just lay over there.
She wasn't even looking.

And that was how the whole thing
started.

And it was wonderful.

The mother's incredible acceptance
of Kim

would allow him to witness the
lives of a wild cheetah family

in a way he never imagined.

It wasn't long and I was walking
with them,

sleeping with them and even
following them on the hunt.

It's spring.
And for a single mother,

it's no easy task
herding five small cats.

But her cubs know her by her call.

Over the coming months, they will
pay attention

when they hear her voice.

SQUEAKING CALLS

It's a language we can't understand,

but for them,
her meaning is always clear.

Her home spreads for 200 square
miles between these forested hills

and the seasonal river to the west.

While this wooded terrain doesn't
seem like typical cheetah habitat,

she's already successfully raised
four cubs beneath this canopy.

But this doesn't mean that her role
as a single parent is easy.

The forest harbours many enemies,
like leopards and lions.

Even baboons are too powerful

for the lightweight mother
to stand up to.

Their fluffy coats help to disguise
them in the undergrowth,

but when they're on the move, they
need to stay close by her side.

Right now, with five hungry cubs
depending on her milk,

she must seize every chance
to feed herself.

Her prey - the impala
that thrive in these woodlands.

Every other day, she must wrestle
one of these powerful antelope

to the death.

But first, she must lose five little
shadows.

When those cubs were really small,

it was quite interesting how she
would sneak off hunting

and the little guys would just know
that they had to go and hide,

and they'd hide away in a little
bush and wait there.

Her hyperactive cubs can't be
trusted to keep still.

Their play could attract unwelcome
attention.

But their mother simply can't be in
two places at once.

In open terrain, she can reach a top
speed of nearly 60mph -

twice as fast
as an Olympic sprinter.

But the forest is a hazardous
obstacle course...

..for a high-speed hunter
as well as her prey.

Dinner's ready and she calls her
family to join her.

But what does she want?

Their bellies are full
with her rich milk,

and they're not too eager
to share her strange meal.

In those early days when she would
take them to a carcass

and they'd sort of look at this
thing, and they'd be terrified,

"What is this thing? What are we
supposed to do with this thing?"

And then they'd come
and they'd start playing with it,

and they weren't even bothering
to eat,

they were just biting and pulling
and stuff.

It's been a hard day

and she still needs to get a long
line of cubs bathed.

Grooming keeps them clean but it's
also the cheetah version of a hug,

strengthening their bond.

And then she still has energy for a
bedtime game

that requires unlimited patience
from one of the players.

But she can never totally
let her guard down.

LION ROARS

The hours of darkness are perilous
for these diurnal cats.

And tonight the mother can't protect
her family

from their deadliest enemy.

Kim had only been filming them for a
few short weeks when tragedy struck.

The next morning, when I came back,
one of the cubs was missing.

I searched around and, not far from
where I found them,

there were lion tracks.

I can only presume
they'd killed a cub.

But normally lions don't,
they don't eat them,

so they just kill it
and leave it there.

And I searched and searched the area
for ages, trying to find something,

but I never could find anything.

The mother has no choice -

she has to share her range with
larger predators

that readily kill competitors.

To survive in this forest,

she must keep moving her family as
far away from the pride as possible.

Four cubs follow her today.

They're all females, except for one.

And he soon
captured Kim's attention.

I started developing a relationship
with the little male.

And I call him Solo.

What happens when cheetah
reach adulthood,

the males will go off together

and the females will go and have
their own cubs.

But Solo was the only male, so he
was going to go off on his own.

And it was going to be Solo and my
little journey together.

By late spring, the hot,
dry season has reached its peak

and soaring temperatures make the
family thirsty.

The only water remains in
a shrinking dam

where hundreds of birds flock
to drink.

African waters are treacherous
places to take a young family,

and she approaches with caution.

The safest place to drink
is also the least desirable -

a muddy pool near the edge
of the dam.

