- 44 minutes ago
Discover the dangerous journey of African lions growing into the kings of the wild, where every mistake can become a deadly lesson. Across the African savanna, young males must learn how to hunt, read danger, and work with the pride before they are strong enough to challenge one of Africa’s most dangerous prey animals: the Cape buffalo.
非洲规模最大的象群与一群无所畏惧的年轻狮子狭路相逢，展开了一场史诗般的生存之战。它们原本生活在互不交集的两个世界，如今却发生了碰撞。这并非偶然的冲突，而是大自然一手促成的结果：干旱削弱了大象的体能，而狮子正饥肠辘辘、急于觅食。“巨兽杀手”崛起的时刻已经到来。
非洲规模最大的象群与一群无所畏惧的年轻狮子狭路相逢，展开了一场史诗般的生存之战。它们原本生活在互不交集的两个世界，如今却发生了碰撞。这并非偶然的冲突，而是大自然一手促成的结果：干旱削弱了大象的体能，而狮子正饥肠辘辘、急于觅食。“巨兽杀手”崛起的时刻已经到来。
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00:11They are the two heavyweights of the African bush, but rarely do their worlds collide, until now.
00:20A young pride of Seven Lions is rewriting the rules of engagement, taking the fight to their giant neighbors.
00:32This is no chance conflict. Nature has played its part.
00:44Exhausted by hunger, Africa's largest herd of elephants are staring into the fearless eyes of a pride of lions.
00:56This is a battle of gigantic proportions, in the harshest of arenas.
01:12The dawn of the Giant Killers has arrived.
01:30In the northern Kalahari Desert of Botswana, there's a natural phenomenon that occurs only once every two or three generations.
01:42Seismic movements deep beneath the ground release an immense body of water, filling an ancient river, the Savuti Channel.
01:54The name Savuti means unpredictable, as it's impossible to tell when the waters will arrive, or when they will disappear.
02:08The returning river empties into a dried-out marsh, miraculously bringing it back to life.
02:24The parched landscape becomes the stage for one of Africa's greatest wildlife spectacles, attracting animals from all over the Kalahari.
02:43They arrive in all shapes and sizes, from the most delicate, to the most majestic.
03:03The marsh is ruled by five brothers.
03:15But with thousands of prey animals now flooding in,
03:19it's not long before new groups of lions follow in their way.
03:30The latest arrivals are a young pride of seven.
03:34Two mature lionesses and their offspring, three males and two females.
03:42They're heading intently towards the growing herds at the centre of the marsh.
04:06The cubs are now roughly twelve months old, and like teenagers, are rapidly developing their different characters.
04:20The youngest female is by far the most adventurous, and the most inquisitive.
04:29She's managed to catch a pelican.
04:42Like any sibling's new toy, the pelican is a source of great interest to her sister.
05:05She's managed to catch a pelican.
05:17She's managed to hypotheses and treat them as always.
05:29The young lions have another year before leaving the safety of the pride.
05:36They'll use this precious time to hone their hunting skills.
05:49The mother lioness has spotted a family of warthogs.
06:00It's irresistible for young predators, eager to learn.
06:08As usual, the youngest lioness is first to step forward.
06:12Her brothers, typical male lions, sit and watch.
06:19Let's go.
06:58Like all cats, lions sometimes play with their prey.
07:10The little warthog is fearless, even in the face of death.
07:32Adult warthogs are a much tougher proposition.
07:36The youngest lioness is now joined by her older sister.
07:57Lions and warthogs can reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.
08:03But lions can only keep it up over a short distance, whereas warthogs have the stamina to keep on running.
08:31If they want a decent meal, the young lions must learn to bring down larger prey.
08:37Let's go.
08:38Let's go.
08:40Let's go.
08:40Let's go.
08:43Let's go.
08:45Let's go.
08:59Let's go.
09:04Let's go.
09:08Let's go.
09:09Let's go.
09:30Let's go.
09:45Let's go.
09:47Let's go.
09:48Let's go.
09:49Let's go.
09:51Let's go.
09:53Let's go.
09:54Let's go.
09:55Let's go.
09:57Let's go.
10:13Elephants and lions generally tolerate each other's presence.
10:21Lions don't normally consider an elephant as potential prey.
10:25Their sheer size and brute strength are ample deterrence.
10:34The elephants, for their part, feel no threat from the lions.
10:41For now, the elephants have the upper hand,
10:45and the lions had better stay out of their way.
11:20Giant herds of zebra are passing through Cevuti on the annual migration south.
11:32The zebra will remain for several weeks to have their young and feed on the new grasses before moving on
11:39again.
