All language subtitles for Africas.Hunters.S02E02_English

NARRATOR: The Nsefu Pride.

A lion family,
blessed with young.

For two little males,
friendship is everything.

Two brothers, a misfit
and a dreamer,

form an unlikely alliance.

Looking out for each other
by day, and night.

But the pride is under attack, from enemies, large...

[TRUMPETS]

[GROWLS]

And small.

[HYENA CACKLES]

Together,
the two young lions
face danger...

And tragedy.

If they are
to secure their future,

they must first
overcome their past.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

It's a big day for
the Nsefu Pride

in Zambia's Luangwa Valley.

The family has seven new cubs,

the offspring
of two lionesses.

It's May, and they've been
born into the wet season.

It's not the best timing.

The valley is flush
with green growth

so the antelope have moved
away from the river,

and are harder to find.

There are a lot
of new mouths to feed.

These cubs have only just
joined the main pride.

They've been hiding
in a den for a month.

[GROWLS WEAKLY]

Each cub has
a different character,
right from the start.

Among these litter mates,

one is confident and dominant,

another more easy-going.

A third is timid.

All have personalities
of their own.

[CUB MEWLING]

[WHIMPERS]

This little cub always
seems to get left behind.

He's perhaps a dreamer,

more interested
in other wildlife.

But it's not
all butterflies here.

[MEWLS]

His mother's noticed
he's lagging behind
and waits for him.

The lionesses have a tough job

protecting their cubs
from other predators.

This mother's had
several litters,

though in the last
couple of years,

none of her cubs has survived.

But this isn't unusual.[GROWLS]

Eight out of 10 cubs die during their first few years,

from predation, starvation,

or even
at the hands
of rival lions.

But maybe the little dreamer

has something
that will make him
a survivor.

Nights are the most dangerous.

It's even harder to keep curious cubs safe in the dark.

[CUB MEWLS]

Hyenas shadow the lions
to steal their kills

and would make a meal
of any stray cub.

Leopards, too, would seize any opportunity

to kill the new generation
of their age-old enemies.

As the months pass,
the wet season
gives way to the dry.

The waterholes and gullies
around the Luangwa River
dry up.

It's now September,

nearly five months
since the cubs were born,

but they're nowhere in sight.

The Nsefu lions are together,

but only one
of the seven cubs remains.

It's the dreamer.

The trials of the wet season proved too much for the others

but, somehow,
this little one survived.

He's a lonely 4-month old

with no one
his own age to play with.

He does have
older half-brothers.

They're yearlings,
effectively teenagers
in lion years.

They tend
to ignore the dreamer.

All except for one.

This teenager had
a traumatic time as a cub.

A year ago, he was
the nervous runt
of the litter.

A timid little loner.

He was bullied
by his older brothers.

[LOW GROWLS]

[CUB WHIMPERING]

Weak and injured,

he was rejected by his mother, who refused him milk.

She seemed to accept
this little runt
wouldn't pull through.

[GROWLING]

His chance of survival
was next to none.

[GROWLS WEAKLY]

But his mother's
maternal instinct was
unexpectedly reignited.

A year later,
he's still alive,

still timid,

still on the outskirts
of the family.

He's still the misfit.

And he's starting
to forge a new bond

with the
surviving little cub...

The dreamer.

He often goes over to check the little cub's OK.

In fact, the little dreamer's got the whole pride looking after him.

[BOTH ROARING]

Two huge brothers rule.

They come and go,
occasionally checking in
with the family.

This season,
the Nsefu Pride
is made up of 16 lions,

six lionesses
and their offspring,

ranging from the dreamer
to 3-year-olds
just entering adulthood.

The little dreamer
is outgoing, and,
unlike the misfit,

plays happily
with his older cousins.

But he has
a special bond
with the misfit.

[YOWLING]

The pride females
call to keep in touch
with the two big males,

who have left on patrol.

The Nsefu Pride
is the local royalty,

with the best territory along the Luangwa River in Zambia.

The land is drying
and the river will soon be

the only reliable
source of water
for many animals here.

Wildlife gathers
around the Luangwa,

eating the last of the grass.

All the lions
need to do is wait.

Antelope have to run
the daily gauntlet
of predators to reach water.

They're nervous.

This is their
toughest time of year.

Lions are not predominantly daytime hunters,

but so many targets
close to the river
are irresistible.

The Nsefu pride
rarely catches
the swift antelope.

