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Big Cats 24 7 S02E04 Reunion Episode 24 Engsub
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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 to this stage
03:06To raise four cubs to this stage
03:07Is no mean feat
03:08To raise four cubs to this stage
03:09But that little one looking very skinny
03:15Sebi
03:16He's definitely not getting enough to eat
03:21Sebi's smallest cub
03:23Is struggling
03:25See how bony it's
03:28Pelvis is
03:30Every day that passes
03:32That little cub's going to be getting weaker and weaker
03:35Becoming more and more vulnerable
03:42Sebi's spotted something
03:45The lions are up
03:48I hope this time is a success
03:58She's running, running, running
04:02Go, 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
04:27Boys and girls
04:28That was a shame
04:30If she's to keep herself
04:32And her cub
04:33Alive
04:36Can't catch a meal
04:37Quick enough
04:47Tristan, Tristan, back
04:49Go, Brad
04:51D-Bears and cub
04:53Got far north
04:55Copy that
04:56Last one, Brad
05:00Brad and Tristan
05:01Are with Ladiba the leopard
05:03And her five-month-old cub
05:07This cub looks like it's in good mech
05:10It's happy, definitely
05:12Looks in good shape
05:16It's really nice
05:17She's just brought the cub
05:18Shade past the car
05:19Mom just
05:21Really reassuring the cub
05:26How beautiful is that?
05:33Brad, 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 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 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 flood plains 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 cub 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
07:29The 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
08:10Hey big girl
08:11Hey big girl
08:14Gordon 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
08:23They'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
08:33The 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, yeah
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
08:49You'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
09:10Particularly 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
09:27Just using the thermal drone to get a sense of the direction that the lions are taking
09:34It looks like the lionesses can hear something in this tree line
09:46With four hungry cubs to feed
09:50Sebe is taking the lead again
09:53Gordon, we've got Sebe on our side moving through the tree line
09:58This time
09:59This time
10:00More of the mums are joining her
10:04I've got the drone up quite high and there's lots of impala in there
10:07Copy that
10:09If the lions can get close enough and outsmart them with teamwork
10:13Hopefully they're gonna win
10:20Sebe's done a big loop round
10:22And if she can just sneak in
10:25They're gonna scatter
10:27They're gonna scatter
10:28And they could very well head in the direction of
10:30Of the other lions
10:38They're running
10:44Oh, look at that
10:47In the pitch dark
10:50The lions' powerful night vision
10:55Whoa, they've got it
10:57Gives them the edge
10:58Oh my goodness
11:01Mons, cubs
11:02All spreading in
11:07Given that it's such a small meal
11:09Split between this many lions
11:11A little impala like that
11:13It is less than the crust of a sandwich
11:17For each of them
11:19It's really not gonna go far
11:23Sebe is only getting a few bites
11:26Cabo is trying to sneak in
11:28But they're not getting much space
11:30And her cubs are getting nothing at all
11:34When it gets to this point
11:36When they're super hungry
11:37It 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
11:49Through the sub-adult male's legs
11:56Oh no
11:58The cubs are struggling to get any meat here
12:02The mums must take priority
12:06If they're not strong enough to hunt
12:09No one gets fed
12:12Sebi's little cub
12:13He's in the toughest position
12:14He's the smallest of this part of the pride
12:19And he's less able to actually fight
12:20And get access to the food that he desperately needs
12:27The adult lions
12:29Have devoured the impala
12:30In minutes
12:35The best chance they've got of everyone getting the food that they need
12:38Is if they catch something big
12:42To feed herself and her cub
12:45Sebi must target larger prey
12:49Zebra would go further
12:51Buffalo would even further than that
12:53But yeah
12:55Sebi's cub still needs to feed
13:24Brad
13:24Is 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
13:36Not too sure who it is
13:45It's not good
13:47Let's hope Ladiba he doesn't push too far across
13:54This boy seems to be quite active
13:56Rubbing 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
14:15Where she hunts
14:17Where 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
14:28They 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 recognise this girl
14:52It'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
15:14And just giving these deep guttural noises
15:16That are, to be honest, quite terrifying
15:19Males will sometimes attack females
15:23She can hopefully just get out of it
15:25By hiding on the lighter branches
15:29Mmmmm
15:31He's just gone straight up to the top
15:42That was insane
15:54They must have fallen
15:55Over ten metres 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
16:14Copy that
16:18That's, uh,
16:20It's not a good sign
16:25Ladiba
16:26Ladiba will have to work even harder
16:28To keep herself and her cub
16:30Safe
16:31This is really, really scary for Ladiba
16:44So, slightly to the left
16:46So, slightly to the left
16:47To check on Ladiba's cub
16:48Okay, stop there
16:50Tristan is rolling into a night shift
16:57Well, that's a relief
17:04Little lethard 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
17:30The 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
17:50And 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
18:09Ooh, wait
18:12Another leopard
18:17Sir?
