I think today's the hottest day we've had. It is brutal.
I am so sweaty and so smelly.
And unfortunately, the lions have chosen the one piece of shade
in this entire plain, so we've got to sit out in the sun.
(SIGHS)
But all this waiting, you have to remember,
if it was easy to see and film,
it wouldn't be nearly as exciting when it all kicks off.
And this lot...
are all asleep.
Guys, the lions are up! The lions are up! The...
(BLEEP)
-(THEME MUSIC BEGINS) -You ready?
BERTIE: I'm Bertie.
Filming animals is my job.
That is not a chase you see every day.
BERTIE: And I take it really seriously.
Look, I'm trying to film penguins.
-(ROARS) -Oh, and I've missed it!
Well, that was quite close.
BERTIE: I want to tell wildlife stories in a rapidly changing world.
That sounded like a big crack!
(GASPS)
BERTIE: These are my adventures.
(THEME MUSIC ENDS)
BERTIE: I'm traveling from my home in England
to South Luangwa National Park,
deep in the heart of Zambia.
It's one of Africa's last great lion strongholds.
Whoo! Well, here we go!
The sun's just peaking up above the horizon.
We're on our way to the Luangwa River, which we're hoping
is going to be the scene for an epic battle between two gladiators.
BERTIE: There are over thirty lion prides here
and thousands of buffalo.
And the thing that makes me most excited and most nervous
is that the animals don't read the script, so I have no idea what's in store for us.
BERTIE: To make it even tougher, I'm also up against time.
I've got just thirty days.
Well, it's taken a lot of planning and preparation to get to this stage,
but we've now got a month to find and film these lions.
Let's do this!
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
BERTIE: I've got a crack team to help me,
and so far, our timing looks perfect.
It hasn't rained here for six months,
so the river's the only lifeline for the thirsty lions and the buffalo.
If we can find a spot where they meet, we are in business.
This drone will be my eye in the sky.
It's great for filming and can also help us
scout the river without disturbing the animals.
I haven't found the lions or the buffalo.
But one thing I have found is a lot of everything else.
There's loads of impala, and there's elephants,
and they're all coming down to the river to drink.
You know, all these animals at this time of year,
all their lives revolve around coming to the river.
It's like a big magnet. It's the only place they can get water.
BERTIE: But the wet season is coming, and once the rains return,
animals won't need to visit this river anymore.
We need to find the lions and buff while it's still their focal point.
There's one hundred and twenty miles of river in this park alone.
So I'm gonna pick a five-mile stretch to comb first.
It must have lots of big beaches
where buffalo can drink,
as well as some tree cover
so lions can hide.
But this land is hostile and seems determined to mess up our plans.
First, it's the thorns...
We've got a puncture, so we're just changing it
as fast as we can. I say "we," that's the royal "we."
Kevin's doing all the work, I'm just watching.
BERTIE: Then it's the insects.
We've got a bit of a bee problem.
Anyone for a drink?
I've also just realized these aren't any bees,
these are African killer bees.
BERTIE: And it doesn't help that I'm easily distracted.
It's always important to remember to look up.
Lions aren't the only big cats here. Check out this leopard.
BERTIE: With surprises around every corner.
(CHUCKLES)
A bit of hippo traffic.
BERTIE: This search for the lions is taking a lot longer than I thought.
But we are picking up clues.
Ah! That's a good sign. Some lion tracks.
You see the big, wide hippo prints,
and then...
Where are we looking? Here we go.
Oh, that's a good one.
Big lion print just there.
You can see the toes
and the back pad,
and they're heading that way.
So we're in the right place, going the right direction,
so we need to get back in the car and go find them quick.
BERTIE: Those lion tracks have got my pulse racing.
We're looking for a pride big enough to take on buffalo,
and after six days of searching,
we have hit the jackpot.
(WHISPERS) That's a lot of lions.
I think we've found our pride.
