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00:02Chaos.
00:05There's cats everywhere.
00:08The mums of the Kudum Pride have reunited.
00:12I'm so glad I've been towards the lions.
00:14But with so many mouths to feed, they're under more pressure than ever before.
00:20There is bedlam out there.
00:22Oh my goodness.
00:26The Okavango Delta in Botswana.
00:30We are in a pristine environment right now.
00:32One of Africa's last wildernesses.
00:36The magnitude of life here is unparalleled.
00:39And it's a haven for Africa's big cats.
00:43Lion, cheetah and leopard.
00:49Big cat country.
00:51Armed with the latest filming technology,
00:55the Big Cats 24-17 is following individual big cats for six months.
01:02This is a unique opportunity to follow these cats round the clock.
01:07Through the day.
01:09I used to think I'd have a fair fight with a lion.
01:12Not so sure now.
01:14And the night.
01:15We've got the most sophisticated thermal imaging technologies.
01:21Capturing their behaviour.
01:2324 hours a day.
01:26I have never seen anything like this.
01:29Epic!
01:38Oh, it's gone.
01:39No.
01:40Oh, so close.
01:41So close.
01:43Ah, don't believe this.
01:46I don't think any of them got anything, eh?
01:50Nah, there was a dust ball that it got lost in.
01:56Gordon and Setz are with the Kudum Pride mums.
02:00And they're 14 cubs.
02:02This is now a huge pride.
02:08We've got over 20 lions here.
02:11There's Naledi, Nasi, Makosi, Magogo, Mato and Sebi.
02:21It's a big pride and it's also a force to be reckoned with.
02:29The problem is, with so many lions hanging out together, that is a lot of mouths to feed.
02:38The mums have banded together for safety, but now have a new challenge.
02:45I feel sorry for these girls.
02:47We haven't seen these lions get a significant meal in a few days.
02:54Lioness Sebi has more cubs to feed than any other mum in the Pride.
03:00Sebi is an incredible mum.
03:03To raise four cubs to this stage is no mean feat.
03:10But that little one, looking very skinny,
03:15he's definitely not kind enough to eat.
03:21Sebi's smallest cub is struggling.
03:25See how bony its pelvis is.
03:30Every day that passes, that little cub's going to be getting weaker and weaker.
03:35Becoming more and more vulnerable.
03:42Sebi's spotted something.
03:44The lions are up.
03:47I hope this time is a success.
03:58She's running, running, running.
04:01Go, go, go, go, go.
04:12I don't think that they've been successful.
04:16Sebi's running on empty.
04:21It's vital that Sebi catches a meal soon.
04:26Hard luck, boys and girls.
04:29That was a shame.
04:30If she's to keep herself, and her cub, alive.
04:36Can't catch a meal quick enough.
04:47Tristan, Tristan.
04:49What?
04:50Go, Brad.
04:52Ladiba is a cub, quite far north.
04:55Copy that.
04:56Nice one, Brad.
04:59Brad and Tristan are with Ladiba the leopard,
05:02and her five-month-old cub.
05:07This cub looks like it's in good mech.
05:11It's happy, definitely looks in good shape.
05:15What's really nice is she's just brought the cub straight past the car.
05:20Mom just really reassuring the cub.
05:26How beautiful is that?
05:32Brad, Brad, Gordon.
05:34We've got a male leopard in a tree,
05:36just at the edge of Ladiba's territory.
05:40This makes me anxious.
05:44They have such a high density of leopards in this area.
05:48And if there's a male and he thinks that this cub is not his,
05:52there's a good chance that he'll kill them.
05:57Male leopards kill cubs that are not their own,
06:01so they can mate with the females.
06:04So, keeping them on the move every four or five days
06:06to a new location is smart.
06:13I think this might be the new little kindergarten for a while.
06:20Ladiba must keep her cub well hidden.
06:24Nice thick forest with a lot of cover.
06:34At this time of year, the floodplains of the Okavango Delta are filled with water.
06:42Pushing all the big cats in the area closer together.
06:48I've managed to find another big male leopard.
06:53Starting to get seriously concerned.
06:57We just keep on finding male after male after male.
07:00That's a big problem.
07:06It's now more challenging than ever for Ladiba to keep her cubs safe.
07:12Looks like mom is starting to snarl at the cub.
07:19That's their way of saying, OK, now you stay.
07:24Get used to your new home.