11:47The young pride of seven have their sights locked onto their targets.
12:06The youngest lioness leads the charge.
12:09With her older sister in tow once again.
12:30The zebra's weapons are their hooves.
12:32They're enough to slow the lions down for a few vital seconds.
12:51With the zebra now on high alert, the young lions will need to change tactics and learn
12:58to hunt as a team if they are to pull down such a large meal.
13:21Despite the lack of food, the younger members of the Pride spend much of their time playing.
13:34But their mother must always remain vigilant, looking out for both prey and danger.
13:43The biggest threat comes from the five brothers who rule the marsh.
13:59When one of them approaches our Pride, the younger male lion tries to stand his ground.
14:15Infanticide is common in lions.
14:17Rival males will often try to kill the offspring of others.
14:22Rival males will often try to kill the farmers.
14:37Rival males will often try to kill the offspring of their prey in a cop or their male lion.
14:51Rival males will often try to kill the offspring of us.
15:10After a potentially lethal standoff, the mother lioness and her youngest daughter intervene.
15:21They use their feminine charms to disarm the intruder.
15:28By being submissive, they've kept their families safe.
15:48The two lionesses will now stay with the large males for a number of weeks, mating with each
16:25of them.
16:25In a few months' time, there will be a new litter or two.
16:29For the older male cubs, that will be the cue to go and make their own way in the world.
16:35They will be the same.
16:37They will be the same.
16:45They will be the same.
17:10Sovuti is moving into the dry season.
17:15As the surrounding area dries out, all the animals are drawn into the heart of the marsh,
17:20where some water still remains.
17:28There's a massive influx of very thirsty elephants into Savuti.
17:38These are the breeding herds of the Kalahari.
17:42Thousands of mothers and their young, lured in by the promise of water.
17:48Many coming to give birth.
17:53The pressure on the wettest parts of the marsh is growing.
17:59Even these areas are now beginning to dry out.
18:03The Savuti river that feeds them is shrinking, returning once again to its dormant state.
18:11And the rains are still months away.
18:26The pride of seven remains split.
18:29The mother lioness and her youngest daughter are still in the company of the brothers.
18:37They'll be back.
18:38But for now, the remaining five must go it alone.
18:45Driven by their hunger, they take on a whole herd of Cape buffalo.
19:24Weighing up to 700 kilos, buffalo are extremely aggressive.
19:39The inexperienced lions overreach themselves.
19:49The buffalo defenders are herd against the threat.
19:53And prove more than a match for a gang of foolhardy young lions.
20:07The pride comes away defeated and hungry.
20:11But a little wiser.
20:21Experience is all.
20:23And one of the big males from the pride of five brothers has killed a buffalo.
20:33He will have singled out the weakest member of the herd.
20:37Having probably stalked it under cover of darkness.
20:44Our young lions still have a lot to learn.
20:57One of the five has caught a little egret.
21:01It's not enough for a meal.
21:02And the young lions' frustrations are beginning to show.
21:13The pride must catch bigger prey or go hungry.
21:29These two are old lions' spirits.
21:32They can't catch bigger prey or most of their life.
21:33They can't catch bigger prey.
21:34The prey is being a little bit cámara.
21:34They can't catch bigger prey.clean,
21:44bearer, andaling. The giant lion's
22:03The dry season advances, and the Savuti River continues to drain away.
22:12With water levels dropping, a flock of marabou stalks clean up.
22:28These sinister looking creatures are the vultures of the stalk world, and gather in large numbers
22:35to feast on the suffocating fish.
22:40These everyday life and death dramas are a grim premonition of events about to unfold on
22:48a far greater scale.
23:01More and more breeding herds of elephant are pouring into the marsh, all seeking out the
23:08same pockets of water.
23:10The sheer weight of numbers is starting to take its toll.
23:25Each elephant must drink roughly 200 litres of water a day.
23:32Multiply that by several thousand.
23:35The elephants are literally sucking Savuti dry, sealing their own fate.
23:46There are no other sources of water for more than 50 miles, a journey they are too weak
23:52to make.
23:53There are no other sources of water.
24:00Trapped between hunger and thirst, the elephants have to roam further and further to find food,
24:06but must always return to drink at the centre of the marsh.
24:12As each day passes, the distances grow, and the elephants grow weaker.
24:28Temperatures are now soaring into the forties.
24:31The first casualty has succumbed to exhaustion.
24:35A young mother has collapsed, and as a last resort, draws water from her stomach to cool herself down.
24:48Her calf looks on helplessly, confused by her mother's desperate behaviour.