(CHUCKLES QUIETLY)
They're just hanging out under this nice tree in the shade.
There's at least one sub-adult,
but we've also got a lot of big, burly females in their hunting prime.
They look like a bunch of beat-up prizefighters.
The closer I look, the more I can see all their little characters and quirks.
That bruiser in the middle with that scar by her mouth,
I'm gonna call her Lip.
I bet she's seen some buffalo action.
(ANIMAL ROARS)
Do you hear that?
(ROARING CONTINUES)
(WHISPERS) There's another lion over there, I can hear it calling.
Which they only do
if they've got cubs or to find other pride members.
(ROARING CONTINUES)
Oh, here we go. Here we go.
(CUBS GROWLING)
Okay. Nice and still, everyone.
Oh, man, they are so cute.
You can see the other members of the pride are like,
"What on Earth are those?"
Lip's seen it all before.
I reckon she's the cubs' aunt.
And with three more mouths to feed,
this family definitely has an incentive to hunt buffalo.
BERTIE: It's hard to tear myself away,
but we need to test the tech and finalize the plan.
I can feel the rains coming, so there's no time to lose.
I'm gonna hook up with Sam, the other cameraman,
and put my ideas to the test.
When lions hunt, they work as a team, so we'll need to do the same.
To capture the action, we'll need to shoot it
from multiple angles like a live sports match.
Sam's camera has crazy advanced stabilization,
so he can film a hunt even whilst moving over bumpy ground.
-It's a great spot. It's like a stage. -Yeah.
Here you go.
BERTIE: We'll be teaming up in a way that's never been done before,
and my secret weapon's the drone.
Okay. Rock and roll. Here we go.
This is some of the most challenging flying I have ever done.
But the drone is still quieter and way more agile than our two-ton trucks.
COLIN: How far across are they, Bert?
BERTIE: They're across that gully.
Okay. We'll stay this side, you go that side.
BERTIE: With the lions on the move, this is a great rehearsal.
It's a really scary line to fly with the drone,
but it looks so cool.
And then Sam is over tracking alongside them,
getting the foreground trees ripping past.
Whoa! There's Lip.
Man, she is one powerful cat.
And she has got a lot of backup.
Okay. I've got, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
There are so many mouths to feed.
I guess that's why these guys are going for buffalo
and not smaller prey
because they just need so much food to sustain the pride of that size.
But... (EXHALES) ...they are...
they're seriously impressive.
BERTIE: Okay. We've found the perfect pride.
It's time to weigh up our options.
The lions have a nice, cool ebony grove to hide in,
with a clear view of the river so they can ambush thirsty prey.
But we still need to find the buffalo.
There's an area north of here that we haven't checked out yet,
and it looks promising, so that's where we're heading next.
(RADIO BEEPS)
MALE VOICE 1: (OVER RADIO) All right, you guys are all set?
MALE VOICE 2: (OVER RADIO) Yeah, I'm just concerned
when George is ready.
BERTIE: That looks, um... looks pretty good.
(MALE VOICE SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY OVER RADIO)
There's a big herd of buffalo.
MALE VOICE 1: (OVER RADIO) Copy that.
This is even better than I thought.
Gonna chuck the drone up
and get a sense of just how big this herd is.
Whoa!
The herd is huge.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
BERTIE: Look at that, they just keep on coming.
And from up here, I can see them in a whole different way.
They're cohesive.
There's an order to what they're doing.
And they're protecting their most vulnerable calves,
look, right there in the middle.
And then out front, they're the pathfinders guiding the herd.
I bet they've seen a few lion ambushes in their time.
(MUSIC FADES)
When you look at this wall of black and horns,
it doesn't look like...
a bunch of grass-eating herbivores.
It looks like an army...
marching to battle.
BERTIE: They're such big animals.
The biggest males can be fifteen hundred pounds.
But they're also strong enough for them to be able to throw
-a fully-grown lion 10 foot into the air. -(BUFFALO GROANS)
This is what we came here to see, this is our other gladiator.
