LION ROARS
This is Nsefu,
in the heart of Zambia,,,
,,part of a national park
on the banks of the Luangwa River,
HIGH-PITCHED YELPING
Here, for five years,
we've been following the remarkable story
of four rival families,
They're all striving to make this place a home,,,
,,but this is a land full of challenges,
THUNDER CRACKS
BIRDS HONK
And the greatest challenge
comes from each other,
LION GROWLS
In this series,
we will see these rivals compete to stake their claim
on this land,
THEY BARK AND SNARL
Some will rise,,,
,,others will fall,
Who will succeed in ruling this precious kingdom?
For over a decade,
Nsefu has been home to a remarkable leopard,
This is Olimba,
She controls one of the richest leopard territories
for miles around,
It's an excellent place,,,
CUB YOWLS
,,to bring up the next generation,
She has a son and a daughter,
Even here, it's rare for a leopard
to succeed in raising two cubs,
CUB YOWLS
Olimba is a single mother
with a tough job ahead of her,
Her territory is very crowded,
The first critical lesson for her cubs is what is safe,,,
,,and what, and who, should be avoided,
The best way to learn is through first-hand experience,
Olimba's son, Moyo, is bold,
MOYO SNIFFS
MUD SQUELCHES
His sister, Mutima,
is more cautious,,,
,,and seems happy
to let her brother push the boundaries,
HIPPO GRUNTS That is a threat,
GRUNTING CONTINUES
HIPPO BELLOWS
It's time to lead the cubs away,
But there is another danger,
and Olimba has no idea that it's coming,
Five miles away,
a wild dog is crossing into Nsefu,
She is known as Storm,
And with her comes her pack,
They're searching for a new home,
Wild dogs haven't settled here for years,
Their sudden arrival catches everyone by surprise,
BARKING
SNORTING
SQUEALING
DOGS YELP
ELEPHANTS TRUMPET
TRUMPETING
YELPING
TRUMPETING
ELEPHANT ROARS
Most animals get out of the way
of stampeding elephants,
But Storm holds her ground,
LOW RUMBLING
And the rest of the pack support her,
Faced by the power of this pack,
even elephants back down,
HOOTING CALLS
Storm's calls bring everyone to her side,,,
,,before she leads them deeper into Nsefu,,,
,,and right towards Olimba's territory,
A leopard mother must not only protect her cubs,,,
Day in, day out, they're always hungry,
so Olimba must hunt frequently,
The cubs would be more of a hindrance than a help,
so Moyo and Mutima stay behind,
Leopards are ambush predators,,,
,,and, to be successful,
she must get to within ten metres of her prey,
Striking distance,
WILD DOGS BARK
Storm and her pack are here, YELPING
DOG GROWLS
And they are hunting,
HOOTING
It's hard to escape dogs that can run as fast as 40mph,
BIRD SQUAWKS
WILD DOGS SQUEAL
But there is one place
where they WON'T follow,
This hunt is over,
But now they have spotted Olimba,
a rival,
The pack could kill her,
DOG WHINES AND BARKS
BARKING AND GROWLING
High in the trees is the safest place for her,
Bringing up her cubs here has just got harder,
Storm and her pack,
like everyone here,
have been drawn into this rich territory
by one thing,,,
,,water,
In the heart of Nsefu
is the Luangwa River,
It never runs dry,
This river sustains
an extraordinary variety of life,
BIRDS SQUAWK
The twisting, turning stretch of land
along the eastern bank is particularly rich,
Critically, it's full of prey,
An excellent home for Olimba,
But now she has the dogs to worry about,,,
,,she's spending more time in the trees,
It's the safest place for her cubs,
CUBS YOWL NEARBY
They seem quite unaware that anything has changed,
BRANCH THUDS
Today they're focused on becoming,,,
,,agile hunters,
One day, these cubs will be able
to leap six metres,,,
,,and ambush their prey,
But that day is a long way into the future,
Leopards hunt
over 100 different kinds of prey,
anything from wildebeest to porcupines,
How hard can it be to catch a bush squirrel?
THUDDING Quite hard!
