Original subtitles

Yesterday I crossed this, there was no water.

Look at it now.

The pride is here, the full spectrum!

And of course, the cubs.

The annual flood has finally arrived.

This is a very risky situation.

But with the water...

I've got a big herd of buffalo.

..comes a dangerous prey.

This feels like a battlefield.

If anything kicks off here, they're going to be in peril.

They're coming, they're coming, they're coming.

The Okavango Delta in Botswana.

One of Africa's last wildernesses.

The Okavango Delta is an oasis in the desert,

it's a miracle in itself.

And it's a stronghold for Africa's big cats.

Lion...

..cheetah...

..and leopard.

This is nature at its absolute finest.

Now, for the very first time,

a team of local and international wildlife film makers

is working together to record the cats' lives like never before.

Using the latest technology...

We're going to be able to see things in a completely different light

and tell stories in a completely different way.

..they'll follow individual big cats for six months.

Through the day...

This is crazy. This is a battle.

..and the night.

This is a military-grade thermal imaging camera.

Lions have got amazing night vision, but it's not as good as this.

Capturing their behaviour...

He's got the cub, he's got the cub.

..24 hours a day.

Welcome to the Okavango Delta.

It gets crazy.

GROWLING

Look at the birds, look at the stork.

From a completely sober atmosphere,

to bursting to life.

Vianet is following the Xudum pride's mothers and cubs...

There they are.

..as the flood transforms their home.

That's Mathata right there!

At seven months old, Mathata is the eldest cub.

Mathata sees me. He knows...

..he knows who I am.

HE LAUGHS

Mathata is very curious about everything.

He's so bold.

Look at the other cubs following him.

He's always up for it.

Mathata in Congo Brazzaville, where I come from, means "trouble".

Eight weeks older than the other cubs...

He's so much bigger.

Look at his belly.

..Mathata needs to eat at least

10% of his body weight every day.

He has reached that sort of age where he's started to be very

inquisitive about anything that he can eat.

Look the distance he's left his mother.

The first two years of a lion's life are its most vulnerable.

Ah, Mathata.

Only one in five cubs survive to adulthood.

Look, he's going.

ENGINE STARTS

He will drag his siblings or his mates into danger.

To see how Mathata copes with his first flood...

..Vianet is sticking with him.

The Big Cats team is working in a 150-square-mile area

of the Okavango Delta.

Trillions of litres of rainwater

are now flowing into the delta from the north.

The flood relieves months of drought,

bringing in animals from miles around.

One arrival...

..is drawing Anna's attention.

I can see the big herd of buffalo.

I'm going to get the drone up.

DRONE WHIRS

Wow!

We just have not seen this number of animals together

since being in the delta, so it is really something special.

At this time of year,

thousands of Cape buffalo move through the Okavango Delta.

Ooh, our lions are going to be licking their lips

when they see this.

Weighing nearly a tonne, one buffalo could feed the mothers

and cubs for a week.

These are some of the most dangerous African mammals.

They are formidable.

Even a solitary buffalo could seriously hurt or even kill a lion.

Not only are they absolutely huge,

they also have safety in numbers.

To hunt this new prey, the lions must be careful.

Especially with inexperienced cubs around, like Mathata.

It's going to be a real challenge

for our lions to take down any of these.

It's almost like unlocking a new level in your video game.

The buffalo have entered the game.

To the north...

All the cubs are walking with purpose,

with the mothers towards the buffaloes.

..the lions are approaching another huge herd.

Could be about 100.

Actually, a few more buffalo than I thought here.

With this many buffalo, the cubs are at risk.

Vianet is joined by Rea and Sets.

Buffaloes are a good prize for lions.

It ranks up there as one of their favourite meals.

But getting a buffalo comes at a great cost,

because a buffalo puts up a fight.

They have dangerous horns,

so they need to be cautious when approaching a buffalo herd.

The lionesses, they have to play very careful here,

simply because they've got cubs.

All the lions are moving out from this grass.

The posture they are taking right now is literally saying

that we're going for it.

These cubs are close.

Mathata is here.

He's trying to get a go at the buffalo,

which is quite risky.

This is how they learn to hone their skill,

like, seeing their mums in action.

I can see one, two, three, four, five cubs. Five cubs.

Having a little stare-down with the buff.