And if we can be in the right place at the right time,
this is gonna be...
one heck of a showdown.
BERTIE: So, I've now got a fix on both predator and prey,
I can work on my master plan.
These buffalo are still five miles from the lions at Ebony Grove,
but they're heading in the right direction,
so there's a good chance they'll meet.
But it's the lions that will call all the shots,
so I'm gonna stick with them.
It's time to play...
the waiting game.
Each day is getting hotter and more humid.
These rains are... (BREATHES HEAVILY)
They're on the way.
And if they come early, animals won't need to visit this river,
and it is game over.
I think today's the hottest day we've had.
(TIMER DINGS)
It is brutal.
I am so sweaty and so smelly.
And unfortunately, the lions have chosen the one piece of shade
in this entire plain,
so we've got to sit out in the sun.
But all this waiting, you have to remember,
is gonna make...
the dramatic action even more special to witness.
If it was easy to do, if it was easy to see and film,
it wouldn't be nearly as exciting when it all kicks off,
if it all kicks off. (CHUCKLES)
Right now,
it's hard to believe that anything is going to happen.
And this lot...
are all asleep.
BERTIE: Well, if I can't get the lions to move,
maybe I can give the crew a bit of a wake-up call.
Guys, the lions are up! The lions are up! The...
(LAUGHS)
ADRIAN: Oh... (BLEEP)
BERTIE: Okay. That was a bit cruel, but at least we're ready
to spring into action now.
Okay. Stop here, stop here. That's a baboon alarm call.
Well, it's spotted the lions,
-and now it's telling... -(SCREECHES)
...everyone about it.
There's a group of impala coming.
Oh, that impala has clocked them.
And now it's alarm calling.
(SNORTING)
(IMPALA CALLING)
BERTIE: It's mad, the impala know that the lions are there,
they've been alarm calling, but they're still walking towards them.
They're so drawn to the water. They need that water so much
that they're willing to walk towards a bunch of lions that they know are there.
They're still walking.
Surely, the lions are going to go now. Surely.
Why did those lions not go?
There's just tons of impala just blasting in front of them.
I'm gonna switch to the drone.
(DRONE BUZZING)
BERTIE: Ooh! I've got a mum and calf.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
Yeah. Lip's spotted them.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
BERTIE: Okay... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
(MUSIC ENDS)
BERTIE: Well, that wasn't quite the epic buffalo hunt we came for,
but I've learned lots.
I could see all these impala
just streaming past in front of it, and I was thinking,
"Why aren't they going? Why aren't they going?"
The moment that the mother and baby turned up,
the lions all of a sudden, they went, "Okay. There's our target."
And it didn't look like it was a very difficult thing to catch.
And, you know, a baby impala is barely a snack for these lionesses.
They will definitely hunt again soon.
BERTIE: There's water on three sides of Ebony Grove. That's their bait.
But they seem to like this side.
Perhaps because the easterly winds blow their scent away
from the drinking prey.
These lions have got themselves in a really good hunting position.
They're going to be able to see all the animals that come down to drink.
And they're also looking really skinny.
So I think the stage is set.
The impala hunt was over in a flash.
So when the buffalo get here, things will move fast.
We'll need as much warning as possible.
So I'm sending some of the best trackers in the business
back to monitor the big herd.
They're now just three miles from the Ebony Grove.
We can't stray far from the lions.
So while I wait for another update, I'm gonna catch up with the cubs.
Mum is moving them so their scent doesn't build up in one place.
She doesn't want enemies like hyenas finding them.
And she may have brought them here in her mouth,
but now they look eager to explore on their own.
It looks like fun, but all this play makes them way, way stronger.
They're from a family of very ambitious hunters,
so it's useful training too.
(WHISPERS) Mum has brought them all the way down to the river,
so that is great news for us
because that is prime buffalo hunting area.
