All language subtitles for Africas.Hunters.S01E05_English

GILLIAN BURKE: The Nsefu pride
is the perfect lion family.

New cubs with
two devoted mothers.

Two loyal fathers
to guard them...

But they've got teenagers

and that spells trouble.

Turning from cubs
into killers isn't easy.

They must learn how to hunt

and how to find
their independence

while staying loyal
to their family.

Teenage mistakes
can have terrible
consequences.

They face betrayal,

isolation

and death.

Theirs is a journey
into adulthood

through the trials
and tribulations
of teenage pride.

It's dawn

and the Nsefu pride relaxes
after a busy night's hunting.

The Nsefu lions are led
by two dominant males
in their prime.

At the heart of the pride
are five adult females

and six new cubs,
born to two litters.

Everyone dotes
on the new arrivals.

Everyone,

except the teenagers.

They have their own problems.

There are seven of them,

ranging from one
to three years old,

mostly sub-adult males.

Like all teenagers,

they face the difficult
transition to maturity,

but these adolescents
are lucky.

Their 25 square mile
territory is on
the Luangwa River,

the best lion
real estate
in the area.

Born eight weeks ago,

the new cubs are now
old enough to hang out
with the pride,

and even the two big males
spend time with them.

The previous year's
young are all ignored.

So they've formed a gang.

These adolescents
are, in human terms,
of school age.

(GROWLING)

They have their own teacher,
an older sister.

Though already adult size,

she's still young
and playful.

Life was perfect

until the six new
cubs came along

and stole the show.

The mothers have
their hands full now

and pay little attention
to their older offspring.

Aunts and a grandmother

are increasingly
losing patience.

Of the seven teenagers,

four are male, now with
the first sign of manes.

Three of these are brothers.

In their few years
left with the pride,

they have a lot to learn.

Their big sister,
their teacher,

makes sure they keep up.

There's a lot of land
for dozy adolescents
to get lost in.

Now it's time to join
the pride for breakfast.

The hungry teenagers
are allowed at meals

as long as they join
the back of the queue.

The new cubs are
treated like royalty,

and even steal
the big males' meals.

(SNARLING)

The mothers need extra food
to make milk for the cubs.

The males are grumpy
about having to share.

(GROWLING)

One antelope,
stolen from a leopard,

doesn't go far.

The aunts try to eat
their share discretely,

until the teenage
gang finds them...

...and forgets their manners.

The hungry youngsters
often break the rules
of the pride.

(GROWLING)

The big males send
the adolescents packing.

The most important
survival skill

the youngsters
can learn is to hunt,

and it's time for class.

The pride's favorite
food is buffalo.

The 1,000-strong herd
comes to the river
most days to drink.

But each is
half a ton of power

with lion-killing
horns and hooves.

The elder sister,
their teacher,

selects a safer target
for demonstration.

Hunting needs more work.

The three brothers
are 18 months old

and will be allowed
to stay with the pride

for maybe two years more,

but then,
they'll be on their own.

Hippos retreat
to the river by day,

but come on land
at night to graze.

Baby hippos
are a regular meal,

but adults are huge,
much bigger than buffalo,

with 12-inch long teeth
and bad tempers.

This morning,
the teenage gang
has one trapped

and is blocking its route
back to the river.

Potential predator
and potential prey

fight a battle of wills.

The young lions
try intimidation...

...while the hippo
slinks off round the back.

The chatter of
brightly-colored birds

distracts the hungry teens.

A colony of carmine bee-eaters
nests in the riverbank.

Their burrows extend six feet
or more into the soft sand.

Lions aren't born
knowing what's best to eat,

and whether these birds
might make a meal.

The years spent
learning how to be a lion

may be the most difficult
and least understood
of a lion's life.

(SQUAWKING)

Lions are meant
to be nocturnal,

active at night,

but they're teenagers.

(HIPPO SNORTING)

The hippos are braving
the land to feed.

