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00:02Yesterday, across this, there was no water. Look at it now. The pride is here, the full spectrum. And of
00:11course the cubs.
00:13The annual flood has finally arrived.
00:21This is a very risky situation.
00:23But with the water...
00:25I've got a big herd of buffaloes.
00:28...comes a dangerous prey.
00:31This feels like a battlefield. If anything kicks off here, they're going to be in peril.
00:39They're coming, they're coming, they're coming.
00:45The Okavango Delta in Botswana.
00:49One of Africa's last wildernesses.
00:53The Okavango Delta is an oasis in the desert. It's a miracle in itself.
00:57And it's a stronghold for Africa's big cats.
01:04Lion, cheetah, and leopard.
01:08This is nature at its absolute finest.
01:12Now, for the very first time, a team of local and international wildlife filmmakers is working together to record the
01:22cats' lives like never before.
01:28Using the latest technology.
01:31We're going to be able to see things in a completely different light and tell stories in a completely different
01:35way.
01:36They'll follow individual big cats.
01:39For six months.
01:41Through the day.
01:42This is crazy. This is a battle.
01:45And the night.
01:46This is a military-grade thermal imaging camera.
01:50Lions have got amazing night vision.
01:52But it's not as good as this.
01:54Capturing their behavior.
01:56He's got the cub. He's got the cub.
01:5924 hours a day.
02:01Welcome to the Okavango Delta.
02:04It gets crazy.
02:18Look at the birds.
02:21Look at the stalk.
02:24From a completely sober atmosphere to a burst into life.
02:34V&A is following the Kudum Pride's mothers and cubs.
02:37There they are.
02:39As the flood transforms their home.
02:51That's Matata right there.
02:54At seven months old, Matata is the eldest cub.
02:58Look at Matata. He sees me. He knows who I am.
03:06Matata is very curious about everything.
03:11He's so bold.
03:13Look at the other cops following him.
03:18He's always up for it.
03:24Matata in Congo Brazzavid, where I come from, means trouble.
03:32Eight weeks older than the other cubs.
03:34He's so much bigger. Look at his belly.
03:39Matata needs to eat at least 10% of his body weight every day.
03:44He has reached that sort of age where he's starting to be very inquisitive about anything that he can eat.
03:56Look at the distance he's left his mother.
03:58Matata.
04:00The first two years of a lion's life are its most vulnerable.
04:05Oh, Matata.
04:11Only one in five cubs survive to adulthood.
04:19Look, he's going.
04:28He will drag his siblings or his mates into danger.
04:36To see how Matata copes with his first flood.
04:40V&A is sticking with him.
04:44The big cats team is working in a 150 square mile area of the Okavango Delta.
04:53Trillions of litres of rainwater are now flowing into the delta from the north.
05:01The flood relieves months of drought, bringing in animals from miles around.
05:08That's a lot of that bummer.
05:12One arrival is drawing Anna's attention.
05:18It's like an army approaching.
05:23I can see the big herd of buffalo.
05:28I'm going to get the drone up.
05:35Wow.
05:38We just have not seen this number of animals together since being in the delta, so it is really something
05:46special.
05:50At this time of year, thousands of Cape buffalo move through the Okavango Delta.
05:57Oh, our lions are going to be licking their lips when they see this.
06:06Weighing nearly a ton, one buffalo could feed the mothers and cubs for a week.
06:13These are some of the most dangerous African mammals.
06:16They are formidable.
06:20Even a solitary buffalo could seriously hurt or even kill a lion.
06:26Not only are they absolutely huge, they also have safety in numbers.
06:36To hunt this new prey, the lions must be careful.
06:41Especially with inexperienced cubs around like Matata.
06:46It's going to be a real challenge for our lions to take down any of these.
06:51It's almost like unlocking a new level on your video game.
06:56The buffalo have entered the game.
07:07To the north, all the cubs are walking with purpose with their mothers towards the buffalos.
07:17The lions are approaching another huge herd.
07:23Could be about a hundred.
07:26Actually a few more buffalo than I thought here.
07:30With this many buffalo, the cubs are at risk.
07:36Vianney is joined by Rhea and Setz.
