- 3 hours ago
Big Cats 24 7 S02E04 Reunion Episode 24 Engsub
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:02Chaos
00:05There's cats everywhere
00:08The mums of the Kudum Pride have reunited
00:13But with so many mouths to feed
00:16They're under more pressure than ever before
00:19There is Bedlam out there
00:21Oh my goodness
00:26The Okavango Delta
00:28In 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
00:44Lion
00:46Cheetah
00:47And leopard
00:49Big cat country
00:51Armed with the latest filming technology
00:54The big cats 24-7 team
00:58Is following individual big cats
01:00For six months
01:02This is a unique opportunity
01:04To follow these cats round the clock
01:07Through the day
01:09I used to think I'd have a fair fight with a lion
01:13Not so sure now
01:14And the night
01:16We've got the most sophisticated thermal imaging technologies
01:21Capturing their behaviour
01:2424 hours a day
01:25I have never seen anything like this
01:29I have never seen anything like this
01:38Oh it's gone
01:39No
01:40Oh so close
01:41So close
01:43Ah
01:44Don't believe this
01:46I don't think any of them got anything
01:49Nah
01:50Nah
01:50There was a dust ball that it got lost in
01:57Gordon and Setz are with the Kudum Pride mums
02:00And they're 14 cubs
02:03This is now a huge pride
02:07We've got over 20 lions here
02:11There's Naledi
02:13Nasi
02:14Makosi
02:15Magogo
02:15Mato
02:16And Sebi
02:21It's a big pride
02:22And it's also a fossil we reckon with
02:29The problem is
02:30With so many lions
02:32Hanging out together
02:33That is a lot of mouths to feed
02:38The mums have banded together for safety
02:41But now
02:42Have a new challenge
02:45I feel sorry for these girls
02:47I feel sorry for these girls
02:48We 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
03:01Sebi is an incredible mum
03:02To raise four cubs
03:05To raise four cubs to this stage
03:07Is no mean feat
03:09But that little one looking really skinny
03:16He's definitely not good enough to eat
03:21Sebe's smallest cub is struggling.
03:26See how bony it's pelvis is?
03:30Every day that passes, that little cub's going to be getting weaker and weaker, becoming
03:36more and more vulnerable.
03:42Sebe spotted something, the lions are up, I hope this time is a success.
03:58She's running, running, running.
04:02Go, go, go, go.
04:12I don't think that I've been successful.
04:16Sebe's running on empty.
04:21It's vital that Sebe catches a meal soon.
04:26Hard luck, boys and girls, that was a shame.
04:30If she's to keep herself, and her cub, alive.
04:36Can't catch a meal quick enough.
04:59Brad and Tristan are with Ladiba the leopard and her five-month-old cub.
05:07This cub looks like it's in good mech.
05:10It's happy, definitely looks in good shape.
05:16That's really nice, that she's just brought the cub straight past the car.
05:20Mom just really reassuring the cub.
05:26How beautiful is that?
05:33Brad, Brad, Gordon.
05:34We've got a male leopard in a tree, just at the edge of Ladiba's territory.
05:40This makes me anxious.
05:44They have such a high density of leopards in this area, and if there's a male and he thinks
05:50that this cub is not his, there's a good chance that he'll kill them.
05:57Male leopards kill cubs that are not their own, so they can mate with the females.
06:04So, keeping them on the move every four or five days to a new location is smart.
06:13I think this might be the new little kindergarten for a while.
06:21Ladiba 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, pushing
06:43all the big cats in the area closer together.
06:48I've managed to find another big male leopard, starting to get seriously concerned.
06:57We just keep on finding male after male after male, and it's a big problem.
07:07It'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, okay, now you stay.
07:24Get used to your new home.
07:30The 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.
08:10Hey, big girl.
08:13Gordon is with Sebe and the pride mums and cubs.
08:18They're looking hungry.
08:21Looks like it's going to be a busy night for them.
08:24They've got lots of little bellies to fill.
08:29Ready, one, two, three.
08:30Ready, one, two, three.
08:32To 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.
08:40It's a much higher resolution.
08:42Longer reach.
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 and the night is full of opportunities.
09:05I have never in my whole life seen this number of lions moving together, particularly at night.
09:14It's unreal.
09:16Scary as hell, though.
09:18If you were an antelope, aren't you?
09:20That is just death.
09:26Just using the thermal drone to get a sense of the direction that the lions are.
09:30are taking.
09:34It 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
10:29very well head in the direction of the other lions.
10:38They're running.
10:43Oh, look at that.
10:47In the pitch dark, the lions' powerful night vision gives them the edge.
10:58Oh, 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.
11:58The cubs are struggling to get any meat here.
12:03The 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.
12:27The 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.
12:51Buffalo would even further than that.
12:53But yeah, Sebi's cub still needs to feed.
13:24Brad 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 male wrapper here.
