Episode Four

Yesterday across this, there was no water.

Look at it now.

The pride is here.

The full spectrum.

And, of course, the cubs.

Narrator: The annual flood has finally arrived.

With the water... Uh-oh.

This is a very risky situation.

Narrator: comes new prey.

♪ And fresh danger.

This feels like a battlefield.

If anything kicks off here, they're going to be in peril.

Man on radio: They're coming.

They're coming.

They're coming.

♪ ♪ Narrator: The Okavango Delta in Botswana.

It's wilderness and it's pure.

Narrator: And it's a stronghold for Africa's big cats-- lion, cheetah, and leopard.

♪ Here, a team of local and international wildlife filmmakers is working together to record the cats' lives like never before.

♪ They'll follow individual big cats for 6 months... Man: Gotten wildly out of control.

Camp could burn down.

Narrator: battling the elements...

It's desperate times.

It's hostile, dry, and harsh.

Narrator: to capture the cats' behavior.

Buchanan: Holy moly.

Lions are scattering Narrator: 24 hours a day.

Welcome to the Okavango Delta.

It gets crazy.

♪ ♪ Look at the birds.

Look at the stork.

♪ From a completely sober atmosphere to a burst into life.

♪ There they are.

Narrator: Vianet is following the Xudum Pride's mothers and cubs as the flood transforms their home.

[Birds calling] Djenguet: That's Mathata right there.

♪ Narrator: At 7 months old, Mathata is the eldest cub.

Mathata, he sees me.

He knows who I am.

Ha ha!

I have developed quite a soft spot for Mathata.

♪ He's so bold.

He's always up for it.

He's very playful.

♪ Mathata in Congo-Brazzaville, where I come from, means trouble.

♪ Narrator: 8 weeks older than the other cubs...

He's so much bigger.

Look at his belly.

Narrator: Mathata needs to eat at least 10% of his body weight every day.

Djenguet: He has reached that sort of age where he's started to be very inquisitive about anything that he can eat.

Look at the distance he's left his mother.

♪ Narrator: The first two years of a lion's life are its most vulnerable.

♪ Djenguet: Oh, Mathata.

♪ Narrator: Only one in 5 cubs survive to adulthood.

♪ Look, he's going.

♪ He will drag his siblings or his mate into danger.

Narrator: Mathata's first flood is going to be a steep learning curve.

♪ The big cats team is working in a 150-square-mile area of the Okavango Delta.

♪ Trillions of gallons of rainwater are now flowing into the delta from the north... ♪ bringing in animals from miles around.

♪ Narrator: And one arrival is going to change everything for the Xudum Pride.

♪ I can see the big herd of buffalo.

♪ I'm gonna get the drone up.

♪ Wow.

We just have not seen this number of animals together since being in the delta, so it is really something special.

♪ Narrator: As the water pours in, it draws thousands of Cape Buffalo to the delta's floodplains.

♪ Oh, our lions are going to be licking their lips when they see this.

♪ Narrator: Weighing nearly a ton, one buffalo could feed the mothers and cubs for a week.

♪ These are some of the most dangerous African mammals.

They are formidable.

[Buffalo snorting] Even a solitary buffalo could seriously hurt or even kill a lion.

Not only are they absolutely huge, they also have safety in numbers.

♪ Narrator: To hunt this new prey, the lions must be careful, especially with inexperienced cubs around like Mathata.

♪ It's going to be a real challenge for our lions to take down any of these.

It's almost like unlocking a new level on your video game.

♪ The buffalo have entered the game.

♪ Narrator: To the north... Djenguet: All the cubs are walking with purpose with the mothers towards the buffaloes.

Narrator: The lions are approaching another huge herd.

♪ Schulte To Brinke: Could be about 100.

Actually, a few more buffalo than I thought here.

Narrator: Vianet, Rea, and Sets are following the action.

Nthomiwa: Buffaloes are a good prize for lions.

It ranks up there in one of their favorite meals.

But getting a buffalo comes at a great cost because a buffalo puts up a fight.

They have dangerous horns, so they really need to be cautious when approaching the buffalo herd.

♪ Djenguet: The lionesses, they have to play very careful here.

Simply because they've got cubs.

Man on radio: All the lions are moving up from this grass.

Djenguet: The posture they're taking right now is literally saying that we're going for it.

Man on radio: These cubs are close.

♪ Nthomiwa: Mathata is here.

He's trying to get a go at the buffalo, which is quite risky.

This is how they learn to hone their skill.

Like seeing the moms in action.

♪ Schulte To Brinke: I can see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 cubs.

5 cubs are having a little staredown with the buff.

♪ What they should do is eventually fall back.

I'm actually pretty surprised how close they are to the buffalo right now.

It's dangerous.

If the buffalo were to charge, you wonder if the cubs will get away in time.

♪ Djenguet: As soon as they break, one of them from the herd is when they're going to pounce.

♪ Lion incoming.

♪ Heart is beating.

♪ Schulte To Brinke: The buffalo are just charging to the lions here.

Oh.

Very close to the cubs.

The cubs are scattering.

♪ Oh, it doesn't even come.

♪ Got the buffalo again with another charge.

♪ Djenguet: The prey is chasing the predator.

♪ Schulte To Brinke: 1, 2, 3, 4 cubs.

♪ Super close to Mathata.

♪ Oh, baby.

♪ Nthomiwa: The buffalo have pushed off the lions.

The lions have waved the flag of defeat.

♪ Djenguet: It's tough out here.

♪ Narrator: It's a lucky escape for Mathata.

♪ Buffaloes are too big for them to get involved with.

♪ Narrator: But the pride hasn't eaten in days.

♪ With more buffalo arriving, the danger to the cubs is building.

♪ Bestelink: Heading out to go and find Xudum.

Narrator: Leopard specialists Brad and Tristen are looking for their favorite cat.

She's the prominent female leopard that lives opposite our camp, and I haven't seen her for quite a while, so, quite excited to get back on her trail.

♪ Woodward: Is that a leopard?

Uh, it is a leopard.

All right.

OK, cool.

We're in business.

♪ Uh, Brad, Brad, Brad for Tristen.

I've got a leopard, uh, just off the camp west of the hippo pool.

OK.

Copy.

Tristen: This is very, very, very promising stuff for so early in the morning.

♪ Yeah, it's definitely Xudum.

♪ Narrator: 3 months ago, the team witnessed Xudum mating with an unknown male leopard.

Woodward: She got up and turned around, and you could just see a little bit of a bulge.

♪ See something there.

♪ See?

That's...interesting.

♪ She is pregnant from that mating.

It's like next week.

♪ Narrator: Xudum has had cubs once before, but they didn't survive.

♪ Bestelink: If she's going to have a cub, I'd love to get an idea of where she's hanging out.

I want to see her moving around a little bit.

I don't want to see her start looking for dens.

♪ I wonder where we're going now.

♪ Looks like she might be on a territorial mission today.

Oh.

♪ Woodward: She's just really trying to nail down the heart of her territory and make sure it's all safe before she drops.

This behavior that we're seeing now really seems to tie in with all of that.

♪ Narrator: Leopards regularly scent mark to communicate with other cats.

♪ Let's hit the road.

♪ She just darted into the long grass.

♪ Just looks like Xudum's really reacting in a territorial sense to the presence of other cats in the area.

Narrator: Fresh markings help secure her borders.

Woodward: Kind of just doing her due diligence before she goes denning.

♪ She's in one of her favorite trees.

Close to home, close to camp.

♪ I would have put money on the fact that Xudum would den very, very close to our camp.

It's where she was born.

You know, this is really the center of her world.

♪ This feeling, like she's kind of coming home and she's becoming more immobilized for this process if she's about to give birth.

♪ She's smelling, she's advertising, she's making the statement, really.

This is my place.

This is my ideal.

♪ Schulte To Brinke: So much game now all around us with the arrival of the flood.

♪ Narrator: Rea is joining Anna... ♪ What?

Narrator: who has some exciting news.

♪ Dimitriadis: No way!

I've actually found a cheetah.

♪ Rea, Rea, for Anna.

You will not believe this, but I have finally found a cheetah.

It's like a young male.

Really small.

I don't think it's one that I've seen before.

Schulte To Brinke on radio: If it's a young male, could be Mushimani, or Mushi.

It means little boy.

Oh, that's really cute.

♪ He's on the move.

He's on the move.

He's going south.

♪ Schulte To Brinke: It was definitely Mushi over here.

He's, like, between two to 3 years old, so he could have just recently departed from his mum.

Dimitriadis: Amazing how much energy he's got, and he is clearly hungry because he's not resting as much as I would expect him to.

♪ There's no question about whether he's hungry or not.

He is definitely hungry.

♪ Narrator: Young males need to eat every two to 3 days.

♪ Oh.

You really see how skinny he is right now.

♪ Narrator: The flood is drawing plenty of prey in... Schulte To Brinke: There's a couple of lechwe just here on the flood plain where Mushi is heading to.

Narrator: but it's making it hard for cheetahs to catch it.

♪ Lechwe on the water.

♪ And there's no way he's getting them.

♪ Narrator: Lechwe are wetlands specialists.

They're the fastest antelopes in water.

♪ Mushi must be patient if he's going to catch a meal.

♪ Narrator: With the flood drawing thousands of buffalo into the area... ♪ Narrator: Gordon and Sets are given a stark illustration of just how dangerous this new prey can be.

Nthomiwa: Gonna put the drone up.

♪ He's looking in a bad way.

A really bad way.

♪ OK. How are you, boy?

♪ Looks as if he's taking his last breath.

♪ Can still see him moving a little bit.

I think it's such a beautiful face.

He just looks like a cub.

One thing's for sure is he is not of the Xudum Pride.

Buchanan: This guy, he's only a youngster, but he has got a story to tell.

Sad to see a youngster like this not just on his own, but in a really bad way.

[On radio] He is as skinny as skinny could be.

Yeah, it looks like he hasn't eaten in a while.

Yeah, from where I'm sitting, he just looks like a bag of bones.

The situation like this, you can learn about lions.

If they don't make the right decisions, this is how they could end up.

♪ Gosh.

♪ It seems like the elephant has caught wind of the lion, but he is oblivious.

He doesn't know he's being approached by these 3 elephants.

♪ He is fast asleep.

♪ Oh, he's spotted them now.

♪ He has spotted them now.

♪ Oh.

Poor guy.

Look at him.

Oh, he can't even use his leg.

Oh, my goodness me.

Oh, there's hardly anything of him.

♪ And that's not a cut, a scratch, or a bite.

So, stamped by or kicked by a buffalo.

♪ Is catastrophic for this lion.

♪ That's a leg that's completely out of action.

♪ Poor boy.

It's heartbreaking.

♪ Narrator: Young male cheetah Mushi... Dimitriadis: Rea, have you got, like, a general direction that he's looking in?

Narrator: is still hunting for a meal.

Schulte To Brinke: He's looking back where he came from.

♪ Dimitriadis: He's definitely looking hungry and like he's going to go for something.

♪ It is such a shame that the majority of the prey around is quite large.

So I think he's going to have to really focus on the smaller prey items.

All it takes is for one lechwe or for one impala to wander in front of him, and it's got a good chance of getting it.

This could be his spot right here on this open floodplain.

♪ Oh, I can see a young lechwe in there that's much smaller than the others.

♪ Narrator: On dry land, cheetahs are almost twice as fast as lechwes.

♪ Well, I reckon that's going to be his target.

♪ Narrator: But the flood levels the playing field.

♪ Dimitriadis: I reckon there is about 150 meters between him and the lechwe, and there's a really big body of water behind them as well.

♪ So he's going to have to get to them before they get to the water, because once they're in the water, they definitely have the advantage.

♪ He's gone.

♪ Ooh.

Those lechwe have just bolted for water.

Oh.

♪ Oh.

He's missed.

♪ That was a real close one.

♪ Oh.

I honestly thought that that was going to be a successful hunt.

♪ We've got to remember that Mushi's really young.

It's not been long since he left his mom, but every one of those failed attempts is a learning experience.

And cheetahs have a really steep learning curve.

♪ It was a really good attempt, but he's going to need to do a little bit better next time.

♪ [Djenguet laughs] It's just so beautiful.

Narrator: Vianet is with Mathata and some of the family.

♪ Djenguet: Mathata is on top of the fallen tree.

He's playing the king of the castle with other cubs.

♪ Look--he's blocking everybody else.

♪ So cute.

♪ It's just coming up to sunset now.

♪ Narrator: As night falls, Vianet switches to the thermal imaging camera.

♪ Something caught their attention, and I'm wondering whether they want to hunt.

Some mothers go and hunt.

Some stay and look after the cubs.

♪ Dimitriadis: Gordon, Gordon, do you copy?

-Go ahead.

-3 lionesses appear to be actively hunting.

Buchanan: Roger, roger.

[Engine starts] ♪ Narrator: Vianet is sticking with the baby-sitters and cubs.

♪ Buchanan: This is a formidable trio.

♪ Narrator: Gordon starts tracking the hunting lionesses.

Buchanan: They are the hunting elite.

♪ At the moment, all of these lions, they're kind of holding a kind of constant path.

They're heading straight towards the floodplain.

♪ I think there might be a whole flood of buffalo.

♪ Oh, my word.

Possibly the biggest herd that I've seen.

♪ Narrator: Without the cubs getting in the way... ♪ Holy moly.

♪ Narrator: the lionesses are hunting with more focus.

♪ Buchanan: There's a lot of horns.

[Engine starts] Man alive.

♪ Things could change very quickly.

Narrator: But the buffalo are not backing down.

♪ Oh, man.

Every time a lion runs, the buffalo chases.

♪ Big boo!

Coming in.

Lions are scattering.

[Buffalo snorts] ♪ Super close.

♪ That's not how it's supposed to be.

It seems that this plan... it hasn't worked out.

♪ Narrator: The hunting party is returning empty-handed.

♪ Buchanan: Lions are tough and lions can put up with food scarcity and they can go hungry for a very, very long time.

Cubs can't.

♪ Narrator: Mathata and his siblings haven't had meat for days.

♪ Djenguet: Really want to get some miracle right now.

Narrator: But with so many aggressive buffalo close by... Djenguet: it looks like the mothers are on the move.

♪ Narrator: The females are moving the cubs to a safer location.

♪ Determined to find food... Buchanan: OK. Narrator: the hunting party splits off again in search of more prey.

♪ Buchanan: Guys walking straight towards those lechwe.

♪ This is when things get potentially very interesting.

My goodness.

Somebody's going wide.

In position.

Narrator: Lechwe typically use water for safety.

The lechwe doesn't know that the lion's there.

♪ Narrator: But these lions have a strategy that Gordon has never seen before.

♪ Baby, baby, baby.

♪ She is creeping through that water.

Narrator: They're hunting in water.

♪ Buchanan: Doesn't want to make a sound, make a mistake.

♪ One is right in the deep water.

My goodness, look at that.

♪ These lions really are clever.

♪ Hunting lechwe in water.

Especially at nighttime.

I mean, this is just amazing.

♪ That is real skill and strategy here.

♪ Whoa!

Running.

♪ Oh, my goodness, they're running straight towards her.

♪ Come on, girl.

Is there something you can do?

♪ Oh, right over her head.

♪ Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

♪ Oh, you are so unlucky.

♪ It hasn't worked out.

That was an amazing, amazing dash.

Hard luck, ladies.

This is...ah, just truly extraordinary aquatic lion.

♪ Narrator: The lions may have missed out on a kill during the night, but the area's most elusive big cat has had better luck.

Schulte To Brinke: Anna, Anna, [indistinct] do you copy?

What's that for Anna, Rea?

Schulte To Brinke: You will not believe that I'm just here close to Cheetah Pan and I've got a very full stomach Mushi.

Dimitriadis: No way.

♪ Well, I'm glad that he has had a meal, but I'm also slightly gutted that we missed that.

Um, I'm gonna come and have a look at him.

♪ Oh, Mushi.

♪ Mushi's got a massive belly.

Oh, Mushi.

♪ Narrator: A male cheetah can eat up to 30 pounds of meat in one sitting.

Hey, Rea.

I can't believe it.

What's the chances of that?

♪ Dimitriadis: I know, though.

His belly's very full.

It kind of looks quite freshly full.

Could have hunted this morning, I guess.

♪ Oh, he's got blood on his nose.

Schulte To Brinke: Huh.

Then yeah, maybe, yeah.

Then it is from today.

♪ Dimitriadis: He's clearly very clever, and he knows what he's doing.

What a little dude.

Schulte To Brinke: He just came down from the termite mound.

He's in the shade there.

I think his plan for the rest of the day is just relax.

♪ Dimitriadis: I know he's just a young boy, but I'm thinking we should have given him a little bit more credit.

Clearly.

I mean, the evidence is there with his massive stomach.

♪ I think he's got a pretty bright future.

Schulte To Brinke: A really bright future and a really big belly.

Yeah.

Narrator: Greg is with the Xudum Pride and a large herd of buffalo.

Hartman: If there was ever a place that I wouldn't want to be as a lion, it's here, stuck between all of those buffaloes and a big river channel.

♪ Despite the fact that buffalo is a food for the lions, they're also very much foe.

♪ But the stakes are even higher now with the cubs here.

♪ A lot of the big bulls and more aggressive buffaloes are at the front here, which is not good.

If they can get their hooves on a cub, there's going to be problems.

♪ Narrator: The lions still haven't eaten, and now they're the ones being challenged.

♪ Hartman: Imagine what Mathata feels like right now looking at that.

♪ Lionesses have made their way with the cubs right onto the water's edge.

They have nowhere to go.

♪ Narrator: Dominant pride male Big Toe moves in to slow the buffalo advance.

Hartman: Big Toe has parked himself off right in between the buffalo and the rest of the pride.

He's trying to hold his ground here.

Uh-oh.

♪ Narrator: But the buffalo have the upper hand.

♪ Hartman: You almost squashed Mathata.

♪ Narrator: Okavango lions are capable swimmers.

But this is Mathata and the cubs' first flood.

♪ They've never had to swim before.

♪ Hartman: The cubs are panicking.

♪ Can easily attract crocodiles.

♪ The lionesses are hesitating.

They don't want to get into deep water.

[Growling] ♪ They're swimming after them.

♪ Two of the mums are with the cubs.

♪ Even a big lion like him is vulnerable to crocodiles.

♪ They're still in deep water now.

Still deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep.

♪ Yo!

That was close.

♪ They've made it across to this side of the channel.

♪ Oh, that was too much.

Oh, that's amazing.

Narrator: With the lions in retreat, the buffalo are leaving.

Hartman: Their point has been proven.

That was insane.

Ah.

You can see that everybody is just so pleased that we're all safe and sound and across the channel.

♪ Narrator: Mathata has survived his closest call yet, but he's still without a meal.

Hartman: He doesn't look like a cat that's just had a run-in with buffaloes and crocodiles.

♪ It's danger every day for these cubs.

♪ But look at them now.

♪ All's well that ends well, huh?

♪ Narrator: With floodwater changing the cats' behavior... ♪ Vianet is setting up camera traps... ♪ Such a warm day.

♪ Narrator: to find out who's visiting camp during the night.

♪ I've been hearing a lot of rustling around this section here.

Narrator: Triggered by movement, these cameras will capture any activity after dark.

♪ Djenguet: Let's see what we got.

♪ Oh.

♪ Ooh, ooh.

What have we got here?

♪ Hippopotamus.

[Laughs] The amount of traffic you get every night is unbelievable.

Oh!

♪ Oh!

You see that?

♪ Wow.

♪ They're so close to the mess tent.

♪ Leopard, leopard, leopard.

♪ That's Xudum.

Narrator: Brad's suspicions that Xudum, the pregnant female leopard, will give birth near camp are looking promising.

Djenguet: I've got Xudum the leopard prowling beneath my cabin.

I'm not sure I'm going to sleep tonight.

[Insects chirping] [Bird squawking] ♪ Narrator: Sure enough... at first light, Xudum is found nearby.

♪ Woodward: Hey, girl.

How are you doing?

Narrator: With the birth of her cubs imminent, Brad and Tristen are following her every move.

♪ Woodward: Come say hello to us.

♪ She's definitely very relaxed with us.

I mean, it's of her own free will in her own domain.

And, you know, it's a very, very beautiful thing to happen.

♪ Random one.

There's a leopard in the middle of the floodplain moving through the water.

Narrator: But only 500 yards from Xudum...

So weird.

Narrator: Greg spots something unusual.

♪ Broad daylight, and there's a leopard just--ha!--walking through the water.

♪ Man on radio: [Indistinct], Greg, you're gonna go for it.

Yeah, I'm on it.

♪ Dimitriadis: If you need any backup with that leopard, just let me know.

I'm not far from you.

Narrator: Anna's joining Greg with the drone.

♪ Hartman: If you ask anyone, oh, yeah, leopards moving through water at noon, why would a leopard be moving around now?

♪ Not something you see very often.

♪ This is Metsi, the young male leopard we've seen around a few times of late, actually.

I wonder what he's up to.

He's been paying so much attention to the smell of something underneath where he's been walking.

♪ He could be sniffing around and smelling Xudum, actually.

That's a possibility.

Narrator: Metsi's nose is leading him closer to Xudum.

♪ Dimitriadis: Oh, there he is.

Wow.

So camouflaged.

♪ Hartman: What he might be smelling is her scent.

Considering that she's in a sausage tree only about 200 meters, 300 meters south of us.

Really unlucky for Xudum then at the moment, because we've got a flood coming in.

It's pushing males onto these islands in higher densities.

♪ Which is a challenge.

♪ Especially, you know, with potential cubs on the way.

♪ Any male leopard who finds cubs that are not his is very likely to kill them.

Yeah, we don't want him sniffing around after Xudum.

♪ He looks beautiful, but he is also sinister.

♪ Narrator: Luckily for Xudum, Metsi is picking up the scent of something else.

♪ Dimitriadis: Those lechwe cottoned on that something's not quite right.

♪ He's hunting.

♪ Trying to pick up on lechwe lambs.

♪ A young lechwe lamb would be perfect for him.

♪ The big leopard wouldn't want to be so obvious.

And Metsi is, I don't even think a leopard could get more obvious.

♪ Amazing, amazing.

I've never seen a leopard hunting like this before.

♪ Whoa.

♪ Here's a female lechwe that has just followed this leopard onto an island, so I can't think of another reason why she would be following him other than to protect her baby.

Narrator: Female lechwe hide their young after birth.

She's not happy with him going in there.

♪ Just the fact that the lechwe is reacting like this tells me that her baby is in there.

Narrator: The lamb is stashed in deep vegetation to keep it safe.

♪ Hopefully for the baby, it's by the elephants, because I don't think Metsi is going to want to get too close to the elephants.

♪ Narrator: It's too well hidden and Metsi gives up.

♪ Hartman: Oh.

That's a surprise.

You've climbed the tree.

♪ Narrator: Metsi's no threat to Xudum right now.

But Brad has recently seen other male leopards straying into her territory.

There's a lot of male activity.

We're on 11 males in this area.

Identified males.

Narrator: Xudum is searching the area.

Bestelink: It's not a good sign.

Narrator: Covering more than 6 square miles... ♪ Woodward: It's going from bush to bush, sniffing, looking, being very delicate Narrator: To find the safest spot to keep her vulnerable, new cubs hidden.

♪ This is exactly the thick cover type of area that she would be looking to den in.

♪ Woodward: She's definitely looking at den sites here.

♪ Bestelink: She marched very deliberately to this one... and disappeared inside and she hasn't emerged yet.

♪ Disappeared into a really thick blue bush forest.

And she was very deliberate about it.

♪ It could be a den site.

It's a nice structure in it and it's well hidden and she's got good access in and out of here.

♪ Narrator: If this is the den site, Xudum's cubs will arrive any day.

♪ Bestelink: I mean, it's a little too early to say for definite.

♪ Narrator: But the threat of male leopards still looms.

♪ Buchanan: OK.

This is the biggest gathering of the pride that I've seen at nighttime.

Narrator: Gordon is back on the nightshift with the lions.

♪ We've got 8 lionesses.

We've got Mathata and the rest of the gang.

So this is...a big hunting party.

They're definitely very, very focused.

[Engine starts] ♪ All of the cats have suddenly got up and moved.

They have seen or heard something.

♪ Oh, my goodness.

I've got a little herd of buffalo up ahead.

♪ And there is...5 of them.

♪ Could be more.

Yeah, there's more coming.

More behind.

♪ Narrator: Such a big hunting party could finally provide a meal for the cubs.

♪ Buchanan: And there is a big, a big risk that these cubs bombing about the place, making a lot of noise, could ruin things.

Narrator: Mathata and his siblings need to stay out of the way.

♪ Buchanan: Not a single one of these lions can make a mistake.

♪ Somebody's running.

♪ Whoa, we're really close.

♪ We've got subadult males.

And on this hunt, it's good to have a bit of muscle.

♪ [Buffalo snorting] ♪ Oh, this might be it.

♪ [Buffalo snorting] Buffalo spotted them.

♪ Buffalo's chasing them.

♪ Lions running towards the buffalo.

♪ OK, they've cornered it.

♪ OK. Running.

♪ Oh, they got it.

They got it.

Oh, no.

Have they?

♪ [Engine starts] Then round.

♪ Oh!

Run right past me.

Where is it?

Where is it?

Where is it?

[Lions growling] Oh, man, that is a pile on.

It's all over.

So we've got whole herd of buffalo.

This one just made the mistake of splitting away from the herd.

And with this many lions around, you know, they really don't.

It didn't stand a chance.

Narrator: It's taken nearly the whole pride, but the lions finally have their ultimate prize.

This is quite something for these cubs.

♪ Mathata is getting his much-needed meal.

♪ Buchanan: They are just clambering over this mountain, is this dead buffalo.

So you're talking about life experiences for a lion cub.

♪ This is a moment to remember.

♪ I had a funny feeling about tonight.

I had a good feeling.

♪ Narrator: Vianet is joining Mathata and the triumphant lions.

♪ Djenguet: I love mornings like this.

I just love mornings like this.

♪ In 4 hours, they smashed through this buffalo.

♪ Something's moving inside it.

♪ And I'm wondering what that is.

♪ Oh.

This is so good for the cubs.

♪ Buffalo is the best you can get.

♪ Narrator: All this prey will fuel Mathata's latest growth spurt.

♪ They've pretty much finished it.

Now look at their bellies.

They look so full now.

♪ Narrator: He's expected to double in size in the coming months, so he needs to make the most of this food supply while it lasts.

♪ Djenguet: I'd want to see you grow strong.

Strong, strong, strong, Mathata.

♪ Narrator: But the flood will soon dry up.

♪ The buffalo will leave... and Mathata will face his next challenge.

♪ Djenguet: When I first met him, he lived up to his name, Mathata...which means trouble.

But now he has developed so much into this sort of confident and calm young man.

♪ He's boisterous.

Very protective.

All his beautiful characters I expect to see from a future king of the savannah.

♪ ♪ "Big Cats 24/7" is available with PBS Passport and on Amazon Prime Video ♪