07:29The cub knows exactly what it means.
07:38Ladiba is heading off to hunt.
07:41It's amazing that they can communicate like that.
07:44Leaving her cub alone.
07:47Mom has to just trust that she's going to stay concealed.
08:09Hey, big girl.
08:13Gordon is with Sebe and the pride mums and cubs.
08:17They're looking hungry.
08:21Looks like it's going to be a busy night for them.
08:23They've got lots of little bellies to fill.
08:29Ready, one, two, three.
08:30Ready, one, two, three.
08:31To see if they can catch a meal, the team is deploying some brand new night vision kit.
08:38This is a beast of a camera.
08:40To much higher resolution.
08:42Longer reach, yeah.
08:43Longer reach.
08:43You've got line of sight for two or three kilometers in some areas.
08:46So presumably if there's action way over there, you'll be able to pick it up on this.
08:50Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:56The sun has set.
08:58And the night is full of opportunities.
09:04I have never in my whole life seen this number of lions moving together, particularly at night.
09:13That's unreal.
09:15Scary as hell, though.
09:18If you were an antelope, aren't you?
09:20That is just death.
09:26Just using a thermal drone to get a sense of the direction that the lions are taking.
09:33It looks like the lionesses can hear something in this tree line.
09:43This looks like Sebe.
09:46With four hungry cubs to feed, Sebe is taking the lead again.
09:53Gordon, we've got Sebe on our side moving through the tree line.
09:58This time, more of the mums are joining her.
10:04I've got the drone up quite high and there's lots of impala in there.
10:08Copy that.
10:09If the lions can get close enough and outsmart them with teamwork, hopefully they're going to win.
10:19Sebe's done a big loop round and if she can just sneak in, they're going to scatter and they could
10:28very well head in the direction of the other lions.
10:38They're running.
10:43Oh, look at that.
10:47In the pitch dark,
10:50the lions' powerful night vision
10:54Oh, they've got it.
10:57gives them the edge.
10:59Oh my goodness.
11:01Mums, cubs, all spreading in.
11:07Given that it's such a small meal, split between this many lions, a little impala like that, it is less
11:14than the crust of a sandwich for each of them.
11:19It's really not going to go far.
11:23Sebe is only getting a few bites.
11:26Cabo is trying to sneak in, but they're not getting much space.
11:30And her cubs are getting nothing at all.
11:34When it gets to this point, when they're super hungry, it is every lion for themselves.
11:40The cubs get no special treatment.
11:45Oh my gosh.
11:46One of these cubs is trying to pull a piece of meat through the sub-adult male's legs.
11:56Oh no.
11:57The cubs are struggling to get any meat.
12:02The mums must take priority.
12:06If they're not strong enough to hunt, no one gets fed.
12:12Sebi's little cub, he's in the toughest position.
12:15He's the smallest of this part of the pride.
12:18And he's less able to actually fight and get access to the food that he desperately needs.
12:26The adult lions have devoured the impala in minutes.
12:35The best chance they've got of everyone getting the food that they need is if they catch something big.
12:42To feed herself and her cub, Sebi must target larger prey.
12:48Zebra would go further.
12:50Buffalo would even further than that.
12:53But yeah.
12:55Sebi's cub still needs to feed.
13:20Tristan, I got her here.
13:21She's just crossed over.
13:23Brad is on the trail of Ladiba.
13:27She's definitely hungry and hunting.
13:30And Tristan is just a few hundred meters away.
13:34Got a big mawaka here.
13:36Not too sure who it is.
13:45It's not good.
13:47Let's hope Ladiba doesn't push too far across.
13:54This boy seems to be quite active, rubbing himself up against trees and scent marking.
14:01This unknown male is on the border of Ladiba's territory.
14:11This is a very high-stakes situation for Ladiba.
14:14It's where she lives, where she hunts, where her cub's growing up.
14:20Male leopards are extremely aggressive to females and their cubs.
14:23And if they aren't certain that they're the father, they will kill them.
14:38He's approaching a tree.
14:41Oh God, I see another laptop there.
14:45It looks like a female, hey?
14:48I don't recognize this girl.
14:53It's not Ladiba.
14:56This guy looks angry.
15:05You're, oh wow.
15:09To assert their dominance.
15:11He's just mumbling and grumbling and just giving these deep guttural noises that are, to be honest, quite terrifying.
15:19Males will sometimes attack females.