So the fact that she's brought the cubs here
means this is gonna be the pride's new base.
BERTIE: Now I've got somewhere to stake out,
I can really get to know our lion family.
Ooh. Okay.
Things just got interesting. Now we've got some males in town.
These guys are just so much bigger and more powerful than the females.
(WHISPERING) Every now and again, he turns...
and looks straight at us.
It feels like he's looking into your soul.
BERTIE: These guys will supercharge the pride.
(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS)
BERTIE: No prey is beyond reach.
This could be about to get interesting.
There's a herd of elephants just through...
the edge of the trees there.
Kind of skirting left to right. But if they decide they want to drink,
it could get very interesting.
But at the moment, they're just slowly dawdling.
(ELEPHANTS GROAN)
BERTIE: Ooh! There's a baby, there's a baby.
Lip's playing it cool.
But that baby elephant is definitely a target.
I've seen a lion take an elephant before. This could happen.
Okay. They've turned. They're coming this way.
BERTIE: Whoa. She sounds angry. She's got to have seen them.
(WHISPERS) It's quite hard to keep the camera still
'cause my heart's beating out of my chest.
(ROARING)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
BERTIE: Yeah, those lions have got the message.
(ELEPHANTS TRUMPETING)
BERTIE: They're retreating.
(TRUMPET)
BERTIE: Whoa! Look at that,
that's one of the males! Even the males are being chased off.
It's interesting the dynamics here.
You know, even though the lions are capable of taking down
huge animals like buffalo and even elephants.
It seems like here in the daytime
when there's water involved,
the elephants are in charge.
BERTIE: The elephants have driven the lions away,
but I don't think they'll go far.
I'm heading to one of their favorite hangouts.
I've come down to the beach where the lions have been spending
the last few days down at the river,
but they have gone.
Just when you think you're starting to get in their head,
starting to understand their routine,
they give you a big wake-up call
and go, "No. You have no idea what's going on inside our brains."
And so...
back to square one, really.
BERTIE: The sooner we find them, the better.
A call on the radio says the buffalo are close.
A hunt could happen at any time.
But when they don't want to be found,
lions melt into the landscape.
By the time we find them, it's dusk.
Well, just as we went to leave,
they've all suddenly perked up
and now they're on the move
and they look... so epic.
BERTIE: Whoa! That is Lip. And she has got the whole family with her.
They are ready to rock.
I reckon they can smell those buffalo. They are definitely heading to the river.
If only this was earlier in the day, it'd be perfect.
I'm frustrated because they look like they are on the hunt, so, yeah.
Frustrating we have to leave them. Unfortunately, we can't film in the dark.
BERTIE: I can feel our time
and our chances of filming a hunt slipping away.
And this morning, our prospects look even more bleak.
Well, we've found the lions, but they've already made a kill.
And we think it's a buffalo, so...
too late.
BERTIE: But it's even worse than that.
Sam's team has found a second kill.
This is really good for the lions. It means they get food.
But not only did we miss the hunt,
it also means now they're gonna be full.
So we've got a whole lot of waiting to do again.
BERTIE: My filming strategy needs the pride to be hungry,
but, you know, with two kills in one night,
another hunt is not gonna happen today.
Instead of dwelling on what could've been,
I'm gonna head downriver to catch up with some amazing conservation work.
Lions seem invincible,
but habitat loss, poaching, and trophy hunting
have pushed them to the brink of extinction.
To help protect them, some lions in this park
have collars fitted so that researchers can track them by satellite.
THANDIWE: So, it's good to go.
The two beeps are an indication that it connected successfully
and it should work from now on.
BERTIE: Thandi runs the show.
Being able to regularly find these animals allow us to also protect them
from threats such as, um, snares
that can be quite dangerous and even fatal.
Because as you know, they are very social animals.
Where the lion goes, their pride members will go as well.
So it's one animal with a device like this,
but the benefits extend to the rest of the pride.