But no matter.

At this time of year

they know there's
bigger prey on its way.

Slower, easier to run down,

but much more dangerous.

Buffalo.

Huge herds gather together
in the dry season,

traveling long distances
between foraging grounds
and the river.

A shriveling lagoon
offers little relief
for the thirsty herd,

and its mud
can be a death trap
for the unwary.

They must push on
to the river.

While the pride stays
close to the Luangwa,

the males
patrol their territory.

[ROARING]

Their roars
travel further after dark
when the air is cooler.

[ROARING]

This wall of sound protects
the pride from rival lions,

but there are other dangers
at the river's edge.

Thirteen foot crocodiles
come ashore to scavenge.

Even the young lions know
to leave these beasts
well alone.

The misfit and the dreamer

drink together.

The pride's young bachelors
want to play,

but they can be rough.

The misfit sits protectively
at the little cub's side.

It was this gang of bullies

that beat him up
when he was tiny.

But they're soon distracted.

[ANIMAL GRUNTING]

It's time for the hippos
to emerge from the river
to graze.

The lions are waiting
for the buffalo herd,

but they're nothing
if not opportunists.

The Nsefu pride
has killed hippos before.

But even a young hippo
like this is a huge target.

Prey this size needs
a well-coordinated attack.

There'll be plenty more
opportunities before dawn.

Up above the beach,

one lioness tries
to drive puku towards
her sisters for an ambush.

But the others don't want
to waste their energy
on such small prey.

[BUFFALO GRUNTING]

At last,
an advance party of buffalo
makes a run for the river.

The lionesses see their chance to separate one from the herd.

[ROARS]

[LOWING]

Buffalo defend each other,
and are willing and able
to kill a careless lioness.

Even alone, this is a formidable opponent.

All the hunters
move in to battle

over a ton of muscle,
hide and dangerous horns.

The trick is
to bring down
the back end,

while staying clear
of the front.

[BUFFALO LOWING]

The females are a crack team.

They've been hunting
cooperatively for
several years.

The buffalo stumbles,
and it's soon over.

This kill will feed
the whole pride,

and it could be
days before they
need to hunt again.

The little dreamer only
started eating meat
in the last week or two.

He's amazingly confident.

He's the baby of the family,
but precocious.

The misfit will eat
his fill eventually

but must wait his turn,

which is always last.

His little brother,
belly full, consoles him.

By morning, the pride
and the buffalo carcass

are surrounded by scavengers ready to clean up the scraps.

The dreamer is having to clean himself this morning.

His mother
is severely injured.

[FLIES BUZZING]

There's a puncture wound
in her neck.

She was caught
by a buffalo horn.

The little cub needs
his mother fit and well.

He's only just begun
to be weaned

and still needs to suckle.

The misfit
seems to offer
what comfort he can.

Last year, an Nsefu lion was killed in a buffalo hunt.

If this mother doesn't recover over the next few days,

the cub will be
in real trouble.

The gang of yearlings
and sub-adults

are play-hunting with
the carcass and each other.

The little cub is ready
for another helping.

He's brave.

The sub-adults
can be dangerous.

Even now, the misfit
is never this brave.

One by one,
the sated lions move away
to sleep off their meal,

a chance for others
to move in.

The little dreamer is
in his own world again,

and doesn't notice.

[YIPPING]

But his aunts
have got his back.

[YELPING]

Eventually the cub twigs that he's the last lion standing.

He's never been
so full of meat.

He's too full
to run and catch up.

But his faithful brother,
the misfit, waits for him.

A dry river bed
is a comfortable place

to sleep off their huge meal.

His injured mother
needs to rest.

Injuries
that would kill a human

are surprisingly common
among wild animals.

Africa is a harsh place.

The animals that live here
are tough and resilient.

There's a young elephant
with half a trunk.

She got it caught in a snare.

She's coping,
and, like the lioness
and her pride,

the rest of the herd
look out for her.

It's one of the great benefits of being a social animal.

A few days later,
the buffalo kill
is a distant memory

and the lions
are hungry again.

The dreamer does
what he always does,

goes to his mum for milk.

Her injury hasn't yet healed.

[MEWLS]

Slowly, painfully,
she pushes him away.

He's confused.

His attempts at affection
clearly hurt her.

Her windpipe is damaged,
and the gash wheezes
as air escapes.

The cub keeps trying.

He has to.

She's fighting for her life,

and if she doesn't
get through this,

he'll be fighting for his.