13:37Not 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.
14:24And if they aren't certain that they're the father, they will kill them.
14:38He's approaching a tree.
14:42Oh God, I see another laptop there.
14:46It looks like a female, eh?
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.
15:12He'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.
15:31F***, he's just gone straight up to the top.
15:42That was insane.
15:54They must have fallen over 10 meters out of that tree.
15:58and he just seems completely unfazed by it with yet another male establishing himself in the area
16:09Brad Brad this aggressive male is very keen to show everyone who's boss that's it's not a good
16:25son the Deba will have to work even harder to keep herself and her cub safe this is really really
16:33scary for the Deba so slightly to the left to check on the Deba's cup
16:50Tristan is rolling into a night shift well that's a relief
17:04little leopard cubs are very very strong climbers there's one of their biggest adaptations and
17:11reasons for survival mom can leave them by themselves they can climb up to the top of
17:16a tree very easily and get away from predators these cats are very very inquisitive at this age
17:28after 24 hours alone the cub is getting restless it's like watching a toddler basically the world
17:37is their oyster and they you know just ready to explore ready to learn
17:44and there she goes she's come down the backhand side of the tree
17:50and now we're on a little bit of a roaming mission
18:00there's any number of dangers out here for a young leopard cub
18:25this cub obviously heard mom calling ran off into the floodplain after her very very eager to meet mom
18:42now we're moving
18:45it's just a complete relief that the the cub is all fine and all is good and mom looks like
18:51she's gonna
18:52move it now out of that area but figure out where they're gonna be going
19:02my feeling is that it's probably gonna go and find a new place to live
19:07with so many male leopards in the area she's gonna move this cub through very very thick terrain
19:12um in an attempt to keep it safe and out of harm's way
19:24and stop
19:27alright so let's try and find them shall we
19:36why does it have to be so difficult
19:38why can't filming leopards just be easy
19:47good luck girl i'm done
20:11i absolutely love this time of day
20:15anna is following cheetah mom bobby
20:19it's when pobe is still touched up in bed and the cops are just playing around her
20:27now six months old her two cubs
20:30good morning kieran bow
20:32are maturing fast
20:40you can really see their little sibling bond
20:45they don't have the support of a pride
20:47but they've got each other
20:49they love each other so much and that is really really beautiful to see
20:57bow is just being a classic little brother winding his little sister up
21:03kia'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 kia and bo will need to put these skills into action
21:34they've definitely been watching probably
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 kia and bo hone their hunting skills
21:47because without hunting has been entertaining but not super effective
21:58the cubs must now start taking life more seriously
22:04they're not babies anymore
22:27they are approaching a massive herd of buffalo
22:31easily the largest herd of buffalo i've ever seen
22:37so this is one hell of an opportunity
22:44sebe and the mums are hunting for something big enough
22:47to feed themselves and all of their cubs
22:51the desperation of the cats is very high
22:54they're all very hungry
22:55the cubs have been nagging their mums
22:58and these lionesses are feeding the pressure to provide for such a huge pride
23:05buffalo are powerful and aggressive prey
23:11they'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
23:21making it worth the risk
23:32the cubs are
23:35oh my goodness me
23:40my nest is right up the rump
23:45someone's clinging on like a fucking baronco
23:50jeepers
23:50creepers
23:51dealing with buffalo you can't afford to make any mistakes
23:55oh there's a little calf in there
23:58oh that's just okay we've got a buffalo moving in
24:01defending the calf
24:02oh
24:03oh
24:04sebe you've got a wallet by the bull
24:10back on the calf
24:15that's game over
24:19it's something
24:20but a calf is far from enough to feed the mold
24:31and
24:32someone's getting beaten up
24:34hunger is turning the lions on each other
24:41the dangerous place to be a line cover on the small kill
24:44and you feel for service cow because he's really being pushed
24:51around and he's struggling to get his head in there
24:53and he's struggling to get his head in there
24:58no
25:00sebe's car has a wound
25:07Hey Gordon
25:08I can see sebe's cub
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
25:20Bad.
25:22Oh, gosh, that's not good.
25:26That injury on his side has picked that up,
25:28either 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
25:44and heal his wound,
25:46things could turn for the worse quite quickly.
25:54Seeing this cub in this condition is very hard to watch.
26:16With Pobe as their teacher,
26:20cheetah cubs Kia and Bo are learning fast.
26:24Yeah, she's going to them.
26:27Go, go, go, go.
26:29And she's got one.
26:33Oh, the cubs are going straight in.
26:39Pobe 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.
27:36One of them is eating and one of them is standing guard.
27:39They're clearly learning really, really fast.
27:42These little cubs getting ready for the future.
27:52Pobe is looking at something.
28:01Pobe is crouching down a little bit.
28:04What is going on?
28:12Oh, there's a leopard. There's a leopard.