BERTIE: They've let me tag along with Dr. Mwamba Sichande
to see why these collars are so important.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Whoa, that's a lot of lions!
So right now, Mwamba and Henry are trying to figure out
which lion they're going to dart to put the collar on.
(WHISPERS) Mwamba made a great shot. It's hit her just above her shoulder.
Mwamba, how long will the dart take to take effect?
Um, five to ten minutes.
BERTIE: The longer this animal is sedated, the greater the risk of complications.
So this team is gonna need to work fast.
Filming lions close-up is one thing.
-Gloves. -Gloves.
BERTIE: But I've never been so close that I need to put gloves on.
We're just checking the fit of the collar,
and I've gotta hold her head up to do that. And her head is really heavy.
BERTIE: By collecting data like DNA, these researchers can work out
how this lion compares to all the others that they've collared.
MWAMBA: 102.1.
So, this is the front claws.
BERTIE: Wow.
MWAMBA: See how big that one is?
-It's like that big! -Yeah, it's massive.
Okay. So, all the teeth look nice.
She's still pretty young and you can see all the teeth look pretty much okay.
So, it's been about forty-three, forty-four minutes since the dart went in.
And I guess we don't want to be here when she wakes up.
-(CHUCKLES) -No, not at all.
Time to go.
BERTIE: The collars have saved 47 lions from snares,
and these lions went on to produce 217 cubs.
You know, now that the adrenaline's wearing off from being so close,
yeah, it makes me think, you know, in a perfect world,
we wouldn't need to put collars on lions.
But one day, this collar may save this lioness's life.
It's a very special thing.
BERTIE: Well, after that,
I'm even more eager to track down our lion pride.
If the big rains come early, we're done.
So I'm really hoping the lions have slept off the effects
of their mega-meal.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
Ooh. The lions are back in hunting mode. They've got missile lock on something.
And they are...
going into that thicket.
(OVER RADIO) Okay. So, we need to get ahead of them
and figure out what they've clocked.
(RADIO BEEPS)
MALE VOICE: (OVER RADIO) Negative, they're just cruising.
-(RADIO BEEPS) -Copy that.
BERTIE: Ooh. You know, the wind's picking up.
Well, the lions have gone from...
hunt mode to "looking for shelter" mode.
They've lost their missile lock on whatever they were hunting.
And, yeah, uh, I think they're gonna go and find a big tree to sit under,
which I think we're going to copy.
BERTIE: Weather apps don't work very well out here,
so I'm sending up the drone for a live update.
Oh, yeah. I can see the wall of water.
I'm coming back. That is terrifying.
BERTIE: You know, I'm used to drizzle. I'm British.
-But... -(THUNDER RUMBLES)
these African storms are something else.
Sports mode engaged, get back here.
MALE VOICE: (OVER RADIO)
KEVIN: You want to film the lions in the rain?
-Yeah, yeah. -KEVIN: That's the objective.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. -KEVIN: Oh, cool. Okay.
BERTIE: Maybe filming lions in a storm is bonkers,
but the cameras are gonna be fine.
I think?
Here comes the rain.
BERTIE: The land cruisers are designed to keep the beating sun off,
not the beating rain.
If this lasts, there's not much more filming we can do.
It's pretty hard to see the bright side, but I'll try.
Seems like the rain might be easing up,
so that's good. I mean,
the ground's so dry that hopefully a lot of the standing water
is just gonna get sucked into the ground.
And it won't be standing so that the buffalo can drink
from it for too long.
In a couple days, hopefully, this will be reset,
it'll be back to dry, and then the buffaloes' movements will be...
thunder... back to normal, but it's definitely a reminder
that the clock's ticking, you know.
We've got to get this before the big rains come,
the proper rains come, and everything changes.
Well, the sun's popped straight back out.
I mean, they seem as relieved as I am that it's no longer burning hot.
That rain's cooled everything down nicely and now...
it's time to relax and play.