15:23She can hopefully just get out of it by hiding on the lighter branches.
15:31He's just gone straight up to the top.
15:42That was insane.
15:53They must have fallen over 10 meters out of that tree.
15:58And he just seems completely unfazed by it.
16:04With yet another male establishing himself in the area.
16:08Brad, Brad.
16:10This aggressive male is very keen to show everyone who's boss.
16:15Copy that.
16:18That's not a good sign.
16:25Ladiba will have to work even harder to keep herself and her cub safe.
16:31This is really, really scary for Ladiba.
16:44So, slightly to the left.
16:46To check on Ladiba's cub, Tristan is rolling into a night shift.
16:57Well, that's a relief.
17:04Little lefford cubs are very, very strong climbers.
17:08It's one of their biggest adaptations and reasons for survival.
17:13Mum can leave them by themselves.
17:14They can climb up to the top of a tree very easily and get away from predators.
17:21These cats are very, very inquisitive at this age.
17:28After 24 hours alone, the cub is getting restless.
17:34It's like watching a toddler, basically.
17:36The world is their oyster and they, you know, just ready to explore, ready to learn.
17:44And there she goes.
17:45She's come down the backhand side of the tree.
17:49And now we're on a little bit of a roaming mission.
18:00Is there any number of dangers out here for a young leopard cub?
18:09Oh, wait.
18:12Another leopard.
18:19Thank God for that.
18:23Mr. D-Bear.
18:26This cub obviously heard mum calling.
18:29Ran off into the flood plain after her.
18:32Very, very eager to meet mum.
18:42Now we're moving.
18:45It's just a complete relief that the cub is all fine and all is good.
18:50And mum looks like she's going to move it now out of that area.
18:53Let's figure out where they're going to be going.
19:02My feeling is that she's probably going to go and find a new place to live.
19:07With so many male leopards in the area.
19:10She's going to move this cub through very, very thick terrain
19:12in an attempt to keep it safe and out of harm's way.
19:18Ladiba is now moving her cub almost every day.
19:23And stop.
19:26Alright, so let's try and find them, shall we?
19:36Why does it have to be so difficult?
19:39Why can't filming leopards just be easy?
19:47Good luck, girl.
19:50I'm done.
20:10I absolutely love this time of day.
20:15Anna is following cheetah mum, Pobbe.
20:19It's when Pobbe is still touched up in bed and the cubs are just playing around her.
20:27Now six months old, her two cubs...
20:31Good morning, Kieran Bo.
20:32...are maturing fast.
20:39You can really see their little sibling bond.
20:45They don't have the support of a pride, but they've got each other.
20:50They love each other so much and that is really, really beautiful to see.
20:57Bo is just being a classic little brother, winding his little sister up.
21:04Keira's not having any of it.
21:06She's like, no, don't slap me in the face, thank you very much.
21:11Cheetah cubs learn vital skills they need through play.
21:15You can see the way that they stalk each other.
21:20Practicing their hunting.
21:27Over the next six months, Keira and Bo will need to put these skills into action.
21:33They've definitely been watching Pobbe.
21:36And start to hunt alongside their mum.
21:39Things are going to start moving pretty quickly from here on out.
21:43I'm really excited to see how Keira and Bo hone their hunting skills.
21:48Because their hunting has been entertaining but not super effective.
21:58The cubs must now start taking life more seriously.
22:04They're not babies anymore.
22:28They are approaching a massive herd of buffalo.
22:32Easily the largest herd of buffalo I've ever seen.
22:37So this is one hell of an opportunity.
22:43The cubs are very hungry.
22:44Sebe and the mums are hunting for something big enough to feed themselves and all of their cubs.
22:51The desperation of the cats is very high.
22:54They're all very hungry.
22:56Cubs have been nagging their mums.
22:58And these lionesses are feeling the pressure to provide for such a huge pride.
23:04They're coming to the ocean.
23:05Buffalo are powerful and aggressive prey.
23:10They're closing in on one of the most dangerous animals in the Delta.
23:17But a one-ton bull will easily feed the whole pride, making it worth the risk.
23:32This is hard.
23:35Oh my goodness me.
23:40My nest is right up the rump.
23:45Someone's clinging on like a fucking baronco.
23:50Jeepers groupers.
23:51Dealing with buffalo, you can't afford to make any mistakes.
23:55Oh, there's a little calf in there.
