"Lions." "The world's most iconic cats." "The ones that are heading for extinction." "With wilderness disappearing across Africa, lion numbers have almost halved in the last 20 years." "Their struggle to survive and thrive is more important than ever." "Every cub counts." "One of the last refuges for this embattled species... is the wildlife haven of the Luangwa Valley in Zambia." "It's here our team have followed three lion prides for the last six months." "Two huge males coming back to claim their territory." "Through the heat of the day... and into the hidden world of the night..." "Seeing them like this is just... quite extraordinary." "We've been right in the lions' den..." "He's coming to the car." "Everyone still." "to gain a better understanding of the challenges they face." "We've lost some of the cubs there." "We don't know how many are still alive." "Can the next generation of cubs make it through their most dangerous year?" "And provide hope for the survival of the species?" "It's October." "And in South Luangwa National Park the dry season has reached its peak." "Daily temperatures are a scorching 45 degrees." "A lioness steps out into the heat of the day." "Behind her, three brothers." "Three future kings." "If they can survive this critical first year." "Like all lionesses, their mother, Ava, is keeping the cubs hidden from the world." "She's been separated from her pride since they were born six weeks ago." "The cubs were blind in their first ten days and unable to walk." "Now they are growing fast and starting to venture beyond the confines of their hiding place." "The cubs' vocal cords are strengthening." "They've developed a repertoire of vocalisations." "Except the trademark roar." "That comes with adulthood." "Along with tigers, lions are the only big cats that roar." "The sound is louder than a pneumatic drill." "Adult males use it to advertise their presence and intimidate rivals." "And worryingly," "Ava can hear roaring nearby." "It's two unknown males... who'd kill a cub that isn't their own." "Ava can't fight them off by herself." "She hides her cubs." "But if these youngsters are to stay protected" "Ava must find and rejoin her family." "The Hollywood Pride." "Right now they are two miles away." "The Hollywood Pride have held this territory for generations" "And it surrounds our filming camp." "They are 20 metres away with no fence between at all." "Film-maker Katie and specialist lion cameraman Nathan have spent the last six months embedded in lion country." "My goodness." "Things happen here that you can never believe." "But nothing has prepared them for what will happen in the next week." "Because conditions here have reached boiling point." "Nearly all available water has evaporated in the heat." "It's only 10:30 in the morning." "41 degrees and it's not even the hottest point of the day." "Which means that until the imminent rains arrive, the dwindling Luangwa River has become a battleground." "This is the source of life for the whole of Luangwa." "Literally all the wildlife is drawn here." "The elephants are coming down." "Herds of buffalo come down." "The game comes down." "So you find a lot more of the predators, lions, leopards and things like that come down this way." "The biggest danger for the lions often comes from their own kind." "More lions are concentrated in a smaller area, there's more likely for conflict." "Not good for our cubs." "Kind of a miracle they survive at all really with everything going on." "Three miles from camp, there is a group of females." "The Outcasts." "They've been battling to keep their two cubs alive." "Brothers Prince and Ziggy... are now 18 months old and living with their mother Rosa and some aunts." "Her collar has been fitted by a research team studying carnivores." "With the help of her loyal sisters," "Rosa has been on the run with Prince and Ziggy since they were attacked by a roaming male lion last year." "They became known as the Outcasts." "To get greater protection for her cubs, a few months ago, Rosa tried to rejoin her old pride." "But the pride had been taken over by new males." "The Punks." "They are not Prince and Ziggy's fathers and are therefore a threat." "Rosa's flirting didn't go down well with the pride's females." "But she's still determined to get her cubs accepted by the Punks." "It will increase their chances of surviving the dry season." "And this time, she's brought reinforcements." "Her loyal sisters will be helping." "The Outcasts females have enticed the Punks away from their pride." "Prince and Ziggy watch from a safe distance while the sisters attempt to seduce the three males with their feminine charms." "The females are doing more than