What they should do is eventually fall back.

I'm actually pretty surprised

how close they are to the buffalo right now - it's dangerous.

If the buffalo were to charge,

you wonder if the cubs would get away in time.

As soon as they break, one of them from the herd,

that's when they're going to pounce.

Lion incoming.

My heart is beating!

The buffalo are just charging to the lions here.

Oh.

Very close to the cubs. The cubs are scattering.

Oh! Here they come!

Got the buffalo again with another charge.

The prey is chasing the predator.

One, two, three, four cubs.

Super close to Mathata!

Oh, baby.

The buffalo have pushed off the lions.

The lions have waved the flag of defeat.

It's tough out here.

It's a lucky escape for Mathata.

Buffaloes are too big for them to get involved with.

But the pride hasn't eaten in days.

With more buffalo arriving, the danger to the cubs is building.

So much game now all around us with the arrival of the flood.

Leaving the lions, Rea is joining Anna on the search for cheetahs.

This is actually the first time I've done a water crossing.

It's been days since the team last had a sighting.

Once we go through the water, like now, the tracks are completely gone.

It makes it pretty difficult for us to track these cats of ours.

What?

OK, hang on.

No way.

I've actually found a cheetah.

Rea, Rea, for Anna. RADIO BEEPS

Go, Anna.

You will not believe this, but I have finally found a cheetah.

No way.

It's a young male. Really small.

I don't think it's one that I've seen before.

If it's a young male, it could be

Mushimani or Mushi.

It means "little boy".

Oh, that's really cute.

He's on the move, he's on the move.

He's going south.

ENGINE STARTS

This is definitely Mushi over here.

He's, like, between two to three years old.

So he could have just recently departed from his mum.

It's amazing how much energy he's got.

And he's clearly hungry because...

ENGINE STARTS

..he's not resting as much as I would expect him to.

There's no question about whether he's hungry or not.

He is definitely hungry.

Young males need to eat every two to three days.

Ooh.

You can really see how skinny he is right now.

The flood is drawing plenty of prey in.

There's a couple of lechwe just here on the flood plain

where Mushi is heading to.

But it's making it hard for cheetahs to hunt.

Lechwe on the water.

Lechwe are wetlands specialists.

They're the fastest antelopes in water.

There's no way he's getting them.

Mushi must be patient if he's going to catch a meal.

With thousands of dangerous buffalo in the area...

..Gordon and Sets are investigating.

I can see this lion. He's obscured.

So I'm just trying to get a better view.

Going to put the drone up.

He's looking in a bad way.

A really bad way.

OK. Who are you, boy?

Looks as if he's taken his last breath.

I can still see him moving a little bit.

Oh, he's got such a beautiful face.

He just looks like a cub.

One thing for sure is,

he is not of the Xudum pride.

This guy, he's only a youngster but he's got a story to tell.

Sad to see a youngster like this...

..not...not just on his own, but in a really bad way.

He is as skinny as skinny can be.

Yeah, it looks like he hasn't eaten in a while.

Yeah. From where I'm sitting, he just looks like a bag of bones.

In a situation like this, you can learn about lions.

If they don't make the right decisions,

this is how they could end up.

Gosh.

It seems like the elephant has...

..caught wind of the lion.

But he is oblivious, he doesn't know

that he's being approached by these three elephants.

He is fast asleep.

Ooh, he's spotted them now.

He has spotted them now.

GROWLING

Oh! Poor guy. Look at him.

Oh, he can't even use his leg.

Oh, my goodness me.

Oh, there's hardly anything of him.

And that's not a cut, a scratch or a bite.

So stamped by or kicked by a buffalo?

It's catastrophic for this lion.

That's a leg that's completely out of action.

If this is the damage a buffalo can do to a grown male lion...

Poor boy.

..it would be fatal for a cub like Mathata.

It's heartbreaking.

Young male cheetah Mushi...

Rea, has he got a good general direction that he's looking in?

..is still hunting for a meal.

He's looking back where he came from.

He's definitely looking hungry

and like he's going to go for something.

It is such a shame that the majority

of the prey around is quite large.

So I think he's going to have to

really focus on the smaller prey items.

All it takes is for one lechwe or for one impala

to wander in front of him

and he's got a good chance of getting it.

This could be his spot right here

on this open flood plain.