07:42Buffaloes are a good prize for lions.
07:44It ranks up there in all of their favourite meals.
07:48But getting a buffalo comes at a great cost because a buffalo puts up a fight.
07:54They have dangerous horns, so they really need to be cautious when approaching a buffalo herd.
08:03The lionesses, they have to play very careful here.
08:07Simply because they've got cubs.
08:10All the lions are moving out from this grass.
08:13The posture they're taking right now is literally saying that we're going for it.
08:19These cubs are close.
08:25Matata is here.
08:27He's trying to get a go at the buffalo, which is quite risky.
08:32This is how they learn to hone their skill, like seeing their mums in action.
08:40I can see one, two, three, four, five cubs, five cubs having a little stare down with the buff.
08:47what they should do is eventually fall back i'm actually pretty surprised how close they
08:51are to the buffalo right now it's it's dangerous if the buffalo were to charge
08:55you wonder if the cubs would get away in time
09:00as soon as they break one of them from the head that's when they're gonna bounce
09:29the buffalo just charging to the lions here
09:36very close to the cubs the cubs are scattering oh got the buffalo again with another charge
09:47the prey is chasing the predator one two three four cubs
09:57super close to matata
10:11the buffalo pushed off the the lions the lions have waved the flag of defeat
10:24he's tough out here
10:29it's a lucky escape for matata
10:33buffaloes are too big for them to get involved with but the pride hasn't eaten in days
10:43with more buffalo arriving the danger to the cubs is building
10:58so much game now all around us with the arrival of the flood leaving the lions raya is joining anna
11:04on
11:05the search for cheetahs this is actually the first time i've done a water crossing
11:11it's been days since the team last had a sighting
11:15once we go through the water like now tracks are completely gone
11:20it makes it pretty difficult for us to track these cats of ours
11:39what okay hang on
11:44no way i've actually found a shooter
12:00no way it's like a young male really small i don't think it's one that i've seen before
12:06but if it's a young male it could be mushy money or mushy it means a little boy oh that's
12:15really cute
12:19he's on the move he's on the move he's going south
12:35there's definitely mushy over here he's like between two to three years old so he could have just
12:42recently departed from his mom
12:47it's amazing how much energy he's got and he's clearly hungry because
12:53he's not resting as much as i would expect him to
13:03there's no question about whether he's hungry or not he is definitely hungry
13:10young males need to eat every two to three days
13:18you can really see how skinny he is right now
13:25the flood is drawing plenty of prey in
13:29there's a couple of lettre just here on the flood plain where mushy's heading to
13:34but it's making it hard for cheetahs to hunt
13:39let's way on the water
13:45let's way are wetland specialists they're the fastest antelopes in water
13:53there's no way he's getting them
13:56well she must be patient if he's going to catch a meal
14:05staff has reported a young male lion moving past camp
14:09with thousands of dangerous buffalo in the area
14:16gordon and sets are investigating
14:20i can see this line he's obscured so i'm just trying to get a a better view
14:25i'm gonna put the drone up
14:34he's looking at a bad way a really bad way
14:42okay okay who are you boy
14:47looks as if he's taking his last breath
15:02i can still see him moving a little bit
15:06oh he's got such a beautiful face
15:10it just looks like a cub
15:13one thing for sure is he is not of the good and pride
15:20this guy he's only a youngster but he's got a story to tell
15:26sad to see a youngster like this not not just on his own but in a really bad way
15:35he is as skinny as skinny can be
15:38yeah looks like he hasn't eaten in a while
15:40yeah from where i'm sitting he just looks like a bag of bones
15:48in a situation like this you can learn about lions
15:52if they don't make the right decisions this is how they could end up
16:12it seems like the elephant has
16:16caught wind of the lion but he is oblivious he doesn't know
16:23that he's been approached by these three elephants
16:28he is fast asleep
16:40oh he spotted them now
16:51oh poor guy look at him
16:55oh he can't even use his leg
16:59oh my goodness me oh there's hardly anything of them
17:11and that's not a cut a scratch or a bite so stamped by or kicked by a buffalo