28:16Pobe is going straight towards it.
28:23I really, really don't want to have to get into a fight.
28:26This would not be good.
28:30This leopard could seriously injure an adult cheetah and kill a cub.
28:39Pobe is just staring at this leopard.
28:42She's not going to let the leopard come anywhere near Chia and Bo.
28:46And also that meal.
28:52But Pobe 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 Chia and Bo being here,
29:24Pobe 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.
29:37How to defend a meal.
29:42Cheetah cubs generally have such a tough start to life.
29:47But these two have the most incredible mum,
29:52who 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
30:22because 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.
30:49Oh, Ladiba.
30:52If the cub is nearby, this is a super dangerous situation.
30:59Bongwe and Ladiba's territories overlap.
31:03But male territories are four times larger than females.
31:08Whoa.
31:10Wah.
31:13So interactions like this are rare.
31:17He's about double his size and she's trying to push him off.
31:26It's working.
31:29Yoop.
31:31This is insane.
31:36Ladiba.
31:37Ballsy, hey?
31:39Ladiba really can't afford to get injured here with a cub to protect.
31:52Absolutely unreal situation.
31:58What is gonna happen here?
32:08Holy smokes.
32:09Here comes the cub.
32:11Oh, gosh.
32:12If Bongwe sees her, this could be the end.
32:18I cannot believe my eyes.
32:29Oh, my gosh.
32:30He's seen her.
32:35Oh, my word.
32:36He's not reacting at all.
32:39There's only one reason why a male wouldn't kill a cub.
32:42Bongwe must be her father.
32:49That's amazing.
32:51Bongwe is dad for sure.
32:55That'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.
33:13Although he'll play no active role in rearing his cub.
33:18Bongwe 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.
33:38Happy days for everybody involved.
33:41What a magical little moment.
34:02Sebe, the lady, and the matto, they've split off from the other lions.
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 lions are beginning to feel the pressure.
34:52They were moving around with around 20 plus lions for most of the last week.
34:57If you don't catch something big like a buffalo,
35:00Nick's best thing is to split up in smaller groups.
35:05There's kind of weird things going on tonight.
35:07There's sort of no prey out on the plains.
35:11But quite a lot of stuff happening in the trees.
35:20A buffalo 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 an evil zebra.
35:43Sebe, Matto, and the lady are moving on.
35:50I've lost them in the fig.
35:52I cannot see a way through.
35:59Ooh.
36:01Filming at night comes with its own challenges.
36:04My challenge right now is my path is blocked by some hippos.
36:10Hippos are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.
36:14You would want to block that path to the water.
36:18A fully grown male hippo can weigh three tons.
36:23They don't seem to want to move off just yet.
36:27So I'm going to have to wait for them to pass before I can go back to camp.
36:32euf is dead.
36:58Yeah.
37:00I'm going to go back to camp.
37:02I'm going to go back to camp.
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.
37:18Mum and cubs are up and they're moving off.
37:27Oh, and that one little cub, the skinny one,
37:32was fast asleep.
37:33He's been left behind.
37:37Hey, little guy, wake up.
37:44Desperate to find food,
37:46Sebi is leading the group off to hunt.
37:50She may have even have called
37:52and all the cubs have just followed on,
37:54but this one, probably just because he's so tired,
37:58he didn't get the mammal.
38:07It's the saddest sight ever.
38:15See how his hip bones are sticking out.
38:21And he's starting to cough.
38:29In his condition,
38:31his call won't go far.
38:34Is it the ever breeze?
38:35So no one's going to hear him.
38:37They've gone too far away.
38:50Not only is he tired,
38:53weak, underfed, injured,
38:57now he's alone.
39:01Okay, he's moving,
39:03but 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 if she comes back.
39:18With 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 defenseless.
39:56Really nice to see her with a cub.
40:00Ladiba and her cub are still in Dad Bongwe's territory.
40:06Lots of playing, jumping on each other.
40:09It's just a fantastic scene to witness it.
40:14Too cute.
40:24Brad, Brad, forward, Tristan.
40:28I've got a male leopard here,
40:30walking straight towards the diva.
40:31And the cub.
40:32Oh, s***.
40:35It's the aggressive young male
40:36that Tristan previously found in the area.
40:42With younger males like this
40:44that aren't fully established,
40:46they've got a lot to prove.
40:48This guy's main role
40:50is going to be finding a territory,
40:53finding females to breed with.
40:56He's going to really be pushing
40:58in a very aggressive way.
41:02If this male ventures into Ladiba's territory,
41:05he's just going to try and wipe out anything
41:08that isn't within his gene pool.
41:17What's that?
41:19Come on.
41:20This is Bongwe.
41:23It really needs to make a big effort
41:25to 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.
41:55Bongwe is chasing him now.
41:56Thank you so much, so on their side.
41:57We're going to stay here to have a big day.
Comments