BERTIE: These lions don't seem bothered by the rain at all,
but it's gonna make following them so much harder.
Fun and games after the rain.
Ah, it's crazy, just one big but short dump of rain
and the soil goes from being really bumpy and horrible when it's dry
to really slippery and horrible when it's wet. Yeah.
Soon, these roads, with a bit more rain, are gonna be completely impassible.
So even if we know where the buffalo and the lions are,
we're not gonna be able to get to them.
-Isn't that right, Kevin? -Indeed.
BERTIE: I'm glad that storm's moved on,
but I'm not enjoying its bone-shaking legacy.
Two days of sun has baked the soil as hard as clay.
And that makes the search for lions and buffalo even more uncomfortable.
Lovely road, Kevin!
This black cotton soil is just full of these giant holes.
Big elephant and hippo footprints that, now it's dry, have just gone rock-solid.
And they make the worst road in the world to drive over.
BERTIE: The rutted ground is also causing big problems
for the second car with Sam and Adrian.
SAM: Nice.
-If I squeeze them in... -ADRIAN: Yeah.
Yeah, so we've been bouncing around and, in the process,
a screw has fallen out from underneath.
If we leave it as is, we're hanging a half-million-pound camera
off two tiny bolts.
So we are going to have to make a plan and try and brace this up somehow.
Bush style.
BERTIE: One of Sam's old boot laces is better than nothing,
even if it looks a little tatty.
We need to burn these little frayed ends, Sam.
Have you got a lighter or matches or something?
I haven't got a lighter, but I've got a little steel and flint.
BERTIE: Some nearby elephant dung is just the fuel they need.
ADRIAN: So much grass in elephant dung, right?
SAM: Smells really good, actually.
Two guys in the bush using poo to fix a camera.
-Think that's gonna do the trick? -Yeah. That is solid.
BERTIE: I really hope they're up and running soon,
because it's all kicking off down by the river.
The buffalo are here, the lions are here, and the rest of the team isn't.
Adrian to do you copy?
Copy. Go.
BERTIE: (OVER RADIO) We've got buffalo here. Where are you?
We are just coming along Ebony Grove, we've had a technical problem.
Yeah, the buffalo are drinking, get here as quick as you can.
Copy that, getting to you as fast as we can.
Well, this could be the moment we've been waiting for.
The buffalo are on their way in. We've got lions down there.
Weeks of waiting and sweating and...
stress-iness comes down to...
the next 15 minutes, which is quite scary.
BERTIE: Okay, now for the moment of truth.
The lions won't pounce until the buffalo have had a drink.
The buffalo will be much slower then,
with a hundred pounds of water inside them.
Well, this is the best it's looked.
It's going to happen over a big area.
I'm gonna stay here and use the drone while Sam's team moves in closer.
ADRIAN: Copy that. We're nearly there.
Okay, right. I've got the buff, and they are just
at the water's edge drinking.
I'm hoping that the buff are going to come right back past us.
The lions are just at the top of the gully.
We can see two, three, maybe four from here.
Not sure whether you can see more from down there.
Okay. Yeah. We can see a lot of lions here on our side, up to our right.
What are the lions doing?
SAM: (OVER RADIO) The females are getting up
and moving towards the buffalo.
The male is staying put.
KEVIN: The lead female is adult. Second female is adult.
Yeah, it looks like we've got the main hunters here.
BERTIE: (OVER RADIO) Okay, so the buffalo are just finishing up drinking.
The front leaders of the herd are making their way up the beach.
BERTIE: When a lion like Lip walks like that, she intends to kill.
Oh, man. They've got so much swagger.
Look at that giant wall of black they're walking towards,
and they're just like, "Yeah. We're gonna take this on."
Okay. I can see the first horns.
BERTIE: Well, the lions' tactics are working.
Those buffalo have only got one way through.
Whoa! They're taking the fight to the lions. Look at that!
They're charging, they're charging.