18:20Thank God for that
18:22Sir?
18:23Svadiba
18:26This cub obviously heard mum calling
18:29Ran off into the flood plain after her
18:31Very, 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
18:56Let'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
19:24And stop
19:27Alright, 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
20:11I absolutely love this time of day
20:15Anna is following cheetah mum
20:19It's when Pobbe is still touched up in bed
20:22And the cops are just playing around her
20:27Now six months old
20:29Her two cubs
20:30Good morning, Kieran Bo
20:32Are maturing fast
20:40You can really see their little sibling bond
20:45They don't have the support of a pride
20:48But they've got each other
20:50They love each other so much
20:52And that is really, really beautiful to see
20:57Bo has just been a classic little brother
21:02Winding his little sister up
21:04Kier is not having any of it
21:05She's like, no, don't slap me in the face
21:08Thank you very much
21:11Cheetah cubs learn vital skills they need through play
21:15You can see the way that they stalk each other
21:21Practicing their hunting
21:27Over the next six months
21:29Kier and Bo will need to put these skills into action
21:34They've definitely been watching Pobbe
21:35And start to hunt alongside their mum
21:39Things are going to start moving pretty quickly from here on out
21:42I'm really excited to see how Kier and Bo hone their hunting skills
21:47Because 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
22:27They 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
22:56Cubs have been nagging their mums
22:58And these lionesses are feeling 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
23:22Making it worth the risk
23:32Tastes as hard
23:35Oh my goodness me
23:40Mayonnaise is right up the rump
23:45Someone's clinging on like a fucking baronco
23:50Jeepers creepers
23:51But as dealing with buffalo you can't afford to make any mistakes
23:55Oh there's a little calf in there
23:57Oh
23:59That's just
23:59Okay we've got a buffalo moving in
24:01Defending the calf
24:03Oh
24:03Seb you've got a wallet by the bull
24:10Back on the calf
24:15That's game over
24:16All right
24:19It's something
24:20But 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
24:41The dangerous place to be a lion cub around a small kill
24:47I really feel for Zebes cub because he's really being pushed around and he's struggling to get his head in
24:52there
24:57Oh
25:00Zebes cub has a wound
25:07Hey Gordon
25:08I can see Zebes 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
25:21Oh my gosh that's not good
25:26That injury on his side has picked that up
25:29Either during the buffalo hunt or in the aftermath
25:34The cub is malnourished
25:36And now
25:38Injured
25:41If he doesn't get the food to help him recover and 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
26:19Cheetah cubs Kier and Bo are learning fast
26:23Yeah she's going to them
26:27Go go go go go
26:29And she's got one
26:33Oh well the cubs are going straight in
26:39Probably didn't even need to cool them
26:44The cubs already understand
26:46This is about fast food
26:48You need to just eat and leave
26:51That at meal times
26:53Speed is of the essence
26:55Meanwhile Pobe is just sat guarding
26:58Now they're at risk of predators coming in
27:01To steal this kill
27:05Of all the big cats
27:06Cheetahs are the most likely to have their meals stolen
27:12What's really cute
27:14Is that it looks like Bo
27:16Is copying
27:18Mum
27:20And there's also standing guard
27:22It's basically adopted the exact same stance
27:25As Pobe
27:27And it's looking out
27:30Male cub Bo
27:32Is finally taking lessons seriously
27:35One of them is eating
27:37And one of them is standing guard
27:38They'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
28:24Really, 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
28:33And kill a cub
28:39Pobe is just staring at this leopard
28:42She's not going to let that leopard come anywhere near Kiambo
28:46And also that meal
28:52But Pobe is not backing down
