[tranquil music plays]
[cub mewls]
[Helena Bonham Carter] In their South African home, Kaya and her brothers
don't have a care in the world.
[cubs squeal]
[tranquil music continues]
Thanks to their mom's selfless commitment,
they're growing fast.
[tranquil music continues]
But gentle Kaya struggles to get a look-in
with her stronger brothers getting the lion's share.
And now her mom's milk is running low.
After five days without a meal, she has to do what no mother wants to do.
Leave her babies alone to find food.
[tense music plays]
Half of all lion cubs never make it to their first birthday.
The stakes could not be higher.
For babies in the wild,
being left home alone
is one of the scariest challenges of all.
[tense music continues]
[tense music fades]
[wind howls]
On this exposed and barren coast,
shelter is hard to find.
For baby Tabo,
this desert is a tough place to grow up.
[seal squeals]
[wind howls]
[seal whimpers]
When sandstorms hit, everyone in the colony lays low.
[wind howls]
All three-week-old Tabo and his mom can do
is wait it out together.
[wind howls loudly]
[tranquil music plays]
Finally…
some peace.
[seal snores]
[tranquil music continues]
All Tabo wants is his mom.
She's his entire world.
[tranquil music continues]
And his sole protector.
[seal squeals]
But he can't get too comfortable.
Tabo is growing fast, and to keep up with his demands,
his mom must spend longer at sea searching for food.
[seals grunt]
He wants to go with her,
but his fur won't develop its waterproofing for another ten weeks.
It's not wise for him to follow.
[seal grunts]
[seal squeals]
His fur is now dangerously waterlogged.
He's at risk of drowning.
[seal howls]
[suspenseful music plays]
His mom comes to the rescue,
but can't stay with him.
[baby seal squeals]
-[seal grunts] -[baby seal squeals]
He's exhausted, but safe.
The ocean is off-limits for now.
[seals grunting]
Cut off from his mom,
he'll have to take care of himself for a whole week.
[melancholy music plays]
[seal squeals]
With no family to comfort him,
he's completely alone.
[melancholy music continues]
[melancholy music fades]
Tucked away where their mom left them,
Kaya and her brothers are safe from danger.
Their rocky outcrop provides them with the perfect hideaway.
And playground.
[jaunty music plays]
After just one night on their own, the cubs are bored.
Kaya's adventurous brothers aren't hanging around.
[jaunty music continues]
They investigate every inch of their rocky home.
[jaunty music continues]
[cub squeals]
But little Kaya lacks the strength to join them.
[jaunty music continues]
[cub squeals]
[whimpering]
As long as the cubs stay together near the den, they'll be safe.
[jaunty music continues]
Kaya's brothers are running rings around her.
[jaunty music fades]
[cub squeals]
But it's not just about fun. They're developing their hunting skills.
Kaya prefers to watch her brothers from the sidelines.
A good hunter needs to learn how to choose his target…
[suspenseful music plays]
…approach silently…
and pounce when the time is right.
[squealing]
It's early days, but with enough practice,
one day, they'll be ready to take down a buffalo.
But if Kaya doesn't get stuck in, she'll never master her hunting skills.
And now her brothers' overconfidence
is leading them away from the safety of the den.
[tense music plays]
Kaya can choose to stay home alone…
or follow her brothers.
[tense music continues]
She makes her choice.
[tense music continues]
But it's a bad decision.
Now, far from the den,
her headstrong brothers have led them into danger.
They've ventured into the path of a powerful male leopard.
Leopards detest lions.
And if he spots the cubs, he'll kill them.
[tense music plays]
Instinctively, they know to hide.
[tense music continues]
They're lucky.
He's too distracted marking out his territory.
A close call, but he will be back.
[melancholy music plays]
Leaving the den has another consequence for the cubs.
They're now lost.
They desperately need their mom.
[melancholy music continues]
Without her, they'll have to spend the night alone.
Out in the open and unprotected.
While nighttime brings dangers for some babies…
for others, darkness provides the perfect cover.
On these moonlit savannas,
a termite mound conceals the underground home
of a very special creature.
[tranquil music plays]
Highly secretive,
it's one of the world's most heavily-trafficked animals.
So much so that researchers track each and every one they find.
[tranquil music continues]
This precious new addition riding on its mother's back
is a baby Temminck's pangolin.
Eight-week-old Matengu and his mom are on an important mission
to find a new home.
His mom keeps him close, so he doesn't wander off.
[tranquil music plays]
She moves him almost every night to keep him hidden.
And for good reason.
Despite his protective scales,
youngsters like Matengu are easy pickings for hyenas and leopards.
[tranquil music continues]
His mom doesn't dig their burrows.
Instead, she's a serial squatter who searches for vacant homes.
[jaunty music plays]
But finding an empty burrow is easier said than done.