Solo, in a display
of early independence,

decides to take his own route
to water...

..but soon regrets it.

Mother is impatient to move on.

They can't linger here.

There's no cover for her cubs

and they're still too small
to outrun danger.

But she won't need to rely on the
dam for much longer

because the summer
wet season is about to begin.

THUNDER RUMBLES

THUNDER CRASHES

Rain is a whole new experience
for the cubs,

and within a few short weeks,

the only world they've known
looks very different.

The dry riverbed becomes a stream.

Then a river, cutting off the
western edge

of the mother's territory.

And, in secluded corners
of the forest,

hidden from the family's view,
new life begins.

THUNDER CRASHES

As the wet season
gets into full swing,

they no longer need to risk their
lives for a drink.

They can lick as much water as they
like off each other's fur.

The cubs' first summer will be a
season of discovery

and peculiar playmates.

Aroused by rain
from its dry-season burrow,

this one's a little withdrawn
around strangers.

His sisters soon lose interest
but Solo, always inquisitive,

is determined to play.

Now, if only he could figure out
which end is front.

It's been four months
since her cubs were born,

and the mother's milk is no longer
enough to sustain

their growing appetites.

They need to eat meat.

And today they're going to find out

just what she has to do
to feed them.

The forest provides a choice of
lookouts to help her locate food.

Her cubs love imitating her,

and an impromptu lesson in hunting
is about to begin.

First, scan for prey.

Next, get down and stalk it.

Climbing up is one thing...

..reversing quite another.

This is going to take a whole lot
longer than she thought.

Clearly, climbing such upright trees

is not a skill these little
forest cats were born with.

Their stalking technique
will improve with practice.

For now, Solo is the only one
showing any aptitude.

As she closes in on her prey,

the lesson suddenly becomes
more compelling.

Watching her is the best way
to learn how to hunt.

A signal from her
tells them to keep still

for the next few critical seconds.

The wait is over, and they're eager
to get closer to the action.

They've never seen her do this
before

and their murmurs betray their
anxiety.

CUBS WHINE SOFTLY

The ram is almost twice her weight.

His sharp horns are a lethal weapon.

And front-row seats
have become too close for comfort.

She needs to clench her small jaws
around his throat

until he suffocates.

It seems to be a textbook kill.

Except down does not always mean out
with these powerful opponents.

But Kim had faith in the skills
of his superb huntress.

When you see how this mother cheetah
would catch a big male impala and

then wrestle with this thing,
I mean, it was incredible strength,

and the power that she has just to
hold on to that thing

and then to bring it down.

Now it's safe.

Her kill is a triumph
for the family.

And the little cats have finally
developed a big appetite for meat.

THUNDER CRASHES

Even the cold, hard rain is not
going to chase them from this meal.

But tonight, by lingering at
the carcass,

the mother is making a fatal
mistake.

I left the cheetah in the evening,
and they had a fresh kill.

And when I got back the next morning
the kill has disappeared,

and I found them
about half a kilometre away,

just the three cubs.

And my little friend, Solo,
was missing.

So I searched and searched the area.

And I found Solo lying at the base
of the tree,

dead and partially eaten.

Probably because they were on a
kill,

a leopard has come in to the smell
or whatever, and surprised them.

This journey that I was going
to go on with Solo

had now suddenly
come to an end.

And that whole little bubble
just got burst instantly.

Predators have killed two of her
cubs in the space of a month.

This is the fate
of many cheetah cubs.

And a huge challenge for Africa's
most threatened big cat.

If she's to keep her last three
little ones alive,

she can't afford any mistakes.

So now we were left with three
females,

and they were doing really well.

Two months have passed since Solo's
death,

and the seven-month-old cubs
have outgrown

the protective cloak of downy
fur on their backs.

Over the weeks, they've witnessed
their mother's hunting prowess

and now every free moment is their
chance to play at predator and prey.

They're also beginning to make
themselves

known in the neighbourhood.