24:58Her calf looks on helplessly, confused by her mother's desperate behaviour.
25:12The rest of the herd cannot afford to wait.
25:17They move on, leaving the calf with her dying mother.
25:28Without the protection of the herd, she's vulnerable.
25:36I need to know who I have to wait.
25:43Movernger5
25:48Movernanta
25:48Sasa
25:48Sasa
25:51Sasa
25:55I'm
25:55not supposed
25:55to be the king of pizza. Given the parade,
26:00The mother lioness senses an opportunity. Her youngest daughter is quick to follow.
26:41The mother lioness is walking.
27:06Some other members of the herd have witnessed the attack, and are clearly distressed.
27:21The elephants try to defend the calf.
27:26But the lions are not giving up their prize.
27:32In an act of brazen audacity, the youngest lioness attacks again.
27:45The balance of power in Savuti is shifting.
27:49The mother lioness has shown her cubs the way, and the young pride of seven is getting its first taste
27:56of elephant.
28:07The dry season tightens its grip on the marsh.
28:12With the Savuti river continuing to recede, the elephants must battle on, until the arrival of the rains.
28:34The elephants are stranded, hostages of the marsh, and the lions can sense it.
28:50Many elephants are now so malnourished and dehydrated, they are keeling over, one after another.
29:19Like a gigantic grey sphinx, a bull elephant has died on his knees, regal even in death.
29:49The marsh, that was once a paradise for all, is now a death trap for elephants.
30:10A male elephant has made it all the way to the river, but collapses at the end of his journey.
30:34The rest of the herd try desperately to revive him.
30:37But here's beyond their help.
31:05But here's beyond their help.
31:23The water is above your mind so queuing.
31:24The beach, that is the most COMMERATION.
31:25The sea, the earth, there's no water.
31:27The sea.
31:27The sea, the sea.
31:27The sea.
31:32The sea.
31:41Growing weaker, the herds must now run the same gauntlet each day.
31:48The lions just have to sit and wait by the water's edge.
32:02After their first easy kill, the pride of seven now regard elephants as fair game.
32:10They are becoming bolder and bolder.
32:25Ignoring the weak and dying, they are actively targeting healthy individuals.
32:35They have managed to isolate an adolescent male from the rest of the herd.
32:42He is around 12 years old and will not go quietly.
33:05The lions are now hunting as a team and use their combined weight to bring down their prey.
33:38An
33:39has been unleashed by a unique combination of forces.
33:43The drying up of the river, the weakened herds,
33:47and a tenacious pride of young lions
33:49that has successfully challenged the normal rules of engagement.
33:57The lions have come of age,
34:00transformed into fully-fledged giant killers.
34:14It's not long before the scavengers enter the battlefield.
34:18A clan of spotted hyena devours the giant carcasses.
34:37Into the midst of this carnage...
34:41a baby is born.
34:55A male calf.
34:57But his mother's timing could not be worse.
35:08Elephants usually give birth at the start of the rainy season,
35:12when there is ample food and water.
35:15But this year, the rains are late.
35:18The calf has arrived too soon,
35:21in a time of deep crisis for the herd.
35:31After 22 months in the womb,
35:34the baby needs to stretch its legs.
35:44The other females in the herd are fascinated by the new arrival,
35:49and crowd round the mother.
35:55For now, the baby is safe behind a fortress of legs and trunks.
36:05It's a brief moment of respite for the herd,
36:09in sharp contrast to the scenes of horror unfolding all around.
36:24The only hope for the new baby,
36:26and his herd,
36:28is for the rains to come,
36:29and free these prisoners of Sevuzi.
36:54There is virtually no food left on the marsh,
36:58and the remaining elephants must continue their relentless daily march.
37:04passing by the lifeless shells of their own kind.
37:22The young pride of seven has continued its killing spree.
37:26Over a two-month period, they have brought down fifteen elephants.
37:31and gorged themselves in countless more that lay dying.
37:45No life goes to waste in Sevuzi.
37:48One animal's tragedy is another's good fortune.
37:57The white-backed vultures are now thriving.
38:04They and their fellow scavengers, the marabou storks,
38:07will not go hungry for a long time to come.
38:20Once they've eaten their filth, the next wave of beneficiaries arrives.
38:33Swallows, returning from Europe on their annual migration home,
38:38are welcomed with a feast.
38:43The swallows normally bring the rains, but not this year.
38:52Even in death, the elephants provide a final meal for these returning travellers.
39:16With the dry season dragging on, there are many more baby calves
39:21trying desperately to keep up with the rest of the herd.
39:30Separated from the others, mothers and infants roam the plains alone,
39:34trying to hold out until the drought breaks.