[jaunty music continues]
Sharing with a prickly porcupine isn't appealing.
Perhaps it's wise to look for another.
[jaunty music continues]
Nope. Already occupied.
[jaunty music continues]
Finally…
Matengu's mom has found the perfect place for them to rest.
If he can resist his urge to wander off.
[jaunty music fades]
Back on the Namibian coast,
Tabo has spent the last 24 hours home alone,
and he's still pining for his mom.
[seal croaks]
On the beach, he's an easy target on his own.
And making a friend could save his life.
[seal croaks]
He can't turn to the other moms for comfort.
[seal croaks]
But he's not the only pup left here by himself.
For safety, these babies form a crèche,
and Tabo's best chance of survival is to join them.
But first, he'll have to win them over.
[seals croaking]
The rules of entry seem to be tougher than he expected.
[seals croaking and squealing]
[upbeat music plays]
But Tabo stands his ground, earning his place in pup club.
[seals croaking]
[upbeat music continues]
He's found a partner in crime.
[seals croaking]
[upbeat music continues]
Things for Tabo are starting to look up.
Well, they were.
[upbeat music continues]
In all the excitement, these new friends have wandered away
from the protection of the group.
[upbeat music fades]
And they've attracted attention.
Black-backed jackals are here to snatch a tasty seal pup.
[seal croaks]
[suspenseful music crescendos]
[seal grunts]
Those pups with their moms have someone to fight their corner.
[seal croaks]
The best chance now for Tabo and his playmate
is to get back to the crèche and lose themselves in the crowd.
[tense music plays]
He's lost his friend.
[seal whimpers]
Tabo is alone, and no one can help him now.
[tense music continues]
[seal croaks]
[tense music continues]
[seal croaks]
[seal screeches]
[seal grunts]
[tense music fades]
[seal whimpers]
Brave Tabo has found the courage to save his own life.
At such a young age,
this little pup has passed his first major test of survival.
[tranquil music plays]
Over the next 12 months, Tabo will have many more lessons to learn
to prepare him for a life at sea.
[tranquil music continues]
But he's already shown he's got the fighting spirit he'll need
to overcome life's challenges.
[tranquil music continues]
[tranquil music fades]
Further inland,
Matengu and his mom have spent most of the day sheltered underground.
Bored of sleeping in and feeling hungry,
Matengu is getting restless.
He's missing out.
The world above ground is full of activity.
Ground squirrels are enjoying their dinner…
while keeping a watchful eye out for unwanted guests.
But this female brown hyena is not interested in squirrels.
She has caught a strong scent of pangolin,
and the smell has brought her to this burrow.
While his mom sleeps,
Matengu sneaks out to gain his first taste of freedom.
[tense music plays]
[tense music fades]
But this hyena is out of luck.
She's at the wrong den.
[tranquil music plays]
Matengu's wise mom was right to swap burrows last night,
moving him far away from danger.
[tranquil music continues]
Now, venturing out for the first time on his own,
he's itching to explore the great outdoors.
[tranquil music continues]
Like all pangolins, Matengu has poor eyesight.
But he makes up for it with an impressive sense of smell.
And it doesn't take him long to sniff out his favorite food.
Ants.
[tranquil music continues]
Matengu is equipped with a perfect tool to reach them.
A long, sticky tongue.
It measures half the length of his body,
and he can hoover up thousands of ants in a single sitting.
[tranquil music continues]
By stepping out on his own,
Matengu has discovered his very first meal without Mom.
It's a small milestone,
but a big step on the road to independence for this very special baby.
[tranquil music fades]
Daybreak in South Africa.
The savanna grazers are making the most of the cool morning air.
But they're not alone.
Kaya's mom is carefully preparing an ambush.
[tense music plays]
Her cubs are counting on her to make a kill.
[tense music continues]
Without her pride to help, it requires all her focus.
[tense music continues]
She must get within striking distance.
[tense music continues]
[screeching]
[suspenseful music plays]
[suspenseful music fades]
Hunting alone is tough…
and her efforts go unrewarded.
[melancholy music plays]
Now she has to return to her babies empty-handed.
[melancholy music continues]
[melancholy music fades]
Back at the den site, she senses something is wrong.
[lion growls]
The cubs are nowhere to be seen.
And there's a strong scent of leopard in the area.
[somber music plays]
[lion growls]
Her calls are increasingly distraught.
[lion growls]
[squealing]
[lion growls]
[uplifting music plays]
After surviving the night alone in the scrub,
the brothers are overjoyed to see their mom.
But Kaya is not with them.
[lion growls]
Her mother is desperate to find her only daughter.
[tense music plays]
[lion growls]
[tense music continues]
[lion growls]
Alone and lost in the wilderness,
Kaya must find her family
before the dangers of nightfall.
[cub whimpers]
[tense music fades]
[uplifting music plays]