17:20it's catastrophic for this lion
17:24that's a leg that's completely out of action
17:29if this is the damage a buffalo can do to a grown male lion
17:34poor boy
17:36it would be fatal for a cub like matata
17:41it's heartbreaking
17:57young male cheetah mushi where has he got like a general direction that he's looking in
18:03he's still hunting for a meal he's looking back where he came from
18:10he's definitely looking hungry and like he's going to go for something
18:16it is such a shame that the majority of the prey around is quite large
18:22so i think he's going to have to really focus on the smaller prey items
18:28all it takes is for one letch whale for one impala to wander in front of him and he's got
18:34a good
18:34chance of getting it this could be his spot right here on this open flood plain
18:53oh i can see a young lecture in there that's much smaller than the others
18:59on dry land cheetahs are almost twice as fast as lechways
19:04i reckon that's going to be his target but the flood is leveling the playing field
19:13i reckon there is about 150 meters between him and the lechway and there's a really big
19:20body of water behind them as well so he's going to have to get to them before they get to
19:26the water
19:26because once they're in the water they definitely have the advantage
19:39it's gone
19:46those lecture have just bolted for water
20:00oh he's missed
20:05that was a real close one
20:10oh i honestly thought that that was going to be a successful hunt
20:16you've got to remember that i mean she's really young it's not been long since he left his mum but
20:23every one of those failed attempts is a learning experience and cheetahs have a really steep learning
20:32curve it was a really good attempt but he he's going to need to do a little bit better next
20:38time
20:38i
20:39i
20:48i
20:52i
20:53i
21:06i
21:08It's just so beautiful.
21:11Vianney is with Matata and some of the family.
21:20Matata is on the top of the fallen tree.
21:24He's playing the king of the castle with other cats.
21:30Look, he's blocking everybody else.
21:34So cute.
21:41It's just coming up to sunset now.
21:46As night falls, Vianney switches to the thermal imaging camera.
21:53Something caught their attention.
21:56I'm wondering whether they want to hunt.
22:02Some mothers go and hunt.
22:04Some stay and look after the cubs.
22:11Gordon, Gordon, do you copy?
22:13OK.
22:14Go ahead.
22:15Three lionesses here to be actively hunting.
22:18Roger, Roger.
22:22Vianney is sticking with the babysitters and cubs.
22:26This is a formidable trio.
22:30Gordon starts tracking the hunting lionesses.
22:33They are the hunting elite.
22:39At the moment, all of these lions, they're kind of holding a kind of constant path.
22:46They're heading straight towards the flood plain.
22:52Right.
22:53I think there might be a whole load of buffalo.
23:00Oh, my word.
23:02Possibly the biggest herd that I've seen.
23:11Without the cubs getting in the way.
23:14Holy moly.
23:17The lionesses are hunting with more focus.
23:27There's a lot of horns.
23:31Man alive.
23:34Things can change very quickly.
23:37But the buffalo are not backing down.
23:44Oh, man.
23:46Every time a lion runs, the buffalo chases.
23:54Big bull.
23:55Come in.
23:57Lines are scattering.
24:04Super close.
24:10That's not how it's supposed to be.
24:14It seems that this plan, it hasn't worked out.
24:23The hunting party is returning empty-handed.
24:27Lions are tough and lions can put up with food scarcity and they can go hungry for a very,
24:33very long time.
24:35Cubs can't.
24:38Matata and his siblings haven't had meat for days.
24:43We really want to get some miracle right now.
24:49But with so many aggressive buffalo close by.
24:53It looks like the mothers are on the move.
24:58The females are moving the cubs to a safer location.
25:08Determined to find food, the hunting party splits off again in search of more prey.
25:19Cat is walking straight towards those ledgeway.
25:31This is when things get potentially very interesting.
25:39My goodness.
25:41Somebody's going wide.
25:43In position.
25:46The lechway typically use water for safety.
25:50The lechway doesn't know that the lion's there.
25:54But these lions have a strategy that Gordon has never seen before.
25:59Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe.
26:03She is creeping through that water.
26:07They're hunting in water.
26:10Doesn't want to make a sound, make a mistake.
26:14And one is right in the deep water.
26:17My goodness, look at that.
26:20These lions really are clever.