39:38Some still look strong and may yet escape from Sevuzi.
39:43But others will not survive much longer.
40:05This infant is on its last legs.
40:09His mother's milk has dried up.
40:40his mother's milk has dried up.
40:41His mother's milk is the same as he knows that.
40:50I don't know.
41:22I don't know.
41:53The mother stays by her baby's side as he takes his last breath
41:58and remains there until the following day.
42:18The mother stays by her baby's side as he takes his last breath.
42:58The mother stays by her baby's side as he takes his last breath.
43:02The mother stays by the mother of cubs, almost exactly four months after mating with the large males.
43:09Savuti's lion population is thriving.
43:27The young lioness is moving her litter to a new den.
43:32The cubs are highly vulnerable, and she must be constantly alert to the threat of predators.
43:51One of the cubs keeps lagging behind.
43:55It's carried safe from harm in gentle jaws.
44:06Cubs of this age are totally defenseless.
44:09The biggest danger is from other lions.
44:38But the cubs have nothing to fear.
44:40These lions are family, from the pride of five brothers.
44:50As the young lioness mated with all of the males, any one of them could be the father.
44:57So they have all come to stand guard outside the den, and act as baby-sitters.
45:12For such powerful predators, they can be surprisingly gentle.
45:19As the young lioness mated with all those tigers, the lioness mated with the elderly.
45:29TheIZON WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE END
45:31THE END
45:32THE END
45:32THE END
45:32THE END
45:33THE END
45:35THE END
45:36THE END
45:36THE END
45:36THE END
45:54Finally, the rains reach Savuti.
45:57Although too late for the baby elephant, for others, they bring life.
46:21The remaining herds have been reprieved.
46:28They are free.
46:39As the waterholes fill up, they can now escape from the growing prides of lions.
47:00Many mother elephants and their young have survived.
47:03They will now find safer passage as they walk south, back into the Kalahari Basin.
47:24The pride of seven is breaking up.
47:29After two years growing up in each other's company, the young lions will now separate forever.
47:56The family has four new mouths to feed, and with the large males guarding the babies,
48:02the older male cubs are no longer welcome, and must now leave.
48:09The three head off together.
48:12One day, they will form their own pride.
48:30Now that the rains have come, the landscape can recover, and all the prey animals can escape from the marsh.
49:00In time, the elephant herds will return to full strength.
49:10The lions have been changed utterly.
49:14The taste for elephant won't go away.
49:18These cubs will learn the skills from their mother, and are destined to follow in her footsteps.
49:25Cibuti is already home to the next generation of giant killers.
49:43It's taken over 18 months to document these events in one of Africa's most remote and challenging environments.
49:51Filming from the ground, from the air, and in the thick of the action, has given the camera team a
49:57unique insight into one of nature's rarest events.
50:03Cibuti has an interesting history that river flows for a very short period once every 40 years.
50:09When it is flowing, it is the most incredible environment.
50:13I knew that there is going to be a moment here in time that is going to be absolutely incredible.
50:20Wildlife cameraman Brad Besterlink is fourth generation born and bred in Botswana.
50:26He grew up in the wilderness, and has lived there for most of his life.
50:30The bush and the natural world specifically in Botswana is sort of in my DNA.
50:35And the more time I spend there, the more time I want to be out there.
50:38I don't think that I could live any other life.
50:42Brad has drawn on a lifetime's bushcraft experience.
50:45To identify and document this remarkable animal behaviour.
50:51This part is up from the north, and the buffalo have been localised on the marsh, so they have come
50:54down looking for food.
50:58When you go into any area, the first thing you do is start identifying the make-up of the different
51:03predators in the area.
51:04They kind of steer what goes on.
51:06So you work out prides, territories, access routes that they use.
51:10It's like a big puzzle that you sort of break up.
51:16It requires a lot of time, tracking and moving, and there's a certain amount of knowledge one needs to be
51:22able to keep up constantly.
51:24And not just keep up with them, but learn to anticipate them.
51:28Helping Brad locate and capture the wildlife on film, was fellow cameraman and lifelong friend, Richard Yor.
51:35Brad, you've got to cover that side up, so stay this side anyway.
51:38Spending weeks at a time together in the most isolated areas.
51:41They depend on each other completely.
51:45Especially when things don't go to plan.
51:49It just so happens, you're in the middle of the bush and things break.
51:53We've over time have learned to deal with most of the problems ourselves.
51:57We have to. We don't have DHL here or anything.
52:00Alright, so, sunlight liquid, water.
52:04Let's pour it in here and see what we can do.
