Previously on Kingdom,,,
,,Olimba, the leopard, lost her son,
Can she help her daughter to independence?
CHATTERING
Tandala, the hyena,
faced enormous challenges,
all whilst expecting her first cub,
Storm, the wild dog,,,
ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
,,fought for the kingdom
as a home for her growing family,
But now she's facing a new threat,
A pride of lions,
BARKS
And one of her puppies,,,
,,is stranded,
WHINES
Can Storm save him?
Five years,
Four families,
Who will rule this kingdom?
Storm and her pack must act fast,
GROWLING AND WHINING
LION SNARLS
GROWLING AND WHOOPING
Their persistent calls
draw the lion's attention away from the pup,,,
BARKS
WHINING
WHOOPS
,,and it grabs the chance,,,
WHOOPS
,,to escape,
WHINING AND CHATTERING
This land,,,
,,has become dangerous,
The annual rains transform Nsefu,
The land becomes a green world,
CHATTERING
The wild dog pups are enjoying themselves,
This is their first wet season,
GRUNTING
The pups are ten months old,
They may look like grown-ups,
but they don't behave that way,
And Storm, their mother,
must teach them how to hunt,
EXCITED CHATTER
HONKS
But the clock is ticking,
BIRD HONKS
She is, once again, pregnant,
After the rain, the grass is so tall,,,
,,just finding prey
becomes very difficult,
The hunt is on,
BARKING
The pups ought to keep up with their mother
if they're to learn how it's done,
WHINING
But, within minutes,
they're lost in the long grass,
And the adults don't wait for stragglers,
The pups are still lost,
Up ahead,
for the pack,,,
,,success,
The pups may have missed the action,,,
,,but the adults always make sure
that the youngest eat first,
Hunting isn't the only lesson
the pups need to learn,
Tandala,
BARKS
A hyena on the prowl must be dealt with swiftly,
First lesson,,,
CHATTERS
,,the best form of defence is attack,
CHATTERS
GROWLS
The second,,,
,,work together,
GROWLING AND SNARLING
And the third,,,
,,do so while avoiding the hyena's bone-crushing jaws,
DEEP GROWLING
SNARLING
WHINING AND SNARLING
It's all too much for Tandala,
The stakes for her have never been higher,
She's just given birth,,,
,,to her first cub,
Her den is hidden away in a grove of ebony trees,
GRUNTING
GRUNTS
INSECTS BUZZING
SNORTS
WARTHOGS SQUEAL
It's not just warthogs,
SQUEALING
GRUNTS
The rest of the hyena family is here too,
This is Tenta, the leader of the clan,
She has just produced
not one,,,
,,but two cubs,
WHINES
Her twins are a little older,,,
,,and a little bolder,,,
,,than Tandala's cub,
And this is Tam,
Tandala's sister,
Her cub is so young, he has not yet emerged,
They might all be one extended family,,,
,,but each will only care for her own cub,
Hyena mothers rarely help each other,
CHATTERING
SHRIEKING
It's a busy time for new mothers,,,
,,all across Nsefu,
This season's newborns
are taking their first uncertain steps,
SQUEAKS
GRUNTING
But new arrivals and their mothers
are easy targets,
SNORTS
BARKING
BARKS
DISTANT ALARM CALLS
CHIRPING
BARKING
SQUEALING
The impact of the lions is increasing,
GROWLING
They are top predators,
The lions are not intimidated by anyone,,,
,,even,,,at night,
BELLOWING CALL
RUMBLING
BARKS
SNORTS
GRUNTS QUIETLY
A crocodile's bite is more than twice as powerful as a lion's,
HISSES
LIONS GROWL
But even so,,,
,,the pride just treats this one
like a plaything,
HISSES
And this is merely the warm-up,
When hunting in a group,
lions will tackle even a hippo,
GRUNTING
LOW GROWLING
BELLOWING
Tonight, however,
this seems to be demanding too much effort,
And there is another option,
SNARLS
ROARS They're so powerful,,,
,,they can simply steal,
Tonight,
Storm's family loses out to the lions,
But every family in Nsefu,,,
LION SNARLS ,,must be on their guard,
ROARS
ROARING
NEARBY ROARING
ROARS
These roars proclaim
the pride's great confidence and power,
ROARING
NEARBY ROARING
ROARING CONTINUES
Olimba the leopard
is at a pivotal moment in her life,
Her behaviour is changing,
She is marking her territory with scent,
SQUAWKING
Registering her presence,,,
,,and declaring that she's ready to breed again,
That means her daughter, Mutima,
is spending more time alone,
Now, being a year old,
she should be able to hunt for herself,
But so far,,,
,,she's all prance,,,
,,and no pounce,
SQUAWKING
ZEBRA BRAYING
BARKING
She's got great speed,,,
,,and a phenomenal three-metre leap,,,
,,but she hasn't yet put it all together,
There is an enticing scent in the air,
Olimba has made a kill,
But Mutima is not sure whether
her mother is willing to share,
SNORING
She tries to avoid wakening her,
It could be risky if she's caught,
Leopard mothers can be surprisingly aggressive
with their adolescent cubs,
Mutima is in big trouble,
SNARLS
GROWLING
As they wrestle,,,
,,the carcass falls,
And Olimba climbs down to reclaim it,
SNARLS For Mutima,
this is a tough lesson,
She's never experienced aggression like this before,
By refusing to share,,,
SNARLS
,,Olimba is forcing her daughter to go it alone,
There is one more place
where Mutima could try to find food,,,
,,a colony of yellow-billed storks,,,
,,the largest in Zambia,
