NARRATOR: Predators across the planet.
Unmatched in strength...
(ROARING)
...speed, strategy,
stealth, and teamwork.
But staying on top is never easy.
As the world around them changes,
they must adapt faster than ever before
to maintain their rule.
In Botswana's Okavango Delta,
a legendary lioness and her pride
attempt to raise ten vulnerable cubs.
But in a changing world where croc-infested floods
consume their land...
...and rival prides are out for blood...
...the family face the fight of their lives.
In the heart of Africa's Kalahari Desert...
...lies a vast and vibrant wilderness...
...the Okavango Delta.
Teeming with life, this oasis is a predator's paradise.
But for a young lioness starting out,
it can be a cruel and unforgiving world.
This is Nikki.
She's just four years old
and already the most promising predator in her pride.
But for all her strength and power,
Nikki has had a very difficult year.
Three and half months ago,
she fell pregnant for the first time.
A week ago, she left the pride to give birth.
Four days ago, Nikki lost her newborns.
She's still calling for her cubs.
(GROWLING LONGINGLY)
It may take her a week or more to realise they're not coming back.
Like many young lion mums,
Nikki was anxious to return to her pride after she gave birth.
Her mistake was that she left her cubs alone for too long.
(GROWLING LONGINGLY)
(CONTINUES GROWLING)
It's likely her den was discovered by a leopard.
She's paid the ultimate price for her inexperience.
For now, at least, Nikki is not alone.
She shares a close bond with her family.
Nikki lives with her mum, Nan,
her sister, Lil,
and her aunt, Uma.
These four females are the backbone of the Matata pride.
Their territory is 11km long
and 6km wide.
It's packed with lush forests,
permanent swamps,
floodplains
and treacherous river crossings.
For the Matata and all lionesses,
their land is their lifeline.
But every inch of the Okavango Delta
is fiercely contested.
(HYENA SHRIEKING)
Hordes of hyena, wild dog,
cheetah and leopard
are competing for the same prey.
But the greatest threat to the Matata...
...lurks 8km to the north.
On the furthest edge of the prey-rich territory,
they share a border with a six-strong pride
known as The Breakaways.
These aggressive rivals were once part of Nikki's pride.
But four years ago a family split
led to broken bonds.
The divide has left the Matata
the smallest and most vulnerable pride in this arena.
Here, survival is a numbers game,
and bigger prides do better.
The Matata must increase their numbers
or they risk being wiped out.
Key to that is not one,
but two impressive males.
This is Jango...
...and Atlas.
Jango has the darker mane and a more aggressive personality.
Atlas is physically stronger.
He fathered Nikki's lost litter.
But these powerful males are not a permanent fixture.
They come and go as they please.
Jango and Atlas rule over four other female prides...
...including the Matata's archenemy,
The Breakaways.
The males' motives are simple -
father as many cubs as they can.
For now, they keep their distance.
The lionesses are hungry and eager to hunt.
It's Nikki's supreme confidence that makes her
the best hunter of the pride.
Like all lionesses, she's capable of killing alone.
But when this sisterhood hunts together,
their odds of success increase,
and nothing is off the menu.
Not even elephants.
As the hot dry season starts to take hold...
...these last few watering holes
are the perfect place to find prey.
Stealthily, the lionesses get into position...
...while the boys lay low.
Most prey can spot the males' enormous manes a mile off.
Despite their size and power, these kings of the jungle
rely almost entirely on the lionesses to catch their food.
(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)
(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS LOUDLY)
But today, the matriarch is on high alert.
She's clocked the pride.
The mothers rally together to shield the vulnerable calves.
(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS LOUDLY)
Her trumpet sends a clear warning to the lionesses to stay back.
(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)
Once spotted, the game is up.
Lions rely on the element of surprise to catch prey.
Nikki must return home.
There are young cubs waiting for them.
But the pride can't afford to go without a meal for much longer.
(THUNDER RUMBLES)
Tired and hungry, the hunters near their destination.
(GROWLS) Nikki's sister, Lil, calls out.
(SOFT GROWL)
(LION CUBS CALLING SOFTLY)
From the long grass, ten eight-month-old cubs emerge.
The lionesses have kept their young safe
by hiding them in the thick grass.
The mums, Lil, Uma and Nan
are greeted with face rubs...
...a welcome where the pride shares their scent
and secures their family bonds.