Some neighbours are less
approachable than others.

Part of their long adventure over
the coming seasons will be learning

which animals to hunt

and which to steer clear of.

And, speaking of hunting,

their mother's decided that it's
time for a more hands-on lesson.

It may seem cruel,

but the season's live impala lambs

provide the perfect classroom
exercise

for these predators in training.

MOTHER CHEETAH CALLS

The trick is not to let it slip
through their paws.

It's been a successful few weeks
for the mother and her daughters.

But that's about to change.

One summer morning, Kim arrived
to find the family scattered.

The cheetah were everywhere
and I just heard cubs, you know,

that little whistle...

All over the place.

Something had happened.

I found one of the youngsters,

and this cub was obviously
in a bad way.

Then I realised it had a serious
injury and it looked like, I think,

a baboon had probably bit her
across the shoulders.

CUB SQUEALS

You know, baboons and cheetah
are a serious problem,

and baboons do go for them
and chase them.

And whenever the mother heard
baboons,

she would just move away from them.

Her priority is to gather her family
together.

But her injured daughter
cannot keep up.

The cub is traumatised and,
to make matters worse,

biting ants soon begin
to swarm all over her.

Kim is concerned
that the ants will eat her alive.

Until now, he's simply been
a witness,

documenting the family's
fortunes.

He faced a dilemma -
should he help the cub or not?

We sort of have a policy that
if it's a man-made injury,

then you come in
and you try and sort the animal out.

But if it's a natural injury,
then you don't.

Unless it's an endangered species.

And, in this case, we called
a vet in, he came and helped,

we stitched up the cheetah
and we took her back to her mother.

Kim's intervention saved her life

and brought him even closer
to the family.

So, she would have that scar
for the rest of her life now.

And, then, that day, I decided to
name her, and I named her Shanatse.

I just like that name.

It's the name of a mopane tree
in the local Shangaan language.

And I just liked the sound
of the name and it suited her.

In no time at all, little
Shanatse is on the mend.

Although it will take a few days

before she's well enough to run
around with her sisters.

But the mother's trials
are not over yet.

There's more upheaval to come.

Just days later,

one of the other cubs appears
thin and unsteady on her feet.

Within hours, she's collapsed
and is bleeding from her nose.

She has contracted a
mysterious and deadly illness,

and the mother is helpless.

She can offer only comfort,
nothing more.

The disease has taken hold
so quickly

that even Kim is unable to help.

MOTHER CHEETAH CALLS

Her calls urge her daughter
to get up and follow her.

But she can't.

By nightfall, her little one
is dead.

Despite her best efforts, the mother
has lost three cubs in seven months.

As far as providing goes,
she could provide.

And that was never a problem.

She was a really good hunter
and she could provide food.

But she couldn't protect them
from all that other stuff,

and that's stuff which
a lot of cheetah can't do.

Now only two cubs follow
where once there were five.

It will take all her skill and a
huge dose of luck

to get her surviving
daughters through to adulthood.

Soon Kim began to notice that the
two cubs

had very different personalities.

You know, Shanatse was always more
calculating and quite independent.

While the other cub,
which I named Chinzvi,

she was more of a baby
and a real mummy's girl.

She just loved her mummy.

She was really obliging and, later,
when I needed to check them,

she'd let me just walk up to her
and put on a radio collar.

Weeks pass, and the rainy season
draws to a close.

It's difficult to find suitable prey
in late summer's long grass.

The family spots an impala herd
on the far shore.

But the water in between
is an unwelcome obstacle,

guarded by ill-tempered hippos.

And these cats don't like
to get their paws wet.

The river's gone down
since the rains ended,

but they still need to find
a shallow place to cross.

True to their characters, Shanatse
makes her way across with finesse.

Chinzvi, on the other hand,
would rather stay on dry land,

and she wants to be sure
her mother's coming along.

There's no turning back now.