They graze and
eat fallen fruit
through the night.

For hungry lions, three tons
of slow-moving meat

is just asking for trouble.

This time,
if they work together,

so many lions
should be able
to take on one hippo.

Yet the hippo is more
intimidating than they are.

The hippo's sheer bulk
is their protection,

as are their massive teeth,

trampling feet
and belligerent courage.

Teenage lions
have attitude, too,

and they spar with the hippos,
like matadors with bulls.

For the lions,
it's part game
and part lesson.

Experienced lions
rarely hunt adult hippos,

they're too dangerous,

but the teenagers keep trying.

They'll eventually learn
to look for calves,

or injured adults,
which are easier prey.

After taunting the hippos,

the big sister leads
the class inland.

Hunting antelope requires
specialist teamwork,

and they practice most nights.

They spread out.

The idea is to drive
an impala or a puku
into an ambush.

Antelope are
faster than lions,

and they work
together, too,
alarm calling.

(ANTELOPE SQUEAKING)

It's time for the teens
to test their strategy.

Lions assign themselves
different jobs in the hunt.

Some become wingers,
left or right.

Others, part of the charge,
or the ambush.

Once a lion learns its job,

it'll eventually
fulfill that role

in each hunt
for the rest of its life.

These teenagers
are working out
what their jobs are.

The three brothers
coordinate well,

but they've not
caught anything yet.

The elder sister
drives a puku
straight towards them...

...but they miss the ambush.

Behind the younger brother,
there's one of the cubs,

lost and alone.

(MEWING)

The cub's terrified.

There are leopards
and hyenas around,

and he latches on
to the teenagers.

They stop hunting.

The rest of the pride
can't be far away.

But the cub's older
siblings may not give
him the safety he seeks.

Teenagers play rough.

There's still resentment
towards the cubs.

Jealousies within
a family are normal.

Before the cubs came along,

life was better,

and now they wait
at the back of the queue.

(MEWING RAPIDLY)

Adolescents have
many conflicting instincts.

They recognize
their little brother,

he's one of the family.

But lion males
are cub killers,

an instinct needed
for when they
take over a pride.

Just as the game looks
like being the cub's last,

his mother appears.

(MEWING)

(LIONESS GROWLING)

The teenagers want
their plaything back.

(GROWLING)

(GROWLING)

The cub is battered, confused
and lucky to be alive.

Reprimanded,

the adolescent gang
heads back to the pride.

There's a rumbling,
like distant thunder.
(RUMBLING)

Stampeding buffalo.

The professional hunters,
the lionesses, are at work.

It's a big opportunity
for the teenagers
to prove themselves.

The strategy for
hunting buffalo is
different to antelope.

Buffalo are like tanks,
well armored.

The lions must
attack from behind.

(GRUNTING)

The buffalo is strong
and can wheel around,

slashing with his horns,
lashing out with his hooves.

(GRUNTING)

He tramples and kicks
one of the yearlings.

The pride closes in,
but the teenagers
aren't strong enough.

A horn catches
the elder sister
in the groin.

(GROWLING IN PAIN)

The lions' desperate attempts
to hang on to the buffalo

become increasingly
dangerous and futile.

One by one,
the lions peel off.

Teeth and claws aren't enough.

It takes experience
as well as courage,

and knowing when to back down.

Rumps bleeding,
but heads held high,

the buffalo head
back to their herd.

Following them,
unwilling to give up,

are the three brothers.

The rest of the pride
leaves them to it.

The three brothers
follow the buffalo
herd all night,

out of the pride's territory.

But after a few hours,
they've lost the buffalo,

and their pride.

The pride's two dominant males

return from defending
their kingdom

to find their family
depleted and injured.

The mothers are fine,
they backed off early
in the hunt.

Four juveniles are missing,

three brothers and a yearling.

One of the other
adolescents' leg
is bleeding.

Injuries are common.

One of the adult males
has even cut his eye,
but that's minor.