[SNARLS]

Lionesses with many cubs
nurse each other's offspring

but with the early death
of the other six cubs,

the rest of the mothers
in this pride

have long since
stopped producing milk.

His mother is his only hope.

He won't be
fully weaned for another
three or four months,

and still needs
milk in his diet.

The misfit can't feed him,

but he can wash him,

and that's some comfort.

The two friends,
half-brothers,
are a good team.

The misfit's experience
of rejection last year

may explain his unusual affection for the little cub.

He's knows what it is
to be alone.

The two young lions
need each other.

The misfit's bond
with the dreamer

is his best shot at forming a coalition later in life.

Males form teams
of brothers, or cousins,

to rule a pride
and a territory.

It's nearly impossible
to achieve alone.

The Nsefu pride is run
by two such brothers.

Eight-year-old twins
who, between them,

have fathered
all the youngsters
in the pride.

Their bond is unbreakable.

They've been working
on this coalition

since the day they were born.

They're brothers in arms,

a powerful force
in the valley.

Ranging throughout
their Nsefu territory,

they scent mark with urine,

and with secretions from
a gland between their toes.

A pungent warning
to rival males to stay out.

The big males come
and go from the pride,

and the dreamer is always pleased to see them.

There's something
about this little cub.

His confidence
belies his youth.

The bonds between males
can last their whole lives,

between fathers and sons,
brothers, half-brothers
and cousins.

It's a little observed side
of lion family life.

Through the valley as the dry season intensifies,

every remaining
stream and pool

is like a thread
of precious life.

The lions tend
to clear the waterhole
of drinking antelope.

But not everything
gives way to lions.

There's a feud here with an even bigger family...

Of elephants.

The animosity is fueled
by fear and family loyalty.

Adult and even
sub-adult elephants

are too large
for the pride to tackle,

but this herd has lost
calves to lions before.

They take every opportunity
to show the big cats

how powerful
and dangerous
they can be.

The lion family
backs down, cowed.

They understand the perils.

Elephants have killed
lion cubs, too,

trampling them to death.

The pride
is surrounded by enemies,

one far more secretive
than elephants.

Leopards outnumber lions here

and, along with hyenas,

are the biggest
killers of cubs.

This age-old rancor
goes both ways.

The pride kills her cubs, too.

This leopard's no match
for the whole pride.

She can't outrun them.

But she's a much
better climber.

She's half their size
and twice as agile.

Lions rarely climb trees.

So her best bet
is to wait it out.

Stalemate.

Below, the lone cub's
injured mother

is managing
to keep up
with the pride,

but she's still in pain.

She won't let him nurse.

The standoff continues.

The family keeps a close eye on their prisoner.

But leopards
are masters of stealth.

The lions lose
concentration for a minute...

And the leopard
seizes her chance.

It's a risky move.

But the lions are
too hot to care.

In the heat of the day,
they sleep.

In fact, they typically
sleep 21 out of 24 hours,

conserving energy
for the cool of the night
when they usually hunt.

Sleeping in a heap looks hot,

but lions like to be
in touching distance
of one another.

They're the only
truly social cats

and even the way they sleep
helps reinforce their bonds.

The misfit and the dreamer
are together as usual.

[ELEPHANT TRUMPETS]

But they're destined
for disturbance today.

The herd is not happy
to have bumped into
the lions again.

[TRUMPETING]

They move with the calves inside a protective wall of mothers.

Tensions are running high.

This is very dangerous
for the pride.

The elephants get more
and more agitated.

And push the lions straight into a small herd of buffalo.

They're equally belligerent.

Caught in the middle, the little cub could easily be trampled under so many feet.

No one backs down.

Eventually the buffalo retreat from the confusion and head for the river.

The lions
instinctively follow.

The sticky mud does
the hunters' job for them.

[LIONS GROWLING]

It's an easy meal.

It's opportunities like this

that make the river front
the Nsefu pride's
greatest asset.

The dreamer is
in sore need
of sustenance.

This unexpected meal
isn't a moment too soon.

Now the lions have a kill,
the elephant calves
are in less danger...

But the herd is still
unusually distressed.

The matriarch can't
contain herself.

It's extraordinary behavior.

Perhaps it's the smell of blood that's upsetting them

or just displaced
anger and fear.

Eventually they back off,
but the message is clear.

Elephants are not
to be messed with.

It's not a lesson the lions
will forget in a hurry.