23:57Oh, that's just...
23:59OK, we've got a buffalo moving in.
24:01Defending the calf.
24:02Oh, this is...
24:03Oh, ****.
24:04Seb, you've got a wallet by the bull.
24:10Back on the calf.
24:15That's game over.
24:19It's something.
24:21But a calf is far from enough to feed them all.
24:27Oh!
24:31Someone's getting beaten up.
24:34Hunger is turning the lions on each other.
24:40The dangerous place to be a lion cub around a small hill.
24:47I really feel for Seb's calf because he's really being pushed around and he's struggling to get his head in
24:52there.
24:57Oh.
25:00Seb's calf has a wound.
25:07Hey, Gordon.
25:09I can see Seb's calf.
25:10The one that's been looking very skinny.
25:13Looks like he has a wound on the left side of his rib cage.
25:18It looks pretty bad.
25:21Oh, my gosh.
25:23That's not good.
25:25That injury on his side, he's picked that up either during the buffalo hunt or in the aftermath.
25:34The cub is malnourished and now injured.
25:41If he doesn't get the food to help him recover and heal his wound, things could turn for the worse
25:47quite quickly.
25:54Seeing this cub in this condition is very hard to watch.
26:16With Pobe as their teacher, cheetah cubs Kia and Bo are learning fast.
26:23Yeah, she's going to them.
26:26Go, go, go, go.
26:28And she's got one.
26:33Oh, the cubs are going straight in.
26:39Probably didn't even need to cool them.
26:43The cubs already understand.
26:46This is about fast food.
26:48We need to just eat and leave.
26:51That at mealtimes, speed is of the essence.
26:54Meanwhile, Pobe is just sat guarding.
26:58Now they're at risk of predators coming in to steal this kill.
27:05Of all the big cats, cheetahs are the most likely to have their meals stolen.
27:12What's really cute is that it looks like Bo is copying mum and is also standing guard.
27:22It's basically adopted the exact same stance as Pobe.
27:27And it's looking out.
27:30Male cub Bo is finally taking lessons seriously.
27:35One of them is eating and one of them is standing guard.
27:39They're clearly learning really, really fast.
27:42These little cubs.
27:45Getting ready for the future.
27:52Bob is looking at something.
28:01Bob is crouching down a little bit.
28:04What is going on?
28:12Oh, there's a leopard. There's a leopard.
28:16Bob is going straight towards it.
28:23I really, really don't want her to get into a fight.
28:26This would not be good.
28:30This leopard could seriously injure an adult cheetah and kill a cub.
28:39Bob is just staring at this leopard.
28:42She's not going to let that leopard come anywhere near Keah and Bo.
28:46And also that meal.
28:52But Bob is not backing down.
29:00Leopards run away.
29:03Oh, my heart.
29:08That was a seriously lucky escape.
29:11Typically, a cheetah would run away from a leopard.
29:19I've got a feeling, due to Keah and Bo being here,
29:24Bob knew she's got to stand ground.
29:26She's got to take care of her cubs.
29:31Thanks to mum, the cubs have learnt a vital lesson.
29:36How to defend a meal.
29:42Cheetah cubs generally have such a tough start to life.
29:47But these two have the most incredible mum, who is just showing them the ropes every single day.
30:06We have run into Ladiba.
30:11After vanishing with her cub.
30:14Oh, so good to see you.
30:16Greg has found leopard mum Ladiba.
30:19Oh, man, the last few weeks have been very stressful because there's been so many males really threatening the area.
30:31Oh, gosh.
30:33Another one.
30:35Oh, my word.
30:36Big male leopard.
30:39This is Bongwe.
30:40And he's the dominant male in this area.
30:43He's fully mature.
30:44About seven years old.
30:48Oh, Ladiba.
30:52If the cub is nearby, this is a super dangerous situation.
30:58Bongwe and Ladiba's territories overlap.
31:03But male territories are four times larger than females.
31:08Whoa.
31:13So interactions like this are rare.
31:17He's about double her size and she's trying to push him off.
31:25It's working.
31:30This is insane.
31:36Ladiba.
31:37Ballsy, eh?
31:39Ladiba really can't afford to get injured here with a cub to protect.
31:52Absolutely unreal situation.
31:58What is going to happen here?
32:02What is going to happen here?
32:08Holy smokes.
32:09Here comes the cub.
32:11Oh, gosh.