But his daughter,

the teenagers' elder sister
and teacher, is badly hurt.

It's her left hind leg.

She's fortunate
to have the pride.

Solitary cats, like leopards,
starve when they can't hunt.

Most wounds heal quickly.

There's no blood

and she'll probably recover
with a few days' rest.

But the trampled yearling

is not so lucky.

A moment of teenage bravado

has caused fatal
internal injuries.

Courage alone is no match
for a half-ton of buffalo.

The night's injury list
grows longer.

The lost and found cub
can barely walk.

The teenagers were rough.

He looks for comfort
from his mother...

(MEWING)

...but she rejects him.

(GROWLING)

The pride can't look after
a cub that isn't able keep up.

Her instinct is harsh,
but it's for the sake
of the other healthy cubs.

One night of teenage havoc

has devastated
the whole pride.

The two adult males
don't stick around to help.

They often split up
to patrol their borders

and cover more territory.

It's the height
of the dry season,

and each lion pride
controls sections

of a few miles of river,
the only water around.

The lions hardly
ever venture out
of their territory,

in case they meet
their rival neighbors.

Yet, on this morning,
beyond the pride boundary,

are the three
teenage brothers,

on their own
for the first time.

At 18 months old,
they are too young
to leave the pride,

yet the instincts
for independence
are stirring.

They head out
in search of breakfast.

They have a swagger,
a confidence.

This is the beginning
of a great adventure.

One is the born leader,
and he keeps an eye
on the other two.

He waits for them.

The hippo carcass is days old

and thin pickings.

The leader lets
the younger two
find what they can.

A foot doesn't have much meat,
just skin and gristle.

They should be careful,

their stomachs
aren't accustomed
to rotting carcasses.

But it's something
they may need to get used to.

Like many teenage boys,
they're prone to fighting.

(GROWLING)

But sibling rivalry could
tear the coalition apart,

and they must learn
to support each other.

(GROWLING CONTINUES)

Their survival is at stake.

The leader just moves on
and they have to follow.

It's October,

and South Luangwa
National Park

is waiting for the rains.

These 3,000 square miles
of wilderness

have been eaten bare.

The grass has gone.

This is now a land of hunger.

All life is concentrated
along the banks

of the dwindling
Luangwa River.

Drawn by the only water,
a lone lioness, a nomad.

Life without a pride is harsh.

Single lions can
scrape by for years,

eking out a existence,
hiding and starving.

Rainstorms are on their way,

but for this nomad,
it's probably too late.

The three brothers
are tense, staring intently.

A few hundred yards away
is a small pride of lions,

their neighbors.

This family looks different,
battle-scarred.

Their life is tougher.

There are two adult females

and several older adolescents,
like the brothers.

This is a hardened pride
from the wrong end of town.

But that's not what
the brothers are staring at.

There's a familiar face here.

Their own father.

One of the two
Nsefu pride males

has a second family,
across the tracks.

It's unusual,

but here, the park has
a shortage of adult males

due to trophy hunting
outside the reserve.

As the brothers watch,
he greets the other
pride's adolescents.

He's clearly
their father, too.

They are a little older
than the three brothers.

This must have been
going on for years.

Cuts and scars
tell of a hard life.

Small prides do less well,

pushed into
lower-grade areas.

The three brothers from Nsefu

remain still until all
the other lions have left.

Confused,
their confidence gone,

they nuzzle for reassurance.

One of the brothers
isn't feeling at all well.

Maybe it's the effect
of the rotten hippo.

But in many animals,

emotional upset can have
the same results, too.

(ROARING)

Juveniles rarely roar,

but when they do,
it's often full of meaning

about their pride...

(ROARING)

...their alliances
and strengths.

It's about who they are.

They are three
teenage runaways,

adventurers,

figuring out how
the world works
on their own.

A few days later,

the big male returns
to the Nsefu pride
as if nothing's wrong.

This is his main family.