26:23Hunting lechway in water, especially at night time.
26:27I mean, this is just amazing.
26:30There is real skill and strategy here.
26:39Whoa.
26:41Running.
26:48Oh, my goodness.
26:50They're running straight towards her.
26:53Come on, girl.
26:55Is this something you can do?
26:59Whoa, right over our head.
27:05Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
27:11Oh, you are so unlucky.
27:19It hasn't worked out.
27:23That was an amazing, amazing dash.
27:30Hard luck, ladies.
27:34This is just truly extraordinary aquatic lions.
27:43And they're not giving up.
27:46These girls are blowing my mind.
27:53If these cats stay this side of the water, I'd be very happy.
27:59They cross over, leaving Gordon behind.
28:04Options, options.
28:07The only option I have at the moment is just to...
28:12..go as fast as I can through that water,
28:16in the hope that I'll make it to the other side.
28:21OK, let's give that a go.
28:34Deep breath.
28:38Oh, aye.
28:43We're up to the gunwales.
28:45Feet are getting wet.
28:48Oh, s***.
28:50F***, we're right in it.
28:52Ah, flit.
28:55I'm stuck.
28:58Right, let me just scan around.
29:01Make sure there's no dangerous beasts.
29:06Cats are...
29:08making their way away from me.
29:12We're good.
29:13We're kind of just on the dry stuff.
29:15Trying to get as many sticks as possible to put under the tyres.
29:19Some nice ones over there.
29:22Beautiful.
29:24Just want to get as much traction,
29:27as much wood under the wheels as I can.
29:32Just keep an eye behind you, Mark.
29:37There, that's enough.
29:39This is going to work.
29:41Guaranteed.
29:44I hope.
29:51Low range.
29:53First.
29:54Slowly, slowly, slowly.
30:01Come on, baby, baby.
30:03Oh, my word.
30:05There is a god.
30:07Oh, thank the Lord.
30:14Back on the hunt.
30:17But Gordon has another problem.
30:20I can't see the lions.
30:22Where are you guys?
30:24Guys, come on.
30:26He's lost the lionesses.
30:45Leopard specialists Brad and Tristan are looking for their favorite cat.
30:51We're heading out nice and early to go and find Kurum.
30:55She's the prominent female leopard that lives opposite our camp.
31:01And I haven't seen her for quite a while.
31:04So I'm quite excited to get back on her trail.
31:15Is that a leopard?
31:19Uh, it is a leopard.
31:21All right.
31:22Okay, cool.
31:22We're in business.
31:24Uh, Brad, Brad, Brad for Tristan.
31:27I've got a leopard just off the camp west of the hippo pool.
31:31Okay, copy.
31:34This is very, very, very promising stuff for so early in the morning.
31:48Yeah, it's definitely Kurum.
31:55Three months ago, the team witnessed Kurum mating with an unknown male leopard.
32:02She got up and turned around and you could just see a little bit of a, a little bit of
32:05a bulge.
32:12There's something there, huh?
32:16See this?
32:19Interesting.
32:25She is pregnant from that mating.
32:27It's like next week.
32:34It's a really good start to the day.
32:38If she's going to have a cub, I'd love to get an idea of where she's hanging out.
32:42I want to see her moving around a little bit.
32:44I don't want to see her start looking for dens.
32:53I wonder where we're going now.
32:58Looks like she might be on a territorial mission today.
33:06She's just really trying to nail down the heart of her territory
33:11and make sure it's all safe before she drops.
33:15This behavior that we're seeing now really seems to tie in with all of that.
33:20Leopards regularly scent Mark to communicate with other cats.
33:27Let's hit the road.
33:31She just darted into the long grass.
33:40Just looks like Kurum's really reacting in a territorial sense to the presence of other cats in the area.
33:45Fresh markings help secure her borders.
33:50Kind of just doing her due diligence before she goes denning.
34:02She's in one of her favorite trees.
34:05Close to home, close to camp.
34:12I would have put money on the fact that Kurum would den very, very close to our camp.
34:17It's where she was born, you know, this is really the center of her world.
34:23This feeling like she's kind of coming home and she's becoming more localized.
34:28For this process, if she's about to give birth.