32:11If Bongwe sees her, this could be the end.
32:18I cannot believe my eyes.
32:29Oh, my gosh.
32:29He's seen her.
32:35Oh, my word.
32:36He's not reacting at all.
32:38There's only one reason why a male wouldn't kill a cub.
32:43Bongwe must be her father.
32:49That's amazing.
32:51Bongwe is dad for sure.
32:56Oh, that's cool.
32:57I'm stoked.
33:00Oh, gosh.
33:01That is heart-ranging.
33:02I thought that it could have been trouble for that little cub.
33:05But now it looks like he's actually the defender.
33:09Fantastic.
33:11Go Bongwe.
33:12Although he'll play no active role in rearing his cub.
33:17Bongwe will challenge any intruder male leopards in the area.
33:23He's a formidable, big male.
33:25So, I mean, if there's any leopard that we wanted to be dad and to give us a sense of
33:31security for the cub, it's Bongwe.
33:37Happy days for everybody involved.
33:41What a magical little moment.
34:02Sebe, the lady, and the matto.
34:05Oh.
34:06It's split off from the other lines.
34:09And they're about a kilometer away from the rest of the pride.
34:15Sebe's group are so hungry, they're sacrificing safety in numbers to hunt on their own.
34:24They've crossed over the channel and we have to do the same.
34:40These cubs haven't eaten anything really in the last week.
34:44And these lines are beginning to feel the pressure.
34:51They were moving around with around 20 plus lines for most of the last week.
34:57If you don't catch something big like a buffalo, Nick's best thing is to split up in smaller groups.
35:05There's kind of weird things going on tonight. There's sort of no prey out on the plains.
35:10But quite a lot of stuff happening in the trees.
35:20Buffalo there.
35:26With three of them, there's a lot of reluctance to go for buffalo.
35:35Too big a challenge for this small number.
35:39This isn't like catching an impala or a cecibi or evil zebra.
35:43Sebe, Matto, and the lady are moving on.
35:50I've lost them in the thick.
35:52I cannot see a way through.
35:58Oh.
36:01Filming at night comes with its own challenges.
36:04My challenge right now is my path is blocked by some hippos.
36:09Hippos are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.
36:13You would want to block that path to the water.
36:18A fully grown male hippo can weigh three tons.
36:22They don't seem to want to move off just yet.
36:26So I'm going to have to wait for them to pass before they can go back to camp.
36:58Here we unlock.
37:02After losing Sebi's group in the night,
37:05you can see a cluster of lions over here.
37:09Sebi, Naledi, Matu and their cubs.
37:14Gordon has caught up with them again.
37:17Mum and cubs are up and they're moving off.
37:27Oh, and that one little cub, the skinny one, was fast asleep.
37:33He's been left behind.
37:36Hey little guy, wake up.
37:44Desperate to find food, Sebi is leading the group off to hunt.
37:50She may even have called and all the cubs have just followed on,
37:54but this one, probably just because he's so tired,
37:58he didn't get the memo.
38:07The saddest sight ever.
38:15See how his hip bones are sticking out.
38:21He's starting to call.
38:28In his condition, his call won't go far.
38:34He's hit the ever breeze, so no one's going to hear him.
38:37They've gone too far away.
38:50Not only is he tired, weak, underfed, injured, now he's alone.
39:01OK, he's moving, but he's going the wrong way.
39:09The farther away he walks from where his mum left him,
39:13the less chance he has of her finding him when she comes back.
39:17With the flood pushing predators in the area together,
39:23he won't survive long on his own.
39:28There's leopards, hyena, other lions,
39:32and he needs his mum for protection.
39:40He's just completely defenceless.
39:55Really nice to see her with a cub.
40:00Ladiba and her cub are still in Dad Bongwe's territory.
40:06Lots of playing and jumping at each other.
40:09It's just a fantastic scene to witness it.
40:14Too cute.
40:24Brad, Brad, forward, Tristan.
40:27Go ahead, Tristan.
40:28I've got a male leopard here, walking straight towards Adiba.
40:31And the cub.
40:32Oh, .
40:34It's the aggressive young male that Tristan previously found in the area.
40:42With younger males like this that aren't fully established,
40:45they've got a lot to prove.
40:47This guy's main role is going to be finding a territory,
40:53finding females to breed with.
40:56He's going to really be pushing in a very aggressive way.