Nikki gets an enthusiastic welcome.
As ever, her niece, Brook, gets a little carried away.
Of all the cubs, she's the most tenacious.
But nothing fazes Nikki.
She's a very playful and protective aunt.
The games, however, will have to wait.
With so many hungry mouths to feed right now,
Nikki is focused on moving the pride
to their best hunting ground in the north of their territory.
But getting there with young cubs
is a major risk...
...because the Matata aren't the only lions heading that way.
Their arch enemies, The Breakaways,
have breached their border
and they're heading straight for The Matata's best hunting grounds.
Nikki is unaware she's put her family on a collision course
with their most fearsome enemy.
After an exhausting journey to the north of their territory...
...the lionesses are recovering with their cubs.
Nikki has company.
Atlas has always had a soft spot for the Matata's strongest hunter.
His interest reveals the door hasn't completely closed
on Nikki becoming a mother.
But romance will have to wait.
Nikki has more pressing matters to deal with.
The cubs are getting thinner.
At last, a little bit of luck is coming their way.
A family of warthogs
are unwittingly walking right into the lion's den.
This is the closest the cubs have ever come to a potential hunt.
Tyke, the most timid of the cubs,
nervously lays low,
but wide-eyed Brook is taking it all in.
Nikki is first to make a move.
Inch by inch, she edges closer.
Stealth is her first weapon of choice.
On the far side, Nikki's mother Nan creeps around the back.
It's a tactical play.
All four lionesses work together to surround the prey.
They are blocking every angle of escape.
Nan makes her move.
(WARTHOGS SQUEALING) The prey bolts.
With razor-sharp reflexes, Nikki gives chase.
Now, a top speed of 65km per hour
allows her to close in.
(WARTHOG SHRIEKING FRANTICALLY)
Everyone races to get a mouthful.
But before the females get a morsel of meat,
the cub's father, Atlas, comes bounding in.
(ROARING LOUDLY)
The lionesses give way.
This is the price they pay for child protection.
Atlas puts on a forceful display of dominance.
But despite his snarls,
he is allowing his cubs to eat.
Jango hasn't moved a muscle.
He's still full from his last free meal.
The females won't eat until Atlas is finished.
It's a relief to have food for the cubs.
But while the youngsters tuck in...
...trouble is heading their way.
It's The Breakaways,
and they're poised to attack.
Although this mob outnumbers the Matata,
Nikki's instinct is to protect her pride.
Fearlessly, she squares up to the closest intruder,
a plucky young female.
Nikki puffs up to make herself look as threatening as possible.
The rest of the Matata are filling their stomachs.
Atlas isn't lifting a finger.
He mates with females from both sides.
He has no reason to get involved in their territorial disputes.
The young female backs down.
But behind her, her imposing mother holds her ground.
(GROWLING AND ROARING FIERCELY)
Both females take a vicious blow,
but it is the intruder who concedes.
Nikki gives chase.
The rest of The Breakaways flee for their lives.
Nikki has single-handedly seen their enemies off...
for now.
With full bellies,
the pride males leave.
They have other females to visit.
For the Matata, today's win couldn't be more important.
With ten young cubs to feed, they cannot afford to lose land.
But this victory comes at a heavy price.
(WHIMPERS)
Nikki can barely walk.
Her injury could be a disaster for the Matata.
With their best hunter out of action,
the cub's future hangs in the balance.
It's been two months since Nikki's injury,
and the Matata have struggled to make ends meet.
Nikki's injured foot is starting to heal...
...but time is running out.
Brook, Tyke and the rest of the cubs are skin and bone.
This is the thinnest they have ever been.
They have days, not weeks.
On the far side of their territory...
...a chance to change the family's fortunes.
Standing over 5m tall...
...giraffe are among the toughest prey to take down.
And what's worse, it's high noon.
Lions rarely hunt in this crippling heat.
Nikki needs to soldier through the pain.
Suddenly, the giraffes spook.
They've spotted the lions.
A large male has split from the herd.
Nan is first to close in.
The pride is boldly attempting
to take down the biggest giraffe they can.
But Nikki is lagging behind.
Her mother Nan drives their target towards the tree line.
For the giraffe, it's a dead-end.
In searing heat, the lionesses take it in turns to attack.
With her injury, Nikki can barely keep up,
but the pride needs her to bring down this giant.
Nikki leaps again...
...and again...
...to throw him off balance.