34:34She's smelling, she's advertising, she's making statements really.
34:39This is my place, this is my ideal.
34:45Kurum's not the only animal getting close to the team's film camp.
34:51DNA is setting up camera traps.
34:55It's such a warm day.
34:59To find out what's visiting camp at night.
35:03I've been hearing a lot of rustling around this section here.
35:08Triggered by movement, these cameras will capture any activity after dark.
35:14Should be really interesting.
35:25Let's see what we got.
35:33Oh.
35:39Oh, that's Anna.
35:43Oh, what we got here.
35:48Hippopotamus.
35:51The amount of traffic you get every night is unbelievable.
35:55Oh.
35:59You see that?
36:06They're so close to the nest end.
36:12Leopard, leopard, leopard.
36:15That's Kurum.
36:18Brad's suspicions that Kurum will give birth near camp look promising.
36:23I've got Kurum, the leopard, frirling beneath my cabin.
36:29I'm not sure I'm going to sleep tonight.
36:49Anna, Anna, Fred, do you copy?
36:51What was that for Anna, Fred?
36:53You will not believe it.
36:54I'm just here close to Cheetah Pan and I've got a very full stomach Mushi.
37:04No way.
37:06Well, I'm glad that he has had a meal, but I'm also slightly gutted that we missed that.
37:11I'm going to come and have a look at him.
37:18Oh, Mushi.
37:21Mushi's got a massive belly.
37:25Oh, Mushi.
37:28A male cheetah can eat up to 14 kilos of meat in one sitting.
37:34Hey, Raya.
37:36I can't believe it.
37:38What's the chances of that?
37:41I don't know, though.
37:42His belly's very full.
37:43It kind of looks quite freshly full.
37:45He could have hunted this morning, I guess.
37:48Oh, he's got blood on his nose.
37:50Huh.
37:51Then, yeah, maybe, yeah.
37:52Then it is from today.
37:57He's clearly very clever and he knows what he's doing.
38:00What a little dude.
38:02He just came down from the termite mound. He's in the shade there.
38:06I think his plan for the rest of the day is just relax.
38:11I know he's just a young boy, but I'm thinking we should have given him a little bit more credit.
38:16Clearly, I mean, the evidence is there with his massive stomach.
38:22I think he's got a pretty bright future.
38:24A really bright future and a really big belly.
38:27Yeah.
38:37If anyone's picking this up, I've got a big herd of buffalo on the western floodplain.
38:43There are a few cats here as well.
38:47Greg is with the Kudum Pride and a large herd of buffalo.
38:52If there was ever a place that I wouldn't want to be as a lion, it's here.
38:56Stuck between all of those buffaloes and a big river channel.
39:03And despite the fact that buffaloes are food for the lions, they're also very much foe.
39:09They can kill lions and they often kill lions.
39:15But the stakes are even higher now with the cubs here.
39:24A lot of the big bulls and more aggressive buffaloes are at the front here, which is not good.
39:28If they can get their hooves on a cub, there's going to be problems.
39:34The lions still haven't eaten, and now they're the ones being challenged.
39:46It's a wall of horns.
39:51Imagine what my tata feels like right now, looking at that.
39:57Lionesses have made their way with the cubs right onto the water's edge.
40:00They have nowhere to go.
40:07Dominant pride male Big Toe moves in to slow the buffalo advance.
40:15Big Toe has parked himself off right in between the buffalo and the rest of the pride.
40:21He's trying to hold his ground here.
40:31Uh oh.
40:34But the buffalo have the upper hand.
40:39Here comes the bull.
40:47You almost squashed matata.
40:51Everyone's in the water.
40:55Okavango lions are capable swimmers.
40:58But this is matata and the cubs first flood.
41:03They're swimming, oh my gosh.
41:05They've never had to swim before.
41:09The cubs are panicking.
41:13It can easily attract crocodiles.
41:18We could lose one of these lions or cubs.
41:22The lionesses are hesitating.
41:23They don't want to get into deep water.
41:32They're swimming after them.
41:41And two of the mums are with the cubs.
41:46Even a big lion like him is vulnerable to crocodiles.
41:51They're still in deep water now.