41:02If this male ventures into Ladiba's territory,
41:05he's just going to try and wipe out anything that isn't within his gene pool.
41:17What's that?
41:19Come on.
41:20This is Bongwe.
41:22He really needs to make a big effort to push this male out of the area
41:27and keep Ladiba and his offspring safe.
41:39They're both big.
41:40They're both powerful.
41:41And if these two males come into contact,
41:44it'd just be an all-out war.
41:55We're chasing him now.
42:01Running side by side allows leopards to size each other up.
42:11I have to admit, it looks very, very even.
42:14It's the last step before a fight.
42:23Bongwe has chased him over a ridiculous distance now
42:25and doesn't seem to be letting up.
42:33He is just pushing, pushing, pushing.
42:48It looks like our boy has won this battle.
42:53The other male is slowly moving away and Bongwe is watching him move off and out of his territory.
43:01Bongwe has resolved the dispute without coming to blows.
43:07This is absolutely amazing for Ladiba.
43:09I mean, she's got a male that she can completely rely on to protect her territory and to protect her
43:14cub.
43:15Ladiba seems to know the right boys.
43:27I've been called in to take over the cheetah, Boba and her two cubs.
43:34This will be quite exciting because I haven't really had much time with the cheetahs.
43:42Cheetah cubs Kea and Boa are learning from their mum every day.
43:50Boba spotted some impala.
43:59Oh, she is stalking.
44:02Using the glass as cover.
44:05Wow.
44:06That's incredible.
44:09I don't see her anymore but I know she's in position.
44:13She's hiding behind her.
44:15I tell my mind.
44:19Oh, she's gone.
44:24She is super fast.
44:26Yo.
44:26It's insane.
44:36She got it.
44:43Oh, my goodness.
44:49Wow.
44:54Wait, he's letting it go.
44:56What?
44:59This is a big moment for these cubs.
45:02Kea has taken the leads.
45:04Okay.
45:07What's going on there?
45:12They are chasing it around.
45:14Because this is the first time they don't really know what they are doing.
45:20Cheetah mums bring their cubs live prey to hone their hunting skills.
45:25Wow, look at Kea.
45:26She's really, really into it.
45:29She's hanging on to it.
45:31She's just mimicking her.
45:38Oh, she's taking it down.
45:45Wow.
45:48Kea is holding on to its throat and suffocating it.
45:54She is going to be an exceptional cheetah when she grows up.
46:01Ah, wow.
46:04I think I'm actually watching these cubs grow in real time.
46:09They may not know it yet, but they have definitely grown up in this very moment and are a step
46:17closer to becoming fully fleshed cheetahs.
46:23The cubs have reached an important milestone.
46:30Oh, Pobe.
46:33I bet you are a plant bomb today.
46:35You have ushered your cubs into the new age of maturity.
46:44Pobe has taught her cubs the most important skill they'll need to survive.
46:50You've successfully done it.
46:52You've showed them the way.
46:55Sure.
47:04Oh, there he is.
47:08Gordon has been following Sebe's lost cub for more than six hours.
47:17It's going to be dark soon.
47:19And the night holds a whole set of other dangers.
47:23Especially for a cub on its own.
47:34You did the right thing.
47:36Calling is the best policy.
47:42Okay.
47:43Okay, we've got a warthog.
47:47So he's probably seen this warthog thinking maybe this is my next meal.
47:52But not on his own, that's for sure.
47:54Yeah.
48:01This little lion's completely dependent on his mum.
48:03There is nothing that he could hunt on his own.
48:07Technically not in the condition that he's in at the moment.
48:18It just disappeared north into the grass.
48:22Okay, let's catch up.
48:30Okay.
48:31Oh my goodness me.
48:32Look, there they are.
48:33Sebe up ahead.
48:36Okay.
48:41Come on big four.
48:44Oh my.
48:47Oh my.
48:54Oh my.
48:56Oh my.
48:57Oh my.
49:00Oh my.
49:13Oh! Happy days! Look at that! There you go, little guy.
49:23There they are.
49:29In the nick of time as well. Just 20 minutes before sunset.
49:35You can tell he's not leaving his mum's side. Look at that.
49:40Ah, that's perfect.
49:49Greg, Greg, do you copy? Gordon, Gordon.
49:51I'm going to sleep out here tonight. Somehow that little cub has reunited with its family.
49:57That's amazing.
50:00I'm just hoping that he's able to get at least something to eat soon.