Ooh, I can see a young lechwe in there that's much smaller

than the others.

On dry land, cheetahs are almost twice as fast as lechwes...

I reckon that's going to be his target.

..but the flood is levelling the playing field.

I reckon there is about 150 metres between him and the lechwe,

and there's a really big body of water behind them as well.

So he's going to have to get to them before they get to the water,

because once they're in the water, they definitely have the advantage.

He's gone!

Ooh!

Those lechwe have just bolted for water.

Ah.

Ah, he's missed.

That was a real close one.

Oh, I honestly thought that

that was going to be a successful hunt.

We've got to remember that Mushi's really young.

It's not been long since he left his mum.

But every one of those failed attempts is a learning experience,

and cheetahs have a really steep learning curve.

It was a really good attempt,

but he's going to need to do a little bit better next time.

HE CHUCKLES

She's so beautiful.

Vianet is with Mathata and some of the family.

Mathata is on top of the fallen tree.

He's playing king of the castle with the other cubs.

Look, he's blocking everybody else.

So cute.

It's just coming up to sunset now.

As night falls, Vianet switches

to the thermal imaging camera.

Something caught their attention.

I'm wondering

whether they want to hunt?

Some mothers go on the hunt,

some stay and look after the cubs.

Gordon, Gordon, do you copy?

Go ahead.

Three lionesses appear to be actively hunting.

Roger, roger.

Vianet is sticking with the baby-sitters and cubs.

This is a formidable trio.

Gordon starts tracking the hunting lionesses.

They're the hunting elite.

At the moment, all of these lions

are kind of holding a constant path,

they're heading straight towards the flood plain.

Right, I think there might be

a whole load of buffalo.

Oh, my word. Possibly the biggest herd that I've seen.

Without the cubs getting in the way...

Holy moley!

..the lionesses are hunting with more focus.

That is a lot of horns.

Man alive!

Things can change very quickly.

But the buffalo are not backing down.

Ah, man.

Every time a lion runs, a buffalo chases.

Big bull coming.

Lions are scattering.

Super close.

That's not how it's supposed to be.

It seems that this plan...

..it hasn't worked out.

The hunting party is returning empty-handed.

Lions are tough, and lions can put up with food scarcity

and they can go hungry for a very, very long time, but cubs can't.

Mathata and his siblings haven't had meat for days.

They really want to get some milk right now.

But with so many aggressive buffalo close by...

It looks like the mothers are on the move.

..the females are moving the cubs to a safer location.

Determined to find food...

OK.

..the hunting party splits off again in search of more prey.

The cat is walking straight towards those lechwe.

This is when things get potentially very interesting.

My goodness, somebody is going wide.

In position.

Lechwe typically use water for safety...

The lechwe doesn't know that the lion's there.

..but these lions have a strategy that Gordon has never seen before.

Ooh, maybe, maybe, maybe.

She is creeping through that water.

They're hunting in water.

She doesn't want to make a sound, make a mistake.

One is right in the deep water.

My goodness. Look at that.

These lions really are clever.

Hunting lechwe in water,

especially at night-time,

I mean, this is just amazing.

There is real skill and strategy here.

Whoa!

They're running.

Oh, my goodness. They're running straight towards her.

Come on, girl.

Is there something you can do?

Oh, right over her head.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

Oh, you are so unlucky!

It hasn't worked out.

That was an amazing, amazing dash.

Hard luck, ladies.

This is just truly extraordinary.

Aquatic lions.

And they're not giving up.

These girls are blowing my mind.

If these cats stay this side of the water, I'll be very happy.

They cross over, leaving Gordon behind.

Options, options.

The only option I have at the moment is just to...

..go as fast as I can through that water

in the hope that I'll make it to the other side.

OK. Let's give that a go.

Deep breath.

Oh, aye.

We're up to the gunnels.

Feet are getting wet.

Oh, BLEEP.

BLEEP, we're right in it.

Ah, flip!

Argh. I'm stuck.

All right. Let me just scan around,

make sure there's no dangerous beasts.

The cats are...

..making their way away from me.

We're good. We're kind of just on the dry stuff,

trying to get as many sticks as possible to put under the tyres.

There are some nice ones over there.

Beautiful.

Just want to get as much traction,

as much wood under the wheels as I can.

