Narrator: Every teenage lion,
is dependent on its pride.
But this brother and sister
Must grow up fast.
For young kimba,
a childhood lost...
Is responsibility gained.
When his father goes missing,
He must rise to the challenge.
And learn to hunt
africa's biggest game.
The siblings will come up
against fierce rivals...
And stare death in the face.
Do these youngsters
have what it takes...
To secure the future
of their pride?
(♪♪♪)
(roaring)
In the pecking order
of the african bush,
There are winners...
And losers.
The mwamba lion
pride sits firmly
As leaders of the pack.
It's the largest pride
here on the west bank
Of the luangwa river in zambia.
This morning's breakfast,
Was ambling around
with its own family
Just an hour ago.
In this land, predators rule.
But the journey to become king,
or queen, isn't an easy one.
This territory
can be bountiful...
But brutal.
Zambia's luangwa valley.
A vast wilderness
Nurturing an extraordinary
variety of life.
From majestic titans...
To the smallest creatures.
The solitary can only
rely on themselves,
While the sociable
seek safety in numbers.
Life here is a constant battle
between predator and prey.
Every species has its own
specialist weapons
For ensuring its survival.
Lions are born with an innate
set of hunting skills.
But unless they perfect these
in their youth,
They won't survive this fiercely
competitive world.
(birds chirping)
Narrator: It's September,
Four months
since the last rains.
The mwamba pride is enjoying
The relatively pleasant
afternoon temperatures.
It's 93 degrees.
The nine lionesses
who lead this pride
Are fierce
and protective mothers.
They're kept busy bringing up
their six boisterous teenagers.
There's always someone
who wants to play.
The brawling is about
more than just fun.
They're honing
their hunting skills.
The youngsters play rough...
But this brother and sister
are the best of friends.
And always have been.
Older brother kimba's reticent
nature developed early.
He always hung back
from the action.
Younger sister maya
was much more adventurous.
Confidently going
up against her father...
(maya growling)
...And scaling great heights.
Some things haven't changed.
Impulsive maya is the baby
of the family.
Always curious...
But often reckless.
(maya cries)
Kimba still likes to keep
at the periphery of the pride.
Although he's one
of the older yearlings,
He's not as confident
as the others.
A trait he needs to change
if he's to survive in the bush.
He's often led into dangerous
situations by his little sister.
This morning's playground
is shared.
The river contains one
of the densest populations
Of hippos in africa.
A bull is returning
to the cool water
Of the luangwa river
after a night of grazing.
Maya has yet to learn
that you should never
Get between a hippo
and its river.
Adult lions rarely try
and hunt aggressive hippos.
But the inexperienced teenagers
can't resist a chase.
Loyal kimba joins his sister
in the line of fire.
It's stalemate.
Luckily for the yearlings,
The hippo heads
into the safety of the water.
Life up to now has been
relatively carefree
For the teenagers,
With food served up on demand
by their dedicated mothers.
The dominant males
that lead the family
Might be popular
with the youngsters...
But like all male lions,
they're hands off fathers.
Known as the punks,
Mohawk,
Spike,
And axel,
Are three battle
scarred brothers
Who took over the pride
two years ago.
Their parental duties
stopped there.
Now they rarely
help with hunting,
Preferring to take
what the lionesses catch.
In the last week
they've gone awol,
Roaming to neighboring
territories,
With an eye to taking
over other prides.
Every day the yearlings
grow bigger,
And require more nutrition.
Which means daily hunting
by the lionesses.
But, with more than half
of attempted hunts
Ending in failure...
Food is scarce.
Like all lions, the mothers
will put their own survival
Ahead of their offspring.
So the adults eat first.
If kimba and maya
are to have enough food,
They must learn to hunt.
The youngsters
are about to learn
How dangerous life
can be for them.
(lions roaring)
Every species here fears lions.
Fully grown elephants
Aren't usually threatened
by the carnivores.
But their young calves
are vulnerable.
The secretions from
the elephant's temples
Show she's stressed
by the lions' presence.
She takes no chances.
(elephant trumpets)
It's unwise to tangle
With a protective
three-tonne mother.
The bond she has with her calf
Is one of the strongest
And most enduring
in the animal kingdom.
This calf is only a couple
of months old.
Unlike young lions,
He can rely on his mother
to provide everything he needs
For many years to come.
He's spent every minute
of his short life
Just feet from her.
She provides up to 20 pints
of milk a day.
And she shelters
him from the sun.
But, beyond his physical needs,
One of the most important
things she offers
Is abundant, long term
emotional support.
From constant touching...
To fun on demand.
Elephants are thought
to be among the few species
Capable of deep
feeling and empathy.
Because of this emotional
bond with his mother,
The calf might stay
with her for up to 20 years,
Benefiting from
her maternal care.
The yearlings have
to grow up much more quickly.
Kimba will leave the pride
in less than a year,
And, although maya will always
stay with her family,
She must help provide food.
They need to develop
their hunting skills now,
Or suffer the consequences.
Tonight their training
will move up a step.
Parents in the bush take
what precautions they can
To protect their young.
These baboons
have poor night vision,
So they retreat
with their babies
To the heights
of the canopy for safety.