just flirting." "Distraction mating is a cunning tactic by females to manipulate males." "Mating is brief but can happen more than 50 times a day." "Prince and Ziggy take the chance to sneak closer." "But they've been spotted." "Quick as a flash, another aunt puts herself between the male and the cubs." "Each time the cubs are threatened, one of the scheming aunts initiates mating." "As darkness draws in... the hidden world of the night reveals itself." "And the distraction mating continues." "Prince and Ziggy stay nearby." "These are determined females." "Mating has now been going on for 18 hours." "At dawn," "Nathan finds the group by the river." "And it appears that the females have succeeded." "So we've got the Outcasts females and Prince and Ziggy lying in amongst the females and two of the males here as well." "So it's looking more and more like" "Prince and Ziggy are becoming accepted." "I think they've got a good chance now." "Their mother Rosa seems to feel confident that they are sage with the Punks." "Prince and Ziggy's mum has gone back up the bank and left them here alone with a couple of their aunts." "But her confidence is misguided." "And it's about to get her cubs in trouble." "The Punks' family appear." "These three females are mothers to seven young cubs." "Earlier in the season, the youngsters survived a run-in with a dangerous herd." "He's starting to run towards the cubs." "And the eldest cub, Pip, spent 24 hours lost in the bush." "Dodging hyenas and leopards." "He needs to get back to his mother." "So the mothers are on high alert for dangers to their cubs." "And now they could see Prince and Ziggy as a threat." "Cub got onto a rather angry Outcasts female." "What's actually quite apparent is the females are sort of growling at the others' cubs." "It's almost like the two separate sub-groups are not particularly happy with each other's cubs at the moment." "The dominant female from the Punks' pride can't hide her animosity towards Prince and Ziggy... and launches an attack." "Prince runs for cover." "But Ziggy is frozen in place... and gets a beating." "Prince is now all alone... and right in the lioness's sights." "In a battle between two factions of a large pride, young cub Ziggy has just taken a beating." "Now, with their mother Rosa out of sight, and unaware of what is happening, his brother Prince is facing down a ruthless lioness." "He is frozen with no-one to protect him." "Suddenly the dominant Punk inexplicably tries to protect Prince." "Perhaps Rosa's efforts have had an effect." "It gives Prince the chance to run for his life." "It seemed that Prince was particularly singled out and attacked and driven off." "He's run off into the distance." "The traumatised and injured cub gets as far away as he can." "Hearing the commotion, his mother Rosa heads off to look for him." "Ziggy makes a getaway in the other direction along the river bank." "There's Ziggy walking off over there." "He's walked off clearly a little bit traumatised." "And quite alert and looking back in the direction of the rest of the pride" "He's walked off a good couple of hundred metres further down the beach." "Ziggy is surrounded by danger." "Not just from lions." "Hippos and crocodiles are everywhere." "And this is the first time in his life that Ziggy has been without his mother and brother." "He's completely by himself." "And we're not sure where Prince is at the moment." "He could have gone off up this way as well." "He could have gone in any direction really." "Prince has gone." "Three miles away, the youngest three cubs, the Hollywoods." "might be in trouble." "Nathan's heard a report that the little ones have been attacked." "And in the heart of their territory... he's made a disturbing discovery." "We set out looking for the Hollywood pride and we've come across these two young males." "This is an area that Ava keeps her cubs." "And these males are a huge risk." "I think unfortunately if these males came across the Hollywood cubs, and not being the fathers, they would try and kill them." "And there is evidence that one of them has recently come to blows." "You can see the male is actually licking scars, wounds on his leg." "He's certainly been in a fight." "Nathan sets out to search for Ava and her young trio." "He's hoping she's got them to safety." "In a small copse close to camp, he spots movement in the undergrowth." "My god." "Cubs." "I only see two." "But Nathan can't find the third cub." "Actually quite distinct the third one." "He has little spots almost like a leopard." "Unfortunately I don't see Spotty." "If Spotty is alive he should be close to his mother." "As the minutes drag by, reality dawns." "Spotty hasn't made