The lush summer grazing
has left the herds

in peak physical condition.

The mother must get close.

She can't sustain top speed
for very long.

It's an exhausting struggle
but, today, for the first time,

her daughters are eager to help her.

They might have enthusiasm and
instinct but, at eight months old,

they still lack skill.

And it's not clear exactly
what Chinzvi's contribution is.

They've participated
in their first big hunt.

And Shanatse is eager
to claim the trophy.

But Kim knew what was coming next.

Cheetah have this funny thing that,
youngsters especially,

once they've caught this thing and
once it's down on the ground

then, OK, it's dead now,
so we can let go.

And then they're surprise with,
"Hey, it's got up again."

Everyone will go hungry today.

By autumn their
forest changes colour,

and the mopane trees
that gave Shanatse her name

start to lose their leaves.

Change blows in on the cool winds.

One morning, two strangers arrive.

It's a coalition of brothers,
with only one thing on their mind -

to mate with the mother.

Unlike other big cats,

cheetahs do not typically kill cubs
that do not belong to them.

All the same,
Chinzvi seems frightened.

The mother's aggressive response

should leave them in no doubt
that she's not ready to mate.

But they're not taking
no for an answer.

They follow the family
deeper into the forest.

CHEETAH CALLS

Chinzvi's persistent cries
are not helping the situation.

The brothers aren't giving up.

They're after a scent that will let
them know

that she's come back into oestrus.

And when that happens,

she will abandon her cubs
to begin a new family.

It's as if Chinzvi knows this
and objects.

SHE CALLS

Their advances are premature.

But they'll be back.

Shanatse and Chinzvi
are still too young

to make their own way
in the world,

but their mother's running out
of time to get them ready

for a life without her.

Months pass,

and the chilly start of winter
marks the sisters' first birthday.

They're growing in confidence,

and now approach hunting practice
with determination.

A bush piglet has been hidden
in the grass

while its mother is away foraging.

Catching such small prey should be a
walk in the park.

But their mother is still providing
for them,

and they seemed to think
this ferocious little snack

is not worth the effort.

For the moment, elephant dung
is a much more compliant prey.

They'll sometimes see a piece
of dung over there

and they'll go tearing after it
and then grab it and hit it,

and then the other one will come in
from this side.

And it's like a game of soccer to
them.

They love playing those sort of
games.

And then they'll stand there with
this piece of elephant dung in their

mouth, looking really stupid, and...

Hello!

It didn't run away!

By late winter, the forest
has turned bare and cold.

It's over a year since Kim began
filming the mother

and her five tiny cubs,
and now her daughters are nearly

the same size as her.

But they still depend on her
guidance and wisdom...

..especially when it comes
to their arch enemy.

This morning they've wandered
into a pair of lions,

members of the same pride
that killed her cub.

In their evolution, cheetahs
sacrificed strength for speed,

and now their only defence against
these powerful cats is to flee.

Chinzvi and her mother
are ready to run.

But Shanatse's sudden
bravado could cost her her life.

She's no match for a male lion
four times her weight.

The mother has already lost one cub
to lions.

She'll do what she can to save
another.

And she sees to it that they quickly
retreat.

Shanatse needs to be
much smarter next time

if she's to survive
alongside these deadly enemies.

As the months fly by,

time is running out for the sisters
to perfect their hunting skills.

Today, they've managed to catch
a grysbok,

a secretive forest antelope.

This adult might be small enough to
wrestle,

but their technique still needs
considerable practice.

If they don't silence it quickly,
it will attract other predators.

Shanatse finally gets it right...

..while their mother
keeps a nervous look out.

Bitter experience has taught her
how exposed they are at a kill.

It's a small victory for the
sisters, and not the last.

Over the coming months, the demands
on their mother to feed them

will lessen, until one day she will
know that the time has come.

Nearly a year and a half has passed

since Shanatse
and Chinzvi were born.