Both sides are struggling for their lives,
but who will give up first?
The lionesses target the soft
and vulnerable parts of his body.
If they can inflict enough pain,
they will weaken his resolve.
It's been an exhausting, hour-long battle.
Brook, Tyke and the rest of the cubs
nervously approach.
Lions are the only big cats who hunt together like this.
Working as a team,
they've given their young a fighting chance of survival.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
The lionesses' brave decision to take down a larger male
will mean more food for the days ahead.
With the pride males away,
everyone gets a fair share.
The cubs are so full they can hardly move.
This giraffe will feed the family for a week.
But what Nikki and her family don't know...
...is that an even greater challenge lies ahead.
As the Delta gets hotter...
...in a flash, a fire breaks out.
The inferno blazes through the night,
consuming the Matata's land
and destroying everything in its wake.
As they flee in darkness,
it's easy to get separated.
In a matter of hours,
the Matata's best hunting grounds have been torched.
But Nikki has bigger problems.
She can't find the cubs.
As they tried to escape, the pride split up.
Nikki and Lil scour their territory.
The big males are back,
but there'll be no free meals until the cubs are found.
Hours pass, and nothing.
There's no sign of life.
Finally, at the edge of the devastation,
they hear a loud and familiar sound.
(GROWLING)
It's Nikki's mother, Nan, and some of the cubs, too.
(GROWLING)
(LION CUBS CALLING)
But not all the young are accounted for.
6km away, one-year old Brook and her brother Tyke are lost.
They were separated from the pride during the chaos of the fire.
All alone, with no one to protect or hunt for them,
the cubs' chances of surviving are frighteningly low.
(CALLING LONGINGLY)
Brook sends out a distress signal.
(CALLING) She needs her mother to hear her call,
but out here, it's a risk.
The Matata share their territory with many other predators.
Two little lost cubs would be an easy meal for most of their rivals.
Leopards are known for killing cubs in these parts.
But young lions have many enemies.
On the furthest edge of the forest,
a hyena mother and her young.
If she hears the cubs calling,
she will claim their lives.
The following day, there's still no sign of Tyke and Brook.
(CALLING)
Nikki and Lil call out.
(CALLING)
But their calls are met with deafening silence.
(CALLING)
It's a huge loss,
but the females still have eight hungry mouths to feed.
They must focus on them now.
A few days later, the pride take down
one of the strongest prey they hunt...
...a 350kg buffalo.
As the pride feasts,
their growls can be heard up to 5km away.
All this commotion has brought about an unexpected reward.
Brook, one of the missing cubs, has heard the pride feeding
and by some small miracle, it's guided her home.
Incredibly, she has survived four days
and four nights on her own.
Her brother, Tyke, was too weak to make it.
Mum Lil greets her little survivor.
She's had a lucky escape.
But if the pride is going to succeed,
they can't afford to lose any more cubs.
It's been five months since Brook's remarkable return to the pride,
and the great annual flood has arrived.
This year, it's claimed a third of the Matata's precious patch,
and it's made their world a much more dangerous place.
Now, there are deadly corridors for crocodiles to enter their territory.
But the killer crocs aren't their only problem.
(HOWLS)
With far less dry land for everyone,
the competition between neighbouring predators is at an all-time high.
(HYENA LAUGHING)
Violent clashes over the last remaining hunting grounds
are erupting.
(ROARING FIERCELY)
The cunning Breakaways have taken the opportunity
to push deep into the Matata's land.
Doing her best to avoid the conflict,
Nikki is keeping a low profile
in a secluded corner of the north.
She has been separated from the pride for several months,
the longest she has ever been away.
(SOFT WHIMPERING)
And this is the reason why.
Nikki has given birth to three little lionesses.
She's left the pride to protect them.
Young cubs can be accidently killed by older siblings.
A single swipe in play or a fight for food is all it takes.
For now, Nikki's keeping her cubs safe in the forest,
away from her family and the flood.
Her girls are four months old
and full of mischief.
But until her cubs are safely back with the rest of the Matata,
it's too soon to celebrate their arrival.
At first light, Nikki sets off.
She must find food for her family.
Despite the danger, she has no choice
but to leave her cubs behind.
They're too small to keep up with Mum.
Nikki heads to the floodplain in search of prey.
But this time she's being stalked...
...by an aggressive lioness from The Breakaways.
Nikki turns to face the intruder.