it." "Unfortunately, there were three of them to start with and there's only two of them now." "But she's done very well to keep these guys alive." "It's never been more important for Ava to find her pride and get protection for her two remaining cubs." "The temperature has now reached 50 degrees." "Even on the river bed large areas are nothing but dust." "Around what remains of the water, tempers flare." "Predator is pitted against predator." "And even the film crew are feeling the heat." "He's coming to the car." "Everyone still." "As the day draws to a close," "Prince and Ziggy are still separated from their Outcast pride." "We still haven't seen Prince anywhere." "We've searched up and down." "And he seems to have moved off." "Ziggy has stayed in the same spot all day." "The day has nearly come to an end." "The sun is just setting behind us." "And Ziggy is completely by himself." "It might end up being quite a long, lonely night for Ziggy with Prince not here, and having to keep his distance from the rest of the pride." "Being on his own, food is his biggest problem." "But there are a number of other things, possibly other males passing through territory, hyenas, elephants, buffalos." "There's water right next to him." "Just have to be careful about crocodiles." "There's no guarantees what's ahead." "As night falls," "Ziggy is without his pride." "But he's not alone." "Over 6,000 hippos live in Luangwa." "It's one of the world's largest concentrations of hippos with almost 50 animals per mile of river." "Each of them see lions as a threat." "So Ziggy is staying put." "His only hope is to rejoin his family." "But they are nowhere to be seen." "Ziggy is facing the longest night of his life." "In Zambia's Luangwa Valley the dry season is forcing everyone to the river." "As temperatures soar, conflicts between species and family feuds come to the boil." "One cub is already dead." "Spotty from the Hollywood pride." "A ferocious attack on Prince and Ziggy means they are also at risk." "Whatever happens in the next 48 hours could mean life or death for the two brothers." "5:00ªm." "And Nathan is keen to find out what has happened to the cubs." "We're just looking in the area where we left Ziggy last night and there's a lot of tracks up and down, up and down." "He's been here a lot." "You can actually see him up ahead over here." "Looks like just Ziggy alone by himself." "No Prince." "So... where Prince is remains to be seen." "Ziggy hasn't moved." "He's no doubt getting hungry." "And Nathan has seen that the Punks' pride may have a kill not far away." "I think they are on a kill about 100 metres from here." "He's looking in that direction but he's not making any attempt to move in that direction." "With the threat of being attacked, the cub won't risk venturing any closer." "He knows it's not a good idea to go over there." "Ziggy needs to move somewhere safer." "But he's too nervous to leave." "A mile away" "Ziggy's mother Rosa with one of the Punk males in tow is searching for her lost cubs." "When she set off in pursuit of Prince" "Ziggy was still with the pride." "So now she has no idea where either of her cubs are." "Of equal concern is whether single mother Ava has managed to keep Spotty's two brothers alive and managed to meet up with the Hollywood pride." "Vultures are circling close to camp." "A sign of a kill well inside Hollywood territory." "This buffalo kill is not that far from where the cubs were kept." "So we're hoping to actually spot if mum and the cubs are here or not." "Some very fat bellies.." "They are here." "The cubs are here." "They are looking great." "They've literally been introduced to the rest of the pride now." "It's such a lovely moment." "Getting to know their extended family is an exciting time for the cubs." "They've grown up hidden in a bush." "So this is quite a new novelty for them, a bit of exploring all these new faces." "The pride isn't used to playing with little cubs." "It looks like a lot of the young aunties are very inquisitive about the cubs." "They are quite rough." "The cubs are certainly giving their best back to them." "A little bit of snarling and swiping." "Lions are a highly social species." "And the bonds built in the pride are an essential part of the cubs' future." "It's been a successful introduction." "And living with the pride will bring the extra protection the little ones need." "But not all cubs are lucky enough to have that protection." "After hours of searching," "Rosa still hasn't found Prince or Ziggy." "But as she enters an ebony grove with one of the Punks in tow, the pair seem to catch a scent." "Something makes the male hang back." "While Rosa is drawn to a gully." "It's Prince." "Her