Just keep an eye behind you, Mark.

Right. That's enough.

This is going to work.

Guaranteed.

HE LAUGHS I hope.

Low range.

First.

Slowly. Slowly. Slowly.

Come on, baby-baby.

Oh, my word.

There is a God.

Heidi-ho!

Oh, thank the Lord.

HE CHUCKLES

Back on the hunt.

But Gordon has another problem.

I can't see the lions.

Where are you guys? Come on.

He's lost the lionesses.

Leopard specialists Brad and Tristen

are looking for their favourite cat.

We're heading out nice and early to go and find Xudum.

She's the prominent female leopard

that lives opposite our camp.

And I haven't seen her for quite a while,

so quite excited to get back on her trail.

Is that a leopard?

That is a leopard!

Right, OK. Cool, we're in business.

Brad, Brad, Brad for Tristen.

Yeah, I've got a leopard. Just off the camp, west of the hippo pool.

OK, copy, yeah.

This is very, very, very promising stuff for so early in the morning.

Yeah, it's definitely Xudum.

Three months ago,

the team witnessed Xudum mating with an unknown male leopard.

She got up and turned around,

and you could just see a little bit of a bulge.

There's something there.

See this?

Interesting.

If she is pregnant from that mating...

..it's like next week.

This is a really good start to the day.

If she's going to have a cub,

I'd love to get an idea of where she's hanging out.

I want to see her moving around a little bit,

and I want to see her start looking for dens.

I wonder where we're going now.

It looks like she might be on a territorial mission today. Oh.

She's just really trying to nail down the heart of her territory

and make sure it's all safe before she drops.

This behaviour that we're seeing now

really seems to tie in with all of that.

Leopards regularly scent-mark to communicate with other cats.

Just hit the road.

She just darted into the long grass.

It just looks like Xudum's really reacting in a territorial sense

to the presence of other cats in the area.

Fresh markings help secure her borders.

Kind of just doing her due diligence before she goes denning.

She's in one of her favourite trees...

..close to home, close to camp.

I would have put money on the fact that Xudum would den very,

very close to our camp. It's where she was born.

You know? This is really the centre of her world.

It's feeling like she's kind of coming home and she's becoming more

localised for this process, if she's about to give birth.

She's smelling, she's advertising.

She's making a statement, really.

"This is my place. This is my deal."

Xudum's not the only animal getting close to the team's film camp.

Vianet is setting up camera traps...

Such a warm day.

..to find out what's visiting camp at night.

I've been hearing a lot of rustling around this section here.

Triggered by movement,

these cameras will capture any activity after dark.

It should be really interesting.

Let's see what we've got.

Oh.

Oh, that's Anna!

Oh, what have we got here?

Hippopotamus!

The amount of traffic you get every night is unbelievable.

Oh!

You see that?

Whoa.

They're so close to the mess tent.

Leopard, leopard, leopard!

That's Xudum.

Brad's suspicions that Xudum will give birth near camp look promising.

I've got Xudum, the leopard, prowling beneath my cabin.

I'm not sure I'm going to sleep tonight.

Anna, Anna for Rea, do you copy?

Was that for Anna, Rea?

You will not believe it.

I'm just here close to Cheetah Pan.

And I've got a very full stomach Mushi.

No way.

Well, I'm glad that he has had a meal,

but I'm also slightly gutted that we missed that.

I'm going to come and have a look at him.

Oh, Mushi!

Mushi's got a massive belly.

Oh, Mushi!

A male cheetah can eat up to 14 kilos of meat in one sitting.

Hey, Rea, I can't believe it.

What's the chances of that?

I know, though. His belly is very full. It kind of looks

quite freshly full. He could have hunted this morning, I guess.

Ooh, he's got blood on his nose. Huh.

Then, yeah, maybe it is from today.

He's clearly very clever and he knows what he's doing.

What a little dude.

He just came down from the termite mound, he's in the shade there.

I think his plan for the rest of the day is just relax.

I know he's just a young boy, but I'm thinking we should have given

him a little bit more credit, clearly.

I mean, the evidence is there with his massive stomach.

I think he's got a pretty bright future, our Mushi.

A really bright future and a really big belly. Yeah!

Greg is with the Xudum pride

and a large herd of buffalo.

If there was ever a place that I wouldn't want to be as a lion,

it's here.