29:00The leopard's run away
29:03Oh my heart
29:05Oh 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
29:20I've got a feeling
29:21Due to Kia and Bo being here
29:23Bob 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
29:38How to defend a meal
29:42Cheetah cubs generally have such a tough start to life
29:47But these two have the most incredible mum
29:51Who 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
30:18Oh man, the last few weeks have been very stressful
30:22Because there's been so many males
30:23Really threatening the area
30:31Oh gosh
30:33Another one
30:35Oh my word
30:36Big male leopard
30:39This is Bungwe
30:40And he's the dominant male in this area
30:43He's fully mature
30:44About seven years old
30:48Oh, Ladiba
30:50Oh, Ladiba
30:53If the cub is nearby
30:54This 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
31:15Are rare
31:17He's about double her size
31:18And she's trying to push him off
31:26It's working
31:30This is insane
31:36Ladiba
31:37Ballsy, hey?
31:40Ladiba really can't afford to get injured here
31:42With a cub to protect
31:52Absolutely unreal situation
31:58What is going to happen here?
32:08Holy smokes, here comes the cub
32:10Oh gosh
32:11If Bongwe sees her
32:12This could be the end
32:18I cannot believe my eyes
32:20I cannot believe my eyes
32:28Oh my gosh, he's seen her
32:35Oh my word
32:36Oh my word, he's not reacting at all
32:39There'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
32:56That's cool
32:57That's cool
32:57I'm stoked
33:00Oh gosh, that 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
33:10Go 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
33:30And to give us a sense of security for the cub, it's Bongwe
33:38Happy days for everybody involved
33:40Happy days for everybody involved
33:42What a magical little moment
34:02Sebe, the lady and the matto
34:06They've split off from the other lions
34:10And they're about a kilometer away from the rest of the pride
34:16Sebe's group are so hungry
34:18They're sacrificing safety in numbers
34:21To hunt on their own
34:24They've crossed over the channel
34:26And 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
34:47Feel the pressure
34:52They were moving around with around 20 plus lions
34:55For 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
35:20Buffalo 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
35:59Oh!
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
36:14You 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
36:59Here we are
37:02After losing Sebe's group in the night
37:06You can see a cluster of lions over here
37:09Sebe, the lady, Matto 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
37:31Was fast asleep
37:33He's been left behind
37:36Hey little guy, wake up
37:44Desperate to find food
37:46Sebe 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
37:55Probably 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
38:21And he's starting to call
38:28And he's starting to call
38:29In his condition
38:31His call won't go far
38:34He's a bit of a breeze
38:35So no one's going to hear him
38:37They've gone too far away
38:50Not only is he tired, weak, 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 farther away he walks from where his mum left him
39:14The less chance he has of her finding him when 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
39:32There'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 at each other
40:08It's just a fantastic scene to witness it
40:14Too cute
40:24Brad, Brad for Tristan
40:28I've got a male leopard here
40:29Walking straight towards the diva
40:31And the cub
40:32Oh, sh**
40:35It'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
40:48This 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 that isn't within his gene pool
41:17What's that?
41:19Come on
41:21This is Bongwe
41:23Really 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, they're both powerful
41:41And if these two males come into contact
41:44It'd just be an all-out war
41:55Bungwe's chasing him now
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