Hippos gather
their young into a creche,
Guarded by mothers.
The mwamba youngsters though
Must put themselves
on the front line.
Tonight the lionesses
are leading the yearlings
To their favored
hunting grounds...
The plains.
This is the lions'
favorite time to hunt...
Thanks to an evolutionary
advantage.
Their night vision is excellent.
Marginally better
than most of their prey,
Giving them
the benefit of stealth...
If the pride works as a team.
Maya locks on to the nearest
male impala.
But she fails to wait
for the rest of the pride
To maneuver into position.
Her enthusiasm
and lack of experience show.
A poor attempt,
The impala
easily outruns her.
The adults allow the youngsters
to lead the next hunt.
They should be
operating as a team,
Surrounding the herd
surreptitiously
With a pincer movement,
Without the herd
knowing they're there.
But the impetuous teenagers
are completely disorganized...
Approaching the prey without
coordinating their movements.
The antelope are slipping
through the net.
The pride has been
on the prowl for five hours,
Without success.
Their luck might
be about to change.
A lone impala.
It's nursing an injury,
The swollen foot
glowing white with heat.
It can't run.
The lionesses don't risk the
yearlings ruining another hunt.
They're kept back,
So the experts
can do their job.
Finally, a kill.
But it won't last long.
The adults have
yet again provided food.
But it's an unproductive
training night
For the teenagers.
Three weeks pass...
The temperature is now hitting
more than 105 degrees each day.
The rising heat means that water
elsewhere is becoming scarce.
It's a difficult time
for many species
To provide for their young.
Foliage dries up,
And food grows sparse.
But there is one group for which
the heat provides a boon.
The predators.
Lions are in
their element.
As thirsty herbivores
are forced to the river...
The lions can pick off
The weak
and the desperate.
Despite this advantage,
The teenagers
are still struggling
To master the basics of hunting.
Maya and her siblings
keep vigil by the river.
Usually a good area
to target antelope.
While the lionesses
rest from the heat...
Maya spots
an opportunity.
Impala, heading to drink.
She finds a hidden lookout.
So far so good.
Now she needs
to show patience
And let the antelope
come to her.
But she just
can't resist.
The impala easily
evade her.
As do the puku,
The waterbuck,
And all other prey
in the vicinity.
Maya still hasn't
learned that success
Requires teamwork.
Time for a rest.
While lions have mastery
over most creatures here,
Flies get the upper hand
Every time.
(roars)
In contrast to his sister,
Kimba is showing signs
that he's maturing
And his hunting skills
are progressing.
He spots a family
of warthogs.
He joins his
mother in position...
As the pride
single out an individual.
(grunts)
A lioness charges...
Herding it towards
the rest of the pride.
But maya's more focused on
the insects bothering her,
And completely
misses her cue.
(grunting)
The warthog lives
to see another day.
This should be the easiest
time of year to hunt,
But the yearlings
aren't up to scratch.
In just weeks
The rains will come
and the prey will scatter.
Finding food will
become much harder.
The teenagers
must grow up fast.
Their fathers
are of little help.
The punks have now been
roaming away for weeks.
They're mating with
a neighboring pride,
And show no sign
of returning.
Many fathers here in luangwa
are similarly hands off...
Mating indiscriminately,
Then having little to do
with raising their young.
But not all.
(chirping)
This male pied wagtail is being
very attentive to his partner.
Like 50% of birds here,
The pair is monogamous.
(chirping)
They'll spend the whole season
together as committed partners.
The edges of the river
are a prime spot
To find insects and worms...
Even with the searing
temperatures.
The female keeps lookout,
While her mate disappears
into a rotted log.
He's on an important mission.
Taking care of
their new chicks.
At just a few days old, the
chicks' eyes are barely open,
But they don't have trouble
communicating their needs.
The hungry chicks will be
fed up to eight times an hour
By their attentive parents.
(birds chirping)
They share foraging
duty equally,
As well as protecting the nest
from potential danger.
In around two weeks the chicks
will fledge the nest,
And become fully
self-sufficient shortly after.
Farther along the river,
Yearlings kimba and maya may not
be facing independence just yet.
But they must start providing
food for their family.
The pride will wait
for darkness.
There's a full night's
hunting ahead.
It's 2:00 am.
With no passing prey,
The extended family rests.
(hyenas laughing)
(roaring)
Hyenas, on a kill.
An opportunity
impossible to resist.
Hyenas may have the reputation
of being scavengers,
But lions steal kills with
much more frequency.
The hungry pride of ten lions
Easily pushes off
the five hyenas.
They tuck into the waterbuck,
A welcome meal.
(growling)
As youngest, maya
only gets the scraps.
(growling)
(hyenas laughing)
But the hyenas
have no intention
Of letting their
hard won dinner go so easily.
They're the fighters
of the bush,
Unafraid of any confrontation.
The clan gathers
reinforcements,
Their numbers swell to 10.
The distracted pride
pays no attention...
Save for one female.
Kimba's mother senses
the building tension.
(growling)
With the kill
rapidly disappearing,
The ten-strong hyena clan
makes its move.