41:53They're still in deep water now.
41:53Still deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep.
42:16They've made it across to this side of the channel.
42:25Oh, that was too much.
42:28Oh, that's amazing.
42:30With the lions in retreat, the buffalo are leaving.
42:34They're point has been proven.
42:36That was insane.
42:41Oh, you can see that everybody's just so pleased that we're all safe and sound and across the channel.
42:51Matata has survived his closest call yet.
42:54But he's still without a meal.
42:57He doesn't look like a cat that's just had a run-in with buffaloes and crocodiles.
43:07It's danger every day for these cubs.
43:10But look at them now.
43:15All's well that ends well, hey?
43:24Close to camp,
43:28Cudom is still looking for a den site.
43:35Hey, girl.
43:38What are you doing?
43:42Brad and Tristan are following her every move.
43:48Come say hello to us.
43:55She's definitely very relaxed with us.
43:57I mean, it's of her own free will in her own domain.
43:59And yeah, it's a very, very beautiful thing to happen.
44:18Yeah, leopard guys, random one.
44:20There's a leopard in the middle of the floodplain moving through the water.
44:25Just a few hundred meters from Cudom.
44:28So weird.
44:30Greg spots something unusual.
44:33Broad daylight and there's a leopard just walking through the water.
44:40This is your honor, hey, Greg?
44:41You're going to go for it.
44:43Yeah, I'm on it.
44:47If you need any backup with that leopard, just let me know.
44:50I'm not far from here.
44:51Anna's joining Greg with the drone.
44:57If you ask anyone, oh yeah, leopards moving through water at noon,
45:01they'd say, oh, what do you mean?
45:02Leopards are going to be sleeping.
45:03It's like 35 degrees.
45:05Why would a leopard be moving around now?
45:13It's not something you see very often.
45:17I'm pretty weak in there.
45:27This is Metsi, a young male leopard we've seen around a few times of late, actually.
45:33I wonder what he's up to.
45:35He's been paying so much attention to the smell of something underneath where he's been walking.
45:45He could be sniffing around and smelling Cudom, actually.
45:48That's a possibility.
45:50Metsi's nose is leading him closer to Cudom.
45:56Oh, there he is.
45:58Wow, so camouflaged.
46:04What he might be smelling is her scent, considering that she's in a sausage tree only about 200 meters,
46:11300 meters south of us.
46:14Really unlucky for Cudom that at the moment, because we've got a flood coming in,
46:17it's pushing males onto these islands in higher densities, which is a challenge.
46:28Especially, you know, with potential cubs on the way.
46:35Any male leopard who finds cubs that are not his is very likely to kill them.
46:40Yeah, we don't want him sniffing around after Cudom.
46:45He looks beautiful, but he's also sinister.
47:02Luckily for Cudom, Metsi is picking up the scent of something else.
47:10Those lechwer coughened on that something's not quite right.
47:16He's hunting.
47:20Trying to pick up on lechwer lambs.
47:24A young lechwer lamb would be perfect for him.
47:31Typically a leopard wouldn't want to be so obvious.
47:33And Metsi is, I don't even think a leopard could get more obvious.
47:40Amazing, amazing.
47:41I've never seen a leopard hunting like this before.
47:50Bull.
47:54There's a female lechwer that has just followed this leopard onto an island.
47:59So I can't think of another reason why she would be following him other than to protect her baby.
48:08Female lechwer hide their young after birth.
48:11She's not happy with him going in there.
48:20But just the fact that the lechwer is reacting like this tells me that her baby is in there.
48:27The lamb is stashed in deep vegetation to keep it safe.
48:32Hopefully for the baby, it's about the elephants,
48:34because I don't think Metsi is going to want to get too close to the elephants.
48:48It's too well hidden.
48:50And Metsi gives up.
48:53Oh.
48:55That's a surprise.
48:57He's climbed the tree.
49:04Metsi's no threat to Kudum right now.
49:07But Brad has recently seen other male leopards straying into her territory.
49:12There's a lot of male activity.
49:14We're on 11 males in this area, identified males.
49:19To raise her cubs successfully...
49:21It's not a good sign.
49:23...Kudum must find a safe den.