(BUFFALO GROANING)
The buffalo are just pouring past the lions.
Oh, buffalo's down, buffalo's down.
They've got it, they've got it, they've got it.
(BUFFALO GRUNTING)
No! They lost it, they lost it, they lost it.
SAM: They're going for another one.
BERTIE: They're going again, two lions on one.
And they're on, they're on, they're on.
This could be game over.
SAM: Ah, it's got away.
How did it get away? It had two lions hanging off it.
One's on a calf, one's on a calf. It's by itself, though.
I can't see any other lions around it. The rest of the herd is coming back.
Ooh! (CHUCKLES)
The lion was right on that buff.
I thought that was game over for that calf,
and the rest of the herd came back and drove the lion off.
The buffalo have turned back.
They're coming up behind the buffalo herd.
Whoa! A lion is putting the burners on.
Ah! The speed!
Oooh!
Just put the brakes on.
(BUFFALO GRUNTING)
BERTIE: The lions have got to be trying to pick out a straggler.
Those buffalo do not like that.
Look at them turn back, look at them turn back on the lions.
Okay. The buffalo, one by one, are coming out, facing the lions.
Lion's nearly got... Ooh! A buffalo nearly got that lion.
(BUFFALO GRUNTING)
Did you see that one get kicked in the face?
I think it might be over. I don't think the lions managed it.
They were so keen, there were so many of them.
Sam, any good, any of that in focus?
I hope it was in focus. That was pretty amazing
to be basically in amongst the herd. How was it from the air?
Yeah. I felt like I was seeing something that I shouldn't be allowed to see.
Unfortunately, they didn't manage to get one.
I'm sweating so much sat in a car.
What it must be like to run after a buffalo, I have no idea.
BERTIE: (OVER RADIO) Why don't you get out the car and try?
-(BOTH CHUCKLE) -Yeah, no.
Yeah. I have been fortunate enough to see lots of different animals
hunting other animals,
and I have never seen a prey animal be so aggressive towards the predator.
I've got the shakes.
BERTIE: Well, that didn't go to plan for the lions,
but it certainly did for us. With just a little bit of luck
and multiple cameras, we captured the fine line
between success and failure.
You know, a misstep from either side could've meant death.
I really didn't expect that buffalo reaction.
Their teamwork more than matched the lions'.
And, you know, on this occasion, they had the upper hand.
That makes me respect our pride even more.
They don't dominate the environment. They don't get it all their own way.
They're in just as much of a struggle as anything else here.
And after spending nearly a month in their company,
I feel nothing but admiration for them.
I just hope they're given the opportunity to thrive.
We've seen lions in this gully before, so we just stopped to check it out.
We heard rustling in the bushes. I thought it was just
the little bee-eaters flying around catching insects.
But I can just see a little tail.
That's not the same set of cubs. Even smaller, even younger.
This one can barely walk,
it's stumbling around.
Oh, wildlife is nuts.
Just when you think you've got it all figured out,
it just throws you another nugget of gold. (CHUCKLES)
You know, everything we've seen here, the lions taking on the buffalo,
these little cubs, the other cubs, it's all made all the more poignant
when you realize that lions are in big trouble across Africa.
You know, there's only about twenty thousand left.
I didn't know this until recently,
that there are less lions than rhinos left in Africa.
You know, I hope that with the amazing people
that we've worked with here, we can avoid lions getting caught in snares,
we can avoid all the other threats that they face.
We've seen, in this protected area, lions will thrive.
They'll have loads of cubs.
They'll continue to take part in the epic battle against the buffalo.
(SQUEAKS)
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
BERTIE: Since we made this film, the signal from the collar
we helped place stopped moving.
Zambian Carnivore Program went to investigate
and found one of the other pride members caught in a wire snare.
She was barely alive.
Because of the collar, they were able to remove the snare
and treat the wounds before setting her free.
(THEME MUSIC ENDS)