The burst of energy
has taken its toll

on the injured mother
of the little dreamer.

She's having
breathing problems.

The wound looks
a little better,

but she still moves gingerly,

as if every footstep
causes her discomfort.

The dreamer has given up
trying to elicit
any affection from her.

After his big meal of meat,

he's thirsty,

but has an
instinctive fear of water.

The river is a lifeline, but it's full of dangers too.

For comfort he goes,
not to his mum,
but to the misfit.

Their bond is getting
stronger all the time.

The rest of the day is spent
sleeping off the meal.

The dreamer finds
a quiet moment
for a nervous drink.

This may be the turning point.

His mother's wound
is finally starting
to heal over.

And above all,
he has the misfit,
a solid friend.

That evening,
the little cub's mother
seems stronger,

and wanders off.

A lion's ability to heal
is remarkable.

Her body is working overtime

to get her back
to full hunting fitness.

At dusk, the elephants return,

the cue for the rest
of the pride to move
further along the beach.

Every night,
the Nsefu brothers declare
their pride's ownership

of this territory.

The misfit sits apart
from the other yearlings.

It's only when the dreamer
joins him that he plays.

The cub's mother
is off consorting
with one of the big males.

She's definitely
feeling better.

Together they set off
for the night's hunt.

The pride is on good form,

strong and taking
buffalo regularly.

The evening patrol
is a training session
for all the youngsters.

The yearlings are learning
how to hunt cooperatively.

They've found something.

A pair of warthogs
hiding in a bush.

[WARTHOG SQUEALING]

That's how it's done.

The misfit and the dreamer
aren't usually this close
to the action.

It's an exciting
night for them.

A warthog isn't
much of a meal.

There's hardly enough
to feed all 16 lions.

And new mouths
are coming to the table.

Hyenas.

Lots of them.

The dreamer is in the thick of the melee.

The hyenas are getting cheeky.

The misfit has had
enough of the scrum.

Grabbing a scrap,
he moves away.

He's an easy target.

Five burly hyenas
against one yearling lion.

Just in time, the lionesses
come to the rescue.

Meal over, the pride moves on.

But in the drama
over the misfit,

the dreamer
has been left behind.

[HYENAS CACKLE]

By morning, the pride
is miles away.

The misfit is
battered and sore.

But it's nothing
that won't mend.

The little cub, however,
is nowhere to be seen.

The cub's mother
retraces her steps,
searching for him.

Her calls echo
across the plains.

Just as she's recovered enough to nurse him again, the cub,

the little dreamer, has gone.

For several days, she scours the bush looking for her cub.

But all in vain.

The dreamer is dead.

The misfit is on his own.

He needs to make
a friend in the pride,
all over again.

As the season
begins to change,

the lost cub's mother
seems to find it hard
to let go.

She becomes a lonely figure
at the edge of the pride.

A storm would be
a welcome relief.

The days are hot
and full of biting insects.

The misfit is bothered
by a tsetse fly.

[FLY BUZZING]

There's only one thing to do.

He goes over and sits with one of the other yearlings.

His brother gets
his tsetse fly.

[FLY BUZZING]

Perhaps not the best way
to make friends,
but it's a start.

Two weeks go by
and the injured lioness
has made a full recovery.

The scar is barely visible.

She's still roaming
away from the pride.

But she's no longer
searching for her lost cub.

She's searching for the males.

She's coming into estrus

and wants
another litter of cubs.

She's found
one of the brothers.

He inhales
the scent of her urine,

testing her readiness to mate.

The signs are good.

There's a new future here.

Hope is on the horizon for the parched landscape too.

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

The misfit moves
to join his brother.

Since the cub died,
the misfit's becoming
more sociable.

He's lost
his youngest half-brother,

but he instinctively knows
he needs a teammate.

Strong families
are vital to lions.

He's slowly maturing.

His brother is responding,
and invites the misfit
to wrestle.

[SOFTLY GROWLING]

For the first time, he's playing with his peers.

It'll take a while,
but the misfit's
beginning to fit in.

Over the coming weeks,
he and his brother
make up for lost time.

His first two years
have been hard,

but they seem to have
made him stronger.

It's early days yet, but his prospects are rising.

He has a new allegiance
to build on.

Perhaps one day the misfit
and his brother

will have a pride
of their own,

and raise
a new generation of lions

to rule the Luangwa Valley.

[MUSIC PLAYING]