52:07Sometimes we have to improvise.
52:10It's little tricks that you've been taught along the way.
52:14You've got to be fairly well equipped to cope with different circumstances.
52:19Fixing tyres, fixing cars.
52:21You've kind of got to be all rounded to the elements that you're going to confront if you want to
52:25be independent and living out in the bush.
52:27But perhaps the greatest challenge in making this film was the emotional impact of witnessing such harrowing events.
52:35Before this year, I've never seen lions hunting elephants. It's not nice to watch.
52:42They are the most incredible animals and to see them in the circumstance that we find them in Saviti was
52:49very tough.
52:52For lions to hunt and kill elephants takes layer upon layer of circumstance that has to come together to allow
52:58that little piece of behaviour to happen.
53:00It was a case where we had a huge population of elephants all focused on one particular place.
53:06And a pride of lions that were at a particular phase in their development that gave them a specific type
53:13of character.
53:14Without all of those facets, you wouldn't get lions actively predating elephants.
53:20One of the ellies that we watched, he really did fight for his life. It took the lions a long
53:26time to get them down.
53:29The day when the pride of seven broke up a herd to isolate a fairly healthy individual in that herd
53:37and pull that down was really the turning point for me in the story.
53:42And it's one of those things that I always look back on and say it was a turning point in
53:45my understanding of the natural world.
53:50For Rich, one particular scene he filmed brought home the brutal reality of nature.
53:59To see a young, newly born elephant like it, struggling along, dehydrated, tired, probably come a long way.
54:06It was a very, very heart-wrenching thing to see.
54:12We kind of knew that that was it, he wasn't going to carry on.
54:18His legs shook and he did a bit of a handstand and rolled over on his back.
54:28And then that was it, he didn't get up again.
54:35What I saw then is that elephants definitely grieved.
54:40Mum hung around for the whole night and she was there the next morning when we went back to have
54:44a look.
54:46That was harsh to see actually.
54:51You kind of feel helpless because you can't do anything.
54:55You, you, it's, it's, it's, it's hard. It's, it's not nice.
55:08To help return normality to such a demanding shoot, Brad's wife Andy and their two children visit him in the
55:15bush whenever possible.
55:18I need to be in the bush long periods of time, long hours, and often it's more productive to get
55:25them out here.
55:25They get the experience and I get to stay out here and keep in touch with what's going on.
55:29For Brad and I it's incredibly important that our children have experienced the bush, experience the wildlife, experience nature,
55:36rather than just seeing it on television or having this, some sort of vicarious experience of it.
55:41It's very important for us that they immerse themselves in it.
55:45I was fortunate enough to grow up in the bush and I think it does give you a different perspective
55:49on life.
55:50And to be able to bring my kids to the bush and let them experience what I had is, is
55:56probably one of the most important things that I can do.
56:04The kids love seeing the baby animals. That really piques their interest.
56:08You know, when they see these little things that they can relate to and they're cute and they're lovely and
56:12they get such an idea of how things are out there.
56:18To capture footage of the lioness and her new litter of cubs was a crucial moment for Brad and Rich,
56:23bringing the incredible story of death and life in Savuti full circle.
56:31You've got these quite heart wrenching situations where lions are bringing down elephants, but then the other side, you know,
56:38they've got the young to feed, they've got themselves to feed, you know, and you've got this whole cycle that
56:43goes on and there's these brand new little baby cubs, which is an amazing thing to see.
56:47The whole story and the whole project is very much part of a greater cycle. There are too many elephants
56:53in one particular area.
56:54The lions are killing elephants because of that particular moment in time and they go on and breed. The elephants
57:00then move into different areas and they go on and feed and continue.
57:03That is the joy of Savuti. All these things are in waves and ebbs and flows and that is just
57:09the natural cycle.
57:11This unforgiving landscape, a unique set of circumstances and such unforgettable animal behaviour has pushed Brad and Rich to the
57:20limit on every level.
57:22But it has also rewarded them with a once in a lifetime experience of one of Africa's most powerful dramas.
57:31The greatest thing about making this film is it's a journey and you get to know all the characters and
57:36it was the personality of this one particular pride that really drove it.
57:40It says so much about lions and lions capability to adapt very specifically to an unusual circumstance. That was the
57:49most rewarding thing for me out of the entire filming process. And I look at lions totally differently from now
57:57on.
58:10Can you feel lost for something that you've never known? Environmental thriller Forest 404 is available on this BBC sounds
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58:18But next here on BBC two, eight celebs of differing faiths head across the Alps on a spiritual voyage. Pilgrimage,
58:24the road to Rome is next.