Stuck between all of those buffaloes and a big river channel.

Despite the fact that buffaloes are food for the lions,

they're also very much foe.

They can kill lions and they often kill lions.

But the stakes are even higher now with the cubs here.

A lot of the big bulls and more aggressive buffaloes

are at the front here, which is not good.

If they can get their hooves on a cub,

there's going to be problems.

The lions still haven't eaten,

and now they're the ones being challenged.

It's a wall of horns.

Imagine what Mathata feels like right now looking at that.

The lionesses have made their way with the cubs right onto

the water's edge. They have nowhere to go.

Dominant pride male Big Toe moves in to slow the buffalo advance.

Big Toe has parked himself off right in between the buffalo

and the rest of the pride.

He's trying to hold his ground here.

Uh-oh.

But the buffalo have the upper hand.

Here comes a bull.

He almost squashed Mathata.

Everyone's in the water.

Okavango lions are capable swimmers,

but this is Mathata and the cubs' first flood.

They're swimming! Oh, my gosh!

They've never had to swim before.

The cubs are panicking.

It can easily attract crocodiles.

We could lose one of these lions or cubs.

The lionesses are hesitating.

They don't want to get into deep water.

They're swimming after them.

Two of the mums are with the cubs.

Even a big lion like him is vulnerable to crocodiles.

They're still in deep water now.

Still deep, deep, deep, deep.

Yo, that was close!

They've made it across to this side of the channel.

Ah, that was too much.

Aw, that's amazing.

With the lions in retreat, the buffalo are leaving.

Their point has been proven.

That was insane.

Ah, you can see that everybody is just so pleased that we're all safe

and sound and across the channel.

Mathata has survived his closest call yet,

but he's still without a meal.

He doesn't look like a cat that's just had a run-in with

buffaloes and crocodiles.

It's danger every day for these cubs.

But look at him now.

All's well that ends well, hey.

Close to camp...

..Xudum is still looking for a den site.

Hey, girl.

How are you doing?

Brad and Tristen are following her every move.

You come and say hello to us?

She's definitely very relaxed with us.

It's of her own free will in her own domain,

and, yeah, it's a very, very beautiful thing to happen.

Yeah, leopard guys.

Random one, there's a leopard in the middle of the flood plain

moving through the water.

Just a few hundred metres from Xudum...

That's so weird.

..Greg spots something unusual.

Broad daylight and there's a leopard just walking through the water!

Greg, are you going to go for it?

Yeah, I'm on it.

If you need any backup with that leopard, just let me know.

I'm not far from you.

Anna is joining Greg with the drone.

If you ask anyone, "Oh, yeah, leopards moving

"through water at noon,"

they'd say, "What do you mean? Leopards are going to be sleeping.

"It's, like, 35 degrees.

"Why would a leopard be moving around now?"

Not something you see very often.

Hopefully, we can...

This is Metsi.

A young male leopard we've seen

around a few times of late, actually.

I wonder what he's up to.

He's been paying so much attention to the smell of something

underneath where he's been walking.

He could be sniffing around and smelling Xudum, actually,

that's a possibility.

Metsi's nose is leading him closer to Xudum.

Oh, there he is.

Wow, so camouflaged.

What he might be smelling is her scent, considering that

she's in a sausage tree only about 200-300 metres south of us.

Really unlucky for Xudum, then, at the moment,

because we've got a flood coming in.

It's pushing males onto these islands in higher densities...

..which is a challenge.

Especially, you know, with potential cubs on the way.

Any male leopard who finds cubs that are not his is very

likely to kill them.

Yeah, we don't want him sniffing around after Xudum.

He looks beautiful, but he is also sinister.

Luckily for Xudum, Metsi is picking up the scent of something else.

Those lechwe have cottoned on that something's not quite right.

He's hunting.

He's trying to pick up on lechwe lambs.

A young lechwe lamb would be perfect for him.

Typically a leopard wouldn't want to be so obvious.

And Metsi is...

I don't think a leopard could get more obvious.

Amazing. Amazing. I've never seen a leopard hunting like this before.

Whoa.

There's a female lechwe that has just followed this leopard

onto an island.

So I can't think of another reason why

she would be following him other than to protect her baby.

Female lechwe hide their young after birth.