We can't know
what he thinks and feels,

nor understand
a lion's guilty secrets,

but scientists say
that many animals
deceive each other

and hide the truth
from their rivals or mates.

It's a very ancient betrayal.

The cubs are all there,
including the one
that was rejected.

He's fine now,
just a bit smaller
than the rest.

His mother finally relented.

Ignored in the past
by his mother and brothers,

the lucky survivor

is forging a special
relationship with his father.

Five of the cubs are male

and could form a formidable
team in two or three years,

eventually becoming
caring fathers themselves.

The falling river
shrinks the hippo pools.

The territorial males
aren't happy

with their
newly-confined
quarters.

If the dominant hippo
doesn't get you,
the crocs may.

Injuries are inevitable.

Under cover of darkness,
a wounded hippo retreats
to the bank.

With luck, darkness
and dense bush
would hide him.

But he comes face-to-face
with the Nsefu mothers
and doesn't stand a chance.

The big male
takes charge
of the feast.

An adult hippo is a huge meal,
more than enough for them all,

yet there's an
unusual tension.

(GROWLING)

A big croc tries to join them.

It's too dangerous,
even for him.

(GROWLING)

By morning,

the cause of the
aggression becomes clear.

Here, with their father,

are two adolescents
from the pride next door.

The Nsefu mothers
are the most upset.

(GROWLING)

The male has turned up
with the wrong teenagers.

He's brought two
illegitimate
adolescents instead,

expecting them to be fed.

It's like the most awkward
Thanksgiving dinner.

The uninvited guests
are tough, with no manners.

They don't know
teenagers should join
the back of the queue

and not talk back.

The mothers' building anger
becomes more evident.

The two intruding
adolescents are
outnumbered

and in serious danger.

They have to leave right now.

The Nsefu mothers follow,
looking intent on revenge.

The teenagers
turn on a mother.

All five Nsefu females arrive.

The big male tries
to contain things...

(ROARING)

...and is turned on.

He puts himself
between the mothers
and the two interlopers.

Then, in a display
of rightful bloodline,

the teenagers nuzzle
their father farewell.

The two exit
the only way they can,

through the crocodiles.

The crossing is the
fastest escape route,

but it terrifies
the teenagers.

They've met their
father's main family.

Maybe they too thought
they were the only ones.

It seems everyone's
feelings are hurt.

The Nsefu mothers are
still spoiling for a fight.

The neighboring adolescents

return home unharmed
and well fed.

The Nsefu pride is fractured
by hostility and betrayal.

The growing tension
extends beyond the lion pride.

Other animals become
desperate in the final days
of the dry season.

(TRUMPETING)

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

(RAIN FALLING)

Once the rains come,

the antelope can
drink anywhere

and move away from
the river in the hope
of better grass.

The lions must now search
further afield for their food.

In these tough times,

they can't wait for
the three missing
teenagers to come back.

The young cubs have no choice
but to try to keep up.

The buffalo head out
beyond the pride's boundary.

Far from bringing life,
the storms empty
the lions' world.

The territory is a
deserted sea of mud.

The hippos,
at least,
are happy.

It takes a few weeks,
but life returns.

Grass grows

and the fresh flush
is richest around the river.

The antelope return.

Mud, churned by buffalo
and baked dry,

transforms into lush lagoons.

For the cubs,
it's a new world.

They've only known
dusty plains.

The little cub injured
by the teenagers

is now hard to tell apart
from his brothers.

The big males are spending
more time protecting
their youngest heirs.

(ROARING)

The mothers join
with the males in roaring,
to proclaim their pride.

The only ones missing
are the three brothers.

They haven't seen them
since the buffalo hunt.

Then, one day,

one appears.

Following him,
the other two.

They are back,
looking surprisingly well.

They are welcomed
as part of the family.

The whole pride
is together again.

The three brothers
have learned a lot
on their adventure

and are ready
for their next chapter.

It's a new season,

a new beginning

for all the lions
of the Nsefu pride.

**

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