cub." "The ferocity of the attack on the beach was too much for Prince's young body." "When you see the cub that could grow up to something big and beautiful kind of face down in the mud... it's very sad to see." "Rosa's gamble to get her cubs accepted has failed." "I mean, we really have to try and stay emotionally detached from who we are following." "But you can't help it." "We've always been really hoping that Prince and Ziggy would make it." "And unfortunately, Prince didn't." "Rosa stays in the ebony grove near Prince's body." "While Ziggy, Rosa's last remaining cub faces the prospect of another night alone." "With Prince having died now, it is going to be incredibly tough for Ziggy to survive on his own." "There is every chance Ziggy will meet the same fate as his brother." "And now his hiding place has become unsafe." "Ziggy's chances of making it to the end of the dry season are diminishing by the hour." "The Punk cubs that Prince was killed to protect are just half a mile up river." "Usually a pride's females share the rearing of their cubs." "As a group, they can defend them more successfully." "But today not all the mothers are around." "On the other side of the river there is one female." "She's actually been left with all the cubs." "She's got the five bigger cubs and the two smaller cubs." "They are all running up and down playing all over the place." "Having crossed over to feast on a buffalo in the night, young cub Pip and his six siblings have ended up in a rival pride's territory." "Although they seem oblivious to any threat, and are running riot around the lone female." "I can only imagine that she's quite irritated and wants to get back this side of the river and hand them over to their mothers." "With dusk approaching, the lioness either risks a long night in enemy territory or she and the cubs have to recross the Luangwa." "The Luangwa River is notorious for being one of the densest populations of crocodiles and hippos of pretty much any river in Africa." "These cubs are the future of their pride." "Now all seven of them face running the gauntlet of crocodiles and hippos..." "In the last few days of the dry season, a lone Punk lioness is attempting to cross the Luangwa River... with all seven of the pride's cubs in tow." "Help is at hand." "The rest of the pride's females appear on the sand bank halfway across the river." "Whether it's safe or not, they are going." "The presence of the lionesses seems to deter the crocodiles from attacking." "But a bigger, angrier problem is coming their way." "A three-ton hippo determined to defend his stretch of sand." "The pride spread out." "The hippo realises the tables are turning... and he is surrounded." "Pip and his siblings are safe." "It's been six hours since Rosa discovered Prince's body and she's stayed with him." "She's staring off into the distance in the direction where Prince's body is." "It's thought when a cub dies a lioness suffers high levels of stress." "She seems to be mourning." "She's certainly very subdued, quiet." "Not even hunting impalas that have walked literally right on top of her." "If her other cub is to survive," "Rosa needs to move on." "She needs to find Ziggy." "Come nightfall, while most animals are eating, or sleeping," "Rosa continues to grieve." "But shortly before dawn, she moves off." "For hours she retraces her steps." "Visiting old haunts of the Outcasts." "Ziggy hasn't eaten for four days and is too young to hunt for himself." "Without his mother, he'll starve." "In the heart of Hollywood territory, the gully by camp holds the only remaining water other than the Luangwa River." "And the pride have decided it's safe enough to bring their youngest two members." "Not only are all the lions still here, but mum and her cubs have also come down." "It appears the pride have bonded with them for good." "Which means in addition to their mother, the cubs now have ten aunts watching out for them." "The females in lion prides have this incredibly strong bond when they will do everything to protect their cubs." "They are built to try and keep the next generation going." "That is in their DNA." "It's running through their blood." "The Hollywood cubs are safe." "But there is one other youngster that Nathan is desperate to find before the rains arrive." "After hours of searching for Ziggy, he spots a trio of lions sheltering under a bush." "And one of them looks to be a young male." "That is this one here, the second one." "Looking a bit smaller and spots on the legs." "And the familiar face pops up." "This is Ziggy here." "It's fantastic." "Nathan is delighted to find Ziggy with his mother." "He's looking in good condition." "Mum is here." "Yeah, it