She's not happy with him going in there.

But just the fact that the lechwe is reacting like this tells me

that her baby is in there.

The lamb is stashed in deep vegetation to keep it safe.

Hopefully for the baby it's by the elephants,

because I don't think Metsi is going to want to get too close

to the elephants.

It's too well hidden...

..and Metsi gives up.

Oh.

Well, that's a surprise.

He's climbed the tree.

Metsi is no threat to Xudum right now.

But Brad has recently seen other male leopards

straying into her territory.

There's a lot of male activity.

We're on 11 males in this area,

identified males.

To raise her cubs successfully...

It's not a good sign.

..Xudum must find a safe den.

She's going from bush to bush.

Sniffing, looking, being very delicate.

She needs a spot that will keep her vulnerable new cubs well hidden.

This is exactly the thick cover type of area

that she would be looking to den in.

She's definitely looking at den sites here.

She marched very deliberately to this one

and disappeared inside, and she hasn't emerged yet.

Disappeared into a really thick blue bush forest

and she was very deliberate about it.

It could be a den site.

There's some nice structure in it and it's well hidden

and she's got good access in and out of here.

If this is the den site, Xudum's cubs will arrive any day.

I mean, it's still too early to say for definite.

But the threat of male leopards still looms.

OK.

This is the biggest gathering of the pride

that I've seen at night-time.

Gordon is back on the night shift with the lions.

We've got eight lionesses.

We've got Mathata and the rest of the gang.

So the pride have all converged on this one spot.

So this is...

..a big hunting party.

I've never seen this many lions on a hunt.

They're definitely very, very focused.

All of the cats have suddenly got up and moved.

They've seen or heard something.

Oh, my goodness.

We've got a little herd of buffalo up ahead.

But there is, what,

five of them, but there could be more.

Yeah, there's more coming along behind.

Such a big hunting party could finally provide a meal for the cubs.

And there is a big, a big risk that these cubs,

bombing about the place, making a lot of noise,

could ruin things.

Mathata and his siblings need to stay out of the way.

Not a single one of these lions can make a mistake.

This is real tenacity from these lions.

Somebody's running.

Whoa, they're really close.

Lions coming out of the woodwork.

We've got sub-adult males in on this hunt.

It's good to have a bit of muscle.

And for every additional lion,

it puts these buffalo at more risk.

Oh, this might be it.

Buffalo's spotted them.

The buffalo's chasing them.

Lions running towards the buffalo.

OK, they've cornered it.

OK, running.

That's not going to end well for the buff.

Oh, they've got it. They've got it. Oh, no, have they?

Spin round.

Oh, ran right past me.

Where is it? Where is it?

Where is it?

Oh, man. That is a pile-on.

It's all over.

So, we've got a whole herd of buffalo. This one just made

the mistake of splitting away from the herd.

And with this many lions around,

you know, they really don't... It didn't stand a chance.

It's taken nearly the whole pride,

but the lions finally have their ultimate prize.

This is quite something for these cubs.

Mathata is getting his much-needed meal.

They're just clambering over this mountain

that is this dead buffalo.

So you're talking about life experiences for a lion cub...

..this is a moment to remember.

I had a funny feeling about tonight.

I had a good feeling.

Vianet is joining Mathata and the triumphant lions.

I love mornings like this.

I just love mornings like this.

In four hours,

they've smashed through this buffalo.

Something's moving inside it...

..and I'm wondering what that is.

Aw.

This is so good for the cubs.

Buffalo is the best you can get.

All this prey will fuel Mathata's latest growth spurt.

They've pretty much finished it.

Now look at their bellies.

They look so full now.

He's expected to double in size in the coming months,

so he needs to make the most of this food supply while it lasts.

I'd want to see you grow strong.

Strong, strong, strong Mathata.

But the flood will soon dry up...

..the buffalo will leave...

..and Mathata will face his next challenge.

When I first met him, he lived up to his name, Mathata...

..which means "trouble".

But now he has developed so much into this sort of confident

and calm young man.

He's boisterous.

Very protective.

All these beautiful characters I expect to see from a future

king of the savannah.

Next time...

There's a baby boom in the delta...

Two little babies, it's too cute.

..but Mathata threatens the lives of three new lion cubs.

One of the cubs is going to get hurt.

Or, worse, killed.