49:26Going from bush to bush, sniffing, looking, being very delicate.
49:32She needs a spot that will keep her vulnerable new cubs well hidden.
49:42This is exactly the thick cover type of area that she would be looking to den in.
49:51She's definitely looking at den sites here.
50:03She marched very deliberately to this one, and disappeared inside, and she hasn't emerged yet.
50:14It disappeared into a really thick blue bush forest, and she was very deliberate about it.
50:20It could be a den site.
50:22There's some nice structure in it, and it's well hidden, and she's got good access in and out of here.
50:28If this is the den site, Kudum's cubs will arrive any day.
50:34I mean, it's a little too early to say for a different.
50:40But the threat of male leopards still looms.
51:13OK, this is the biggest gathering of the pride that I've seen at night time.
51:20Gordon is back on the night shift with the lions.
51:24We've got eight lionesses, we've got Matata, and the rest of the gang.
51:32So the pride of all converged on this one spot.
51:38So this is a big hunting party.
51:44I've never seen this many lions on a hunt.
51:48They're definitely very, very focused.
51:55All of the cats have suddenly got up and moved.
51:57They have seen or heard something.
52:02Oh, my goodness.
52:04We've got a little herd of buffalo up ahead.
52:10But there is five of them.
52:15There could be more.
52:17Yeah, there's more coming along behind.
52:20Such a big hunting party could finally provide a meal for the cubs.
52:26And there is a big, a big risk that these cubs bombing about the place, making a lot of noise,
52:34could ruin things.
52:37Matata and his siblings need to stay out of the way.
52:42Not a single one of these lions can make a mistake.
52:49This is real tenacity from these lions.
52:55Somebody's running.
53:00Whoa, we're really close.
53:03The lions come out of the woodwork.
53:06We've got the sub-adult males in on this hunt.
53:09It's good to have a bit of muscle.
53:11And for every additional lion, it puts the buffalo at more risk.
53:27Oh, this might be it.
53:34Buffalo's spotted them.
53:37Buffalo's chasing them.
53:41Lions running towards the buffalo.
53:49Okay, they've cornered it.
53:56Okay, running.
54:00That's not going to end well for the buff.
54:04Oh, they've got it, they've got it.
54:06Well, no, have they?
54:09Been round.
54:14Oh, it ran right past me.
54:16Where is it?
54:17Where is it?
54:20Where is it?
54:26Oh man, that is a pylon.
54:32It's all over.
54:36So we've got a whole herd of buffalo.
54:38This one just made the mistake of splitting away from the herd.
54:42And with this many lions around, you know, they really don't, it didn't stand a chance.
54:51It's taken nearly the whole pride.
54:54But the lions finally have their ultimate prize.
54:58This is quite something for these cubs.
55:07Matata is getting his much needed meal.
55:12They're just clambering over this mountain.
55:17The only thing about the mountain is this dead buffalo.
55:20So you're talking about life experiences for a lion cub.
55:25this is a moment to remember I had a funny feeling about tonight I had a good feeling
55:56the NA is joining Matata and the triumphant Lions
55:59I love mornings like this. I just love mornings like this. In four hours they smashed through this buffalo
56:24something's moving inside it and I'm wondering what that is
56:34oh this is so good for the cubs
56:39buffalo is the best you can get
56:52all this prey will fuel Matata's latest growth spurt
56:59they've pretty much finished it now look at their bellies they look so full now
57:08he's expected to double in size in the coming months
57:11so he needs to make the most of this food supply while it lasts
57:16I'd want to see you grow strong strong strong strong Matata
57:21but the flood will soon dry up the buffalo will leave and Matata will face his next challenge
57:31when I first met him he lived up to his name Matata
57:35Matata which means trouble but now he has developed so much into this sort of confident and calm young man
57:53he's boisterous very protective all these beautiful characters I expect to see from the future king of the savannah
58:11next time
58:12there's a baby boom in the delta
58:16two little babies
58:17it's too cute
58:20but Matata
58:21threatens the lives of three new lion cubs
58:24one of the cubs is going to get hurt
58:26or worse
58:28killed
58:28killed
58:38you
58:58Transcription by CastingWords