She follows her instincts to chase the female off.
But Nikki has drastically misjudged the situation.
She hasn't clocked the rest of The Breakaways.
She is dangerously outnumbered,
and now they're coming for her.
(GROWLING)
If The Breakaways catch her, they will kill her.
She heads for thick cover.
For the sake of the cubs,
Nikki must get away.
5km to the south and beyond the deep channel
that divides the pride's territory in two,
the rest of the Matata are on the move.
With Nikki away, the pride is missing a key protector.
Nan has moved the nine cubs to a safe haven
in the south of their territory,
away from The Breakaways.
But now the cubs are 18 months old, and not so little.
They've grown into impressive young adults,
with appetites to match.
But the land here in the south is nowhere near as rich.
It's time the Matata return to their best hunting grounds
beyond the channel, to claim back their prey-rich land.
But this flood is more menacing than last year's.
The current is far more dangerous.
And worse still,
this channel is home to hundreds of Nile crocodiles.
Only the strongest swimmers will make it.
To survive, they'll need to reach the other side
as quickly as possible.
Brook is the first to burst into the river.
The pride races in behind her.
They've got to protect their territory,
but every crossing carries a major risk.
Grimacing faces reveal their discomfort.
The pride is out of their depth
and extremely vulnerable in water.
At last, they reach the safety of dry land.
This time, the crocs weren't quick enough to catch their prey.
Back in the north,
Nikki has barely survived
her terrifying ordeal with The Breakaways.
She's had a lucky escape,
but with her rivals out for blood,
her young are now in grave danger.
She heads straight back to her den...
...but her new cubs are nowhere to be seen.
Nikki scours the surroundings...
...but she can't find them.
Experience has taught her cubs this small
are hopelessly vulnerable.
She sends out a bellowing contact call.
(DEEP CALL)
It's a beacon for her infants to follow...
and her last hope.
(CALLING)
Eventually, her cubs emerge from the long grass.
(GROWLING SOFTLY)
With a flick of her tail,
Nikki signals to her young to follow.
She's leading them south,
in the direction of the Matata.
It is time for her cubs to join the pride.
But out in the open, her infants are at risk.
And it's a long journey for little legs.
To keep her cubs moving,
Nikki won't feed them until she gets them safely home.
Finally, she spots her family.
It's an anxious moment.
Nikki does not know if her cubs will be accepted.
Nan is first to welcome the new arrivals.
As her granddaughters, one day they will inherit the land
she and the Matata females have fought so hard to protect.
Nikki's cubs are now part of what's become
the largest pride in this region.
But elsewhere across Africa,
lions are seriously struggling.
Almost half the population has disappeared in the last 30 years.
It is estimated there are just 20,000 lions left...
...making Nikki's young more precious than ever.
Their mother has overcome the most challenging of years.
She's given more to the pride than anyone else...
...and now, Nikki finally has her own family to protect.
With Mum there to guide them,
Nikki's cubs will learn the skills they need to survive...
...and become the next generation of formidable lionesses.
To tell Nikki and the Matata's story...
WOMAN: There we go.
...director Anne Sommerfield and camera crew
spent over a year filming in the Okavango Delta.
(LAUGHING) This is a lot fun.
This is what 12 lions fighting over a carcass sounds like.
(GROWLING FIERCELY)
As an apex predator,
lions usually dominate the areas in which they live.
But in a changing world,
these iconic big cats are on a losing streak.
To find out more,
the crew were joined by lion expert, Robynne Kotze.
People often see them on game drives
or they see them on TV and they tend to think that,
well, the populations must be doing really well.
But the harsh reality is that the numbers are actually going down.
To gain a better understanding of lions in the Okavango,
Robynne and her team are deploying several thousand camera traps
in one of the largest predator surveys ever conducted in Botswana.
(CAMERA BEEPING)
The cameras are triggered by an infrared sensor,
so as soon as an animal walks past,
the camera detects the motion and then it takes a picture.
Given the vast areas lions roam in,
several of the Matata have not yet been picked up
on any of Robynne's camera traps.
With their powerful lenses, the film crew could get
the missing close-up shots Robynne needs to ID individuals.
Each lion has its own unique whisker spot pattern.
So whenever we are monitoring individuals,
we will take photos of the left-hand and the right-hand side
so that we can basically create a whisker pattern formula
that we use to identify them.
