(flies buzzing)
- [Presenter] Meet Kamuti,
at 13 years of age,
she's one of the oldest known
leopards in the African Bush.
Kamuti means twig in
the the local language
after her thin frail frame.
Her age is beginning to tell
she's not as fast or
strong as she used to be
and she's struggling to catch prey.
She hasn't eaten for more than a week
and is now having to
hunt in broad daylight.
She may be old,
but she's a perfectly designed predator.
Her forward facing eyes
are set slightly apart
enabling her to judge the exact distance
between her and her prey.
With hearing five times
more sensitive than ours
and an acute sense of smell,
she doesn't miss a thing.
But a little elephant shrew
is hardly worth the effort.
(enlightening music)
Kamuti lives in South Luangwa
National Park in Zambia
an area of unspoiled wilderness
at the southern end of
Africa's Great Rift Valley.
Though she lives a solitary life,
she shares her home with
a huge range of animals,
large and small,
hunters and the hunted.
It's a land of open plains
and ebony groves.
This diverse mix of habitats
supports a dazzling variety of life.
(elephants trumpeting)
More than 60 species of mammals.
(birds chirping)
And 400 species of birds.
(birds chirping)
It's the perfect hunting ground
for this experienced predator.
Kamuti has rained over two square miles
of prime territory here for 10 years.
Antelopes are her favorite prey
among them puku and impala
but despite their abundance,
she's finding it hard to get a decent meal
and that's not just because of her age.
She has to contend with some neighbors
from hell, the Nsefu pride.
They share Kamuti's territory.
Lions are the only truly
social cats unlike Kamuti.
These predators have strength in numbers,
14 big cats,
a force to be reckoned with.
The Nsefu lions are the
bane of Kamuti's life,
they frequently steal
her hard earned kills
and if they see her they
won't hesitate to attack.
This isn't because they see her as prey,
is to protect the youngest
members of the pride.
The Nsefu lions have recently welcomed
two new cubs into their family.
(enlightening music)
Just over two months old,
they're starting to
venture out into the wild.
But when their mother goes hunting,
they're left alone and
are extremely vulnerable.
Many Cubs are killed and
even eaten by leopards,
it's a rivalry that cuts both ways.
Though Kamuti is a threat to the cubs,
she's no match for their mother
and she knows it.
Weighing 280 pounds
the lioness is more than
three times Kamuti's weight.
With lions on the prowl,
she'll spend the rest
of the day well hidden.
(upbeat music)