50:10Coming in from the north.
50:13Greg and Gordon are sleeping out next to the lions.
50:19The lions are over there, maybe kind of over 100 metres away.
50:23I'm out in the middle of the plains.
50:26I'm just going to bed down for the night.
50:33OK, good night, lions.
50:37It might be night time.
50:39But not everyone's asleep.
51:01Gordon, Gordon, for Greg.
51:05Gordon?
51:07Cat's on the move.
51:15The lion cubs haven't had a proper meal in more than a week.
51:24And they're all getting desperate, but Sebi's little cub is ready for death.
51:30Not just getting lost from Sebi, from his mum, but his body condition, he's weak.
51:36He's picked up an injury.
51:37When there is food available, it can't even fight its way to get access to the meat.
51:42It's like a downward spiral.
51:46Sebi is an amazing hunter.
51:48He's literally on a losing streak.
51:49The last week has been tough for all of them.
51:59Gordon, Sebi is crossing the floodplain towards the tree line.
52:04I'm pretty confident she's seen something.
52:07Roger that, Greg. I'll put the drone up.
52:12To feed her cub, Sebi is going it alone.
52:18Oh, there's a zebra right there.
52:20Right there.
52:24Just sneak it into that bush.
52:36Oh, this is close. This is intense.
52:53Oh, she's got it.
52:55Ah, she's got it.
52:56My goodness.
52:57It's pretty astonishing.
52:59She did all of this on her own.
53:04Flippin' heck, that was murder.
53:13Sebi led the hunt.
53:16Amazing, one lioness on her own.
53:18Managed to take down this zebra.
53:23To this number of lions, that is a sizeable meal.
53:27And she is the hero of the day.
53:33Sebi has provided for the whole group.
53:38Every single one of these lions has been hungry.
53:41This is the best meal that they've had in a week.
53:43And finally, delivered the food her smallest cub needs.
53:50For Sebi's cub, that little one, he has literally been starving.
53:56This could save its life.
54:00We just see him sneaking in and almost read his mind.
54:05He's like, thank God.
54:09Finally getting a good meal.
54:11And that is just so good to see.
54:15We were really worried about the cubs.
54:19Everyone has finished eating.
54:21But Sebi's little male cub.
54:24He is tucking in.
54:27He's just refusing to leave the table.
54:32He is going to eat until he pops.
54:36Happy days for this cub.
54:44How's that, eh?
54:45Amazing.
54:47Talk about unexpected.
54:48I know.
54:49Couldn't come a moment too soon.
54:52Through skill and determination,
54:55Sebi has done the seemingly impossible.
54:59Most cubs don't make it to their first year.
55:02And she raised four of them.
55:06And that has not been about luck.
55:08That's been about hard work.
55:10Commitment to them.
55:12And just being an all-round pro.
55:16Yeah.
55:17They've survived against the odds.
55:25Cheetah team, cheetah team.
55:27There's a male leopard heading towards Bobby and her cubs.
55:30What the hell?
55:36There is another cat.
55:39And Bobby and the cubs have absolutely no idea.
55:49That is a leopard.
55:50That is a big male leopard.
55:57They're so close now.
55:59The leopard is literally here.
56:05And Bobby and the cubs are there.
56:11This is really not good.
56:19One moment, they're just playing around.
56:22And in the next breath,
56:25they're basically at risk of death.
56:29You've already seen Pobbe put her life on the line for these cubs.
56:34When it came to the leopard.
56:37So, if this does escalate,
56:40I have a strong suspicion
56:43she's going to be doing the exact same thing.
56:52The leopard is basically staring.
56:55Hold down the cubs.
57:01Oh, he's coming down the hill.
57:10He's creeping.
57:11He's creeping.
57:15He's heading straight towards Bobby and her cubs.
57:21Oh, this is such a bad situation.
57:26It's really close.
57:42Oh, my God.
57:44He's right next to the cub.
57:46You're right next to a cub.
57:48I have no idea.
58:01Move, Pobbe, move.
58:03You need to move your cubs.
58:07He's right behind you.
58:08Move.
58:12Oh, no, no, no, no.
58:18No, no, no, no.
58:23Promised honesty delivered a tall tale.
58:26A story surrounding the story.
58:28Discover the secrets of the salt path on BBC Sounds.
58:31And this and everything across the BBC is made possible
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58:37Diolch.
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