It's time to reclaim
their dinner.
(hyenas laughing)
(roaring)
Kimba's mother confronts them.
But she's quickly surrounded...
(hyenas laughing)
...And outnumbered.
Kimba and another lioness
jump in to protect her.
It descends into
a full-on scrap,
Ten hyenas vs ten lions.
But the yearlings'
inexperience and size...
Mean they're losing the kill
to the tenacious hyenas.
(hyenas laughing)
Kimba bravely guards the last
piece of the carcass.
(hyenas laughing)
(roaring)
But it's gone.
Defeated, the lions retreat,
Battered and bloodied.
Kimba's mother, who took
the brunt of the hyena's wrath,
Collapses,
Exhausted.
The light of day reveals more
than just a bruised pride.
Kimba's brave
defense of his mother
Has left him badly wounded.
He's in obvious discomfort.
If it gets infected,
he could die.
But things are just as bad,
for his mother.
She's also sustained
a painful injury,
And is barely able to walk.
Kimba gingerly tries to put
weight on his back legs.
He's in a bad way.
His aunt comforts him.
As a herd of buffalo
wanders close,
All the pride can do, is watch.
With kimba's mother
in such a poor state,
There's no chance
of a collective hunt today.
The pride, and its yearlings
Are in deep trouble.
Nature shows little
mercy to the weak.
Most species in luangwa
Will work to protect
their vulnerable youngsters.
This buffalo herd walks
in a protective formation,
With strong members
on the outside.
Young buffalo keep
inside the herd.
But they're not as generous
for the old or the sick.
Like this calf,
Alone and frail.
His mother
is nowhere to be seen.
(buffalo grunts)
The herd moves on.
With life on
a knife-edge here...
The group can't waste energy
on the sick youngster.
He desperately tries
to keep up in the searing heat.
But, to no avail.
(buffalo grunts)
For the mwamba pride,
family is everything,
And they won't leave their own.
But there's absolutely
nothing they can do
To help kimba or his mother.
A week passes.
It's now the very peak
of the dry season.
The fight to survive
at its most difficult.
The mwamba pride
is struggling too.
They've barely moved position.
Kimba's wound is still oozing,
But he's slowly healing.
His mother isn't faring so well.
She's been getting
progressively weaker.
And now, can no longer walk.
The pride will stay with her.
But she's not going to make it.
Kimba will lose his mother.
The rains are imminent.
Once they start,
The valley will flush green
with new growth,
And the herbivores
will scatter over a huge area.
The pride stations itself
Where buffalo usually cross
to reach the river.
They wouldn't usually
hunt in the daylight,
But they've lost kimba's mother,
their best hunter.
They're desperate.
Kimba's wound is still painful,
But if the pride is to succeed,
He'll have to help with hunting.
There's no play today for maya.
For once, she seems focused
on the job in hand.
Perhaps, the recent events
have had an effect.
Time's run out
on their childhood.
The teenagers must step up now.
They start their patrol.
In the distance,
a lone buffalo.
It's likely this bull
is either old or sick,
But he's still a ton
of muscle and horn,
And will aggressively
defend himself.
The only way the pride
will bring him down
Without the three punk males,
is working together.
One of kimba's
aunts, starts the stalk.
But she won't attack.
She's acting as decoy,
Trying to lure
the buffalo towards her.
(buffalo grunts)
The bull takes the bait...
And runs straight
towards an ambush.
Even with his injury,
kimba leads the assault,
Trying to slow the bull down.
(buffalo grunts)
His bravery enables
the pride to grab on.
They must avoid the horns.
(buffalo grunting)
An incredibly lucky escape.
(buffalo grunts)
Desperately, they try to get
the bull down on the ground.
(buffalo grunts)
Even their strongest lioness
can't topple him.
Nothing they do, seems to work.
(buffalo grunts)
Maya moves in
to distract the buffalo.
Her recklessness
finally, an asset.
(buffalo snorts)
The bold move pays off.
The bull is starting to waver.
Maya is tenacious.
But the buffalo
refuses to submit.
The lions can sense
the tables are turning.
They use all their weight
to force the bull down.
It's finally over
for the buffalo.
Maya helps as a lioness,
Delivers the suffocating bite.
For kimba and his siblings
to survive,
Others must perish.
Exhausted, the pride
retreats to the shade.
Eating can wait.
(birds chirping)
The day cools.
It's time to eat.
Newly confident kimba
Has shown he's got what it takes
To go up against
even the biggest quarry,
An encouraging sign
for his future independence.
Maya's fearlessness
has paid off,
Her impetuous nature,
Finally, an asset to the pride.
She's now allowed prime
share of the spoils.
The mwamba lions have
become winners, once more.
(thunder cracking)
As the rains roll in...
Luangwa's inhabitants
enjoy its cool relief.
The mwamba pride's future
is looking more positive.
Kimba is now front
and center of his pride.
But not too grown up
for a wrestle with maya.
While the dry season
Has tested the yearlings
to their limits,
Kimba and maya
have risen to the challenge.
And perhaps,
these plucky youngsters
Just might rule this land
In years to come.
(♪♪♪)
(♪♪♪)