The data is used to estimate lion numbers
and to build a picture of their movements.
Insight is key to protecting these incredible big cats.
To learn more, the crew needed to live alongside the Matata pride,
in the heart of lion territory.
We're camping in a national park so there's no fences,
there's no guns, there's no guards,
it's us and our tents,
a thin layer of canvas, and then the wilderness.
With nightly visits from the local wildlife.
(ELEPHANT GRUNTS)
This was here, this is just outside main camp here.
The hyenas, in particular, seem to be very interested
in their new neighbours.
We've had a hyena in camp who likes to steal things,
and it's been escalating.
We've had shoes, buckets, we've had binoculars,
most recently an axe.
The really good news is that we've got it back.
I don't like the idea of a clan of hyenas
wandering round with an axe.
Spending thousands of hours in the field,
the team got to know different personalities.
Nikki stood out from the very start for me
because she had this really strong female confidence.
You know, she is tireless in her efforts,
whether it comes to hunting
or defending the borders
or just playing with the cubs and being a fun aunt.
But despite being the lynch pin of the pride,
Nikki's opportunities to have her own family
had never worked out.
We started Nikki's story at a very tragic place.
We filmed her during the process of losing her cubs.
And knowing that the cubs were gone,
that she was continuing to search and call for them
and they weren't coming back... (GROWLS LONGINGLY)
That was really actually very hard to witness.
Although formidable once fully grown,
lion cubs are very vulnerable.
Other animals will take every opportunity
to eliminate a future threat.
60 percent of cubs die before they get to adulthood.
Their young are targeted by all the other predators in the area.
And living in the Delta,
the annual floods only add to the threats the young cubs face.
You're holding your breath because we know there are crocodiles
in the water. We know that the current can be strong.
It's a really vulnerable situation.
To capture this unique behaviour,
the crew faced the same challenge.
I'm just going to take the camera out
and keep it as high as possible,
just in case it gets a bit deeper than we expected.
We have no idea if we're going to make it.
We need to keep going.
Water's coming in!
Yeah, it's coming up over the bonnet.
I might need to reverse and try again.(CLUTCH SQUEALS)
Oh! My feet are wet. My bottom's wet.
We made it through.
My nice warm clothing.
But despite soggy clothes...
We're going to put everything out to dry, how's that?
...and waterlogged electronics...
That's not good.
Right, let's go find this pride.
...the team's determination pays off.
Right, they're all coming. Stay where I am, eh?
Whoa!
We've gotten stuck more times than I should admit.
But when you get in the right position
and they're swimming towards camera, it's just a spectacular shot.
After months of analysing over 800,000 images,
Robynne and the conservation team
could finally share their results.
All indications show that the lion population in the Delta is healthy.
Lionesses successfully raising cubs to adulthood
is really key to the survival of lion populations,
so if you look at Nikki's pride,
it's really great that they've managed to raise
nine one-year-olds to this point.
And that, in part, is thanks to the floods.
The yearly influx of water limits the number of human settlements.
But elsewhere, it's a different story.
Given that lions are really, really now struggling across Africa,
we think there may be 20,000 left,
every single cub counts.
With an ever-increasing human population,
habitat loss is one of their biggest threats.
They roam over really big areas and they really need
large intact pieces of habitats in order to do well.
Many of the current lion populations have been fragmented
into smaller pockets,
and this is really not good for long-term viability.
Robynne and other conservationists
are desperately trying to identify and protect corridors of land
to connect these isolated populations.
These are really areas that will facilitate the movement of lions
between these smaller populations
so that the population as a whole
can remain genetically healthy and self-sustaining.
But will it be enough?
In 50 years' time, it's a real reality
that we could lose most of the lions
that we currently have on the continent.
Outside protected areas,
one of the world's most recognisable animals
is quietly slipping away.
I kind of can't imagine a world where lions don't exist in the wild.
If we can't save Africa's most iconic species,
we really are in trouble.
For the crew, the appearance of Nikki with her three new cubs
gave some hope.
It feels like we've waited quite a long time for this moment.
For Nik to finally have cubs of her own.
She's such an exceptional lioness.
And those little cubs,
they couldn't have a better teacher
and couldn't be luckier to have Nikki as a mum.
Next time...
In South America,
pumas locked in a brutal battle...
(SNARLS)
...as one brave mother fights to protect her family.
(GUANACO SHRIEKING)
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