Each wet season,
hundreds of them come here to nest,
A fallen chick,,,
,,a good meal for a leopard,
And one worth guarding,
CHATTERING
Hunting practice will resume tomorrow,
Tucked away in a secret den,
Storm has just given birth,,,
,,to her second litter since arriving in Nsefu,
She has nine puppies -
her biggest litter yet,
At this early age, they're very vulnerable,
Storm won't leave their side for several weeks,
She will rely on the rest of the pack to bring her food,
PUPS WHIMPER AND SQUEAK
Last year's pups have stepped up just in time,,,
,,returning with dinner,
The whole family will be needed to raise this litter,
And they are about to be tested,,,
,,because Nsefu is being transformed once again,
The floodwaters are receding,
And as they do,
there is a changing of the guard,
The young yellow-billed storks begin to leave their nests,
The river banks are now exposed
and provide excellent homes
for the recently arrived bee-eaters,
GRUNTING
And thousands of Cape buffalo
start trudging towards the Luangwa River,
GRUNTING
Their path brings them close to Storm's hidden hideout,
SNORTS
BARKING AND WHINING
Buffalo might trample the new pups,
The family work together
to drive the buffalo away,
BELLOWING
Back at the den,,,
,,disaster,
The den has collapsed
and the pups are trapped underground,
WHINING
Storm has only minutes to save her pups,
PUP SQUEAKS
A survivor,
But eight others are still trapped,
The other adults now follow Storm's lead,,,
QUIET WHINING
,,while she carries the survivors to safety,
YELPS
YELPING
Despite their efforts,
the pack cannot save them all,
Five pups, however, have made it,
WIND GUSTS
The dry season forces animals towards the river,,,
,,and towards each other,
Great buffalo herds keep coming,,,
,,trailed by the lions,
This could bring a new opportunity
for the hyena mothers,,,
,,Tandala, Tenta and Tam,
CHATTERING
But to take it,
they must leave their cubs behind,
If the lions bring down a buffalo,
there's a good chance the hyena mothers
may be able to steal a meal,
SNORTING
WHINING
But it's never easy to steal from lions,
The lions must be very careful,
BUFFALO BELLOWS
The exhausted buffalo is down,
CHATTERING
Now the hyenas will have a chance,
But trying to claim a share of this kill immediately,,,
HYENA YELPS ,,would not be sensible,
and Tandala gets a warning,
Female lions are aggressive,,,
,,but males are even more so,
CHATTERING
With the males here,,,
,,will the mothers now have to give up
the opportunity to feed?
HYENAS SCREECH
GROWLING
The night echoes to the sound of skirmishes,
GROWLING AND SCREECHING CONTINUES
BIRDSONG
Next morning, back at the den,
the hungry cubs are eagerly awaiting their mothers' return,
But there has been a tragedy,
CAWS
One of the hyena mothers has been killed,
There's nothing left for the others to do,,,
,,but to return home, still hungry,
Tenta is first to arrive,
Tandala's cub is still waiting,
WHOOPS
At last,
Tandala is back,,,
,,with her son,
But Tam's cub,,,
,,is still alone,
He will never see his mother again,
And without her, he can't survive,
GUTTURAL GRUNTING
Olimba is doing something that is rarely seen,
These calls can carry for miles
and tell males that she's looking for a mate,
GUTTURAL GRUNTING
While Olimba is occupied,,,
,,Mutima takes the opportunity
to hunt in her mother's territory,
LOW GROWLING
This could be a good hiding place,
TWIG SNAPS SNORTS
BARKS
CASCADE OF ALARM CALLS
Maybe not,
BARKING
Time to change tack,
She waits,,,for night,
Her nocturnal vision is better than that of her prey,
In the darkness,,,
,,and hiding in the gully,
she has a chance,
She needs to get within ten metres,
ALARM CALLS
At last,
HYENAS WHOOP
Although the antelope
weighs twice as much as she does,,,
,,Mutima will have to drag it to a safe place,,,
,,before any hyenas get here,
BIRDSONG
A feast,
She can now hunt for herself,,,
,,evade scavengers,,,
YOWLING
,,and is even bold enough to chase this rival away,
YOWLING
BARKS
Mutima is no longer reliant on her mother
and is ready for the next chapter of her life,
Her mother's calls
have attracted a powerful male leopard,
BARKS
He's hunting near Storm's new den,
CHATTERING
The pack instinctively rush to drive him away,
CHATTERING
LOW GROWLING
SNARLING
But whenever a pack leaves the den,
the pups are always at risk,
YOWLING
Lions have been a threat for months,,,
,,and they've found the den,
Worse, they've killed a pup,
BARKS
Storm can't keep her family safe any more,
They turn and run,,,
,,and keep running,,,
,,retreating beyond Nsefu's border,
Will they ever be able to return?
The lions are now in the ascendant,
And hidden away is a key to their future,
MEWLING
The first cubs in more than a year,,,
,,born to lioness Rita,
She is nine years old
and the most experienced lioness here,
YOWLS
But even protected by a seasoned mother,,,
,,her family may face danger at any time,,,
ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
,,and from anywhere,
LOW RUMBLING
Elephants won't step aside,,,
,,for anyone,
It will now be the lions' turn,,,
SNORTING
CUB YELPS
,,to feel the pressure,
RUMBLING
ROARING