And, although their mother's
made mistakes along the way,

she's done everything in her power

to get these two survivors this far.

Now a fresh instinct is beginning
to take hold of her.

She's preparing for another
journey into motherhood,

and leaves her scent where
it will lure passing males.

Her daughters might
not realise it yet,

but this simple action
marks the end of their childhood.

Everything will be different
from this day onwards.

This remarkable mother's work
is finally done.

By some mysterious communication,
her cubs know that, this time,

they cannot follow.

These strong, healthy cheetahs are a
product of her labour and devotion.

But are they ready
for a life on their own?

Kim had been anticipating this
bittersweet moment for months.

Well, I knew from the start that one
day the mother would just

up and leave them, and the family
would begin to dissolve.

And I suppose I was prepared for it.

But their mother's abrupt departure
hits Chinzvi hard.

She was so distraught
at Mum having disappeared,

and she called and called
for a couple of days.

SHE CALLS

Now, with Shanatse
it was just very different.

When Mum was gone,
she didn't seem to be too fazed.

It was almost like, well, now I'm
going to be a normal cheetah,

I don't have to run after my mummy
any more.

The sisters only have
each other now,

and the next few critical weeks
will either make or break them.

This morning, their forest home
suddenly seems a lot more hostile.

Their mother would know that the
hyena is just nosing around

for a convenient takeaway.

But they're not so sure
of its intentions.

And then there are those giants
that are always intimidating,

no matter how grown-up you are.

And here, to make a bad day worse,
are the baboons.

The young cats have learned to have
a healthy respect for the troop.

Shanatse still bears the scar from
her ill-fated encounter as a cub.

BABOONS CALL

But, with each passing moment,

the sisters are becoming
more self-assured.

They can outrun the baboons
at a leisurely trot.

And now they have one less enemy
to fear in the forest.

For the baboon, it's a bit
humiliating,

trying to chase
the fastest animal on land.

As they begin to patrol
their forest as adults,

a daunting reality
soon confronts them.

If they are to survive,

they'll have to apply their mother's
hunting lessons.

First, climb a tree.

Scan the area for suitable prey.

Too big.

Too tall.

Way too big!

Just right!

Kim had been an intimate witness
for the milestones in their lives,

almost from the start.

But the ultimate test of their
mother's success was still to come.

You know, I'd seen them catch small
prey,

but one day they'd have to catch
adult impala like their mother.

They see an opportunity.

It's summer's end,

and shorter days have triggered
the annual impala rut.

Throughout the forest, rams are
jousting for the right to mate.

Days of fighting
have weakened the contenders.

If the sisters hope to succeed
today, they need to work together.

And they seem to have a plan.

Chinzvi sneaks off
to lie in ambush.

Using the forest as cover, Shanatse
stalks closer to the ram,

aiming to flush it out.

All their mother's teaching has
culminated in this crucial moment.

Shanatse launches the attack.

Chinzvi gets ready...

..and leaps into action.

They've done it.

They'd killed their own impala.

And once I'd seen
that they were successful

and looking after themselves,

it was just time that the project
would come to an end.

They were going off on their own and
they weren't going to stay together

for long, and I was going
to go off and do my thing.

In the months that followed,

Kim no longer spent his days
with the sisters,

and he began filming
a wild dog family.

But there was one farewell
still to come.

I finished working with them
and I hadn't seen them for a year.

And I was going for this walk and
I saw this cheetah in the distance.

And I start whistling
and it doesn't even look at me.

And eventually I get closer
and she still doesn't look.

And now I realise that it's Chinzvi.

I go and I sit down...

a couple of metres from her,
and she still doesn't look at me.

And I'm thinking, come on,
I haven't seen you for a year,

surely you can acknowledge
my presence.

I mean, we were quite...
good buddies at one stage.

And then...

a couple of minutes later,

she got up and she came to me.

And she started licking my face.

And that, for me, is why I do
what I do, because it's...

so special.

It was very special.