SQUIRREL CHATTERS
But not as hard
as the challenges now facing Olimba,
SHRIEKING
Over the next few weeks, a new sound drifts over Nsefu,
DISTANT YELPING
The soft calls of Storm's pack,
as they come together after a successful hunt,
They've never had it so good,
But their very success,,,
WHOOPING
,,makes them a target,
Hyenas,
They've detected the kill from over a mile away,
Stealing from someone else is what they do best,
THEY BARK
The dogs' meal could be gone in minutes,,,
HYENAS CHATTER
,,but Storm and her pack mount a counterattack,
SCREECHING AND GROWLING They split into groups
and drive back each hyena, one by one,
HYENA SHRIEKS WILD DOGS GROWL
Hyenas are twice the size of wild dogs,,,
,,but here they've met their match,
The super-strength of wild dogs is their unity,
GRUNTING AND WHOOPING
Storm is not only a leader - she's also a mother,
And this is her family,
They will support her, no matter what,
A few miles south of the dogs
stands a grove of ebony trees,
They are over 20 metres tall and create shade,
that makes this a popular place
for the locals to relax,
BARKING
CHATTERING
And with them is Tandala,
She has stayed at home
while her clan are out looking for food,
Baboons would usually raise the alarm
at the sight of a predator,
but when a hyena is taking it this easy,
there is no threat,
Tandala is about to become a mother for the first time,
This cooling mud-bath is particularly welcome,
THEY SNORT
ELEPHANT GRUNTS
A precious moment of rest,,,
TRUMPETING
,,cut short by the ever-grumpy elephants,
Being pregnant,
Tandala needs to eat as much as she can,
Sniffing out scraps is the safest strategy,
An abandoned carcass - a rare find,
The rest of Tandala's clan are back and still hungry,
She needs to protect her food,
Hiding it in the water conceals its smell,
"Nothing much to see here,
"Just having a drink,"
That fooled them,
With her unborn cub to provide for,
she has to be a bit selfish,
LOW GRUNTING
All mothers, including mothers-to-be,
have to exploit every opportunity,,,
,,whenever it comes,
In the dry season,
fallen flowers are a welcome treat for grazers,
This hasn't gone unnoticed by Olimba,
Again, she has left her cubs behind,
because this is going to need real concentration,
One mistake could be fatal -
for her and for her cubs,
BARKING
No damage done,
but no meal either,
Each failure puts her under ever greater pressure,
Back at this dry gully, her favourite hunting ground,
there's no sign of Storm's wild dog pack,
SHE GROWLS
With the coast clear,
Mutima and Moyo can leave the safety of the trees,,,
,,to watch and learn,
BARKING CALL
This should be enough
to sustain her and the cubs for days,
But they have company,
SHE SNARLS
One of the hyena clan,
SHE GROWLS
Female leopards are small,
and that puts them at the bottom
of the predator hierarchy here,
Olimba holds back,,,
,,understandably,
But Moyo is not only hungry - he's bold,
He and his mother start to work together,
Mutima is staying well clear of it,
This is getting dangerous,
SHE GROWLS
Persistence from both youngster,,,
,,and mother,,,
,,tips the balance,
There's plenty left for the family,
and Olimba wastes no time
in getting it safely stored away
and hidden from rivals,
Moyo's risk-taking has led to success,,,
,,this time,
WIND GUSTS
As the weeks go by,
the dry season takes a firm hold,
Temperatures rise to over 40 degrees Celsius,
In the heat of the day,
mother-to-be Tandala is fast asleep - again,
INSECT BUZZES
BARKING
GALLOPING
YELPING
A rude awakening,
but perhaps also an opportunity for a meal,
CACKLING
It's not easy to steal from Storm's pack,
Tandala is in for a shock,
GROWLING
YELPING, BARKING
YELPING, WHINING
TANDALA SNARLS
TANDALA WHINES
TANDALA SNARLS
She has no way to escape,
YELPING
Desperately, Tandala tries to protect both her back,,,
,,and her belly,
YELPING
TANDALA WHINES
YELPING, WHINING
DOGS BARK
YELPING CONTINUES
Lions are the strongest and most aggressive predators in Africa,
YELPING CONTINUES
TANDALA YELPS, GROWLS
YELPING CONTINUES
,,and male lions can take anything they want,
With the dogs distracted,
it's a chance for Tandala to sneak away,
Lions are the biggest threat to wild dogs,
There hasn't been a powerful lion pride
at the core of Nsefu for many months,
This couldn't have come at a worse time for Storm,
She has a secret,
WHINING
Eight vulnerable puppies,
They can play in safety around their den -
it's their nursery,
In wild dog families,
everyone in the pack helps protect and raise a litter,
SQUAWKING
Storm has been keeping them as close as possible to the den,,,
,,but before long, they will be old enough
to go out with the adults,,,
,,and that will be Storm's biggest test yet,
With Nsefu becoming more and more crowded,,,
LOW ROARING
,,with more and more rivals,,,
,,the pressure is rising,
for anyone with a family to protect,
LOW ROARING
Olimba's cubs are now seven months old,
Mutima is trying to get comfortable
up in the trees,
Below, Moyo is showing ever more independence,
CHIRRUPING
BIRDS HONK
His ever-growing curiosity
leads him further and further away from his mother,
CHATTERING
BIRD CHIRPS
GRUNTING CALL
When Olimba calls for her son,
Moyo usually answers within minutes,,,
GRUNTING CALL
,,but today, nothing,
GRUNTING CALL
OLIMBA BARKS
GRUNTING CALL
She has been searching since dawn,
GRUNTING CALLS
Her calls are becoming more urgent,
Still no reply,
LOW ROARING
And now night is falling,
LOW BRAYING
Night is the most dangerous time for her son
to be out there alone,
OLIMBA GRUNTS
GRUNTING CALL
GRUNTING CALLS ECHO
She is exhausted,
Male lions will attack rival predators
to eliminate competition,
He is over four times Olimba's size,,,
,,and can move almost silently,
He could never catch her up in the trees,
RUSTLING
Lions aren't the only ones out here in the dark,
Olimba is trapped,,,
,,again,
DOG YELPS, GROWLS
DOGS WHINING
DOGS GROWL
DOG YELPS
Mutima has been patiently waiting
where her mother left her,
DISTANT GRUNTING CALLS
GRUNTING CALL
MUTIMA YAPS
BOTH PURRING
Olimba is back,,,
,,but she has returned alone,
BIRDS SQUAWKING
Moyo is dead,
His injuries bear all the signs of a lion attack,
Perhaps he was just too bold,
Guiding Mutima to adulthood
will now be Olimba's sole focus,
CHIRPING
The wild dog puppies are now old enough
to join an expedition away from the den,
PUPPIES YAP
Their excitement is infectious,
They're still under Storm's watchful eye,
To keep safe, they must stay together,
and close to the adults,
The male lion is back,,,
DOG YELPS
,,and he's not alone,
WHINING
Lions are the major killers of wild dog puppies,
LION GROWLS
PUPPY HOOTS
PUPPY YELPS
STORM BARKS
Storm must get the puppies to the hidden den - now,
LION GROWLS
But one puppy hasn't followed her back,
Can Storm rescue her pup in time?
Or will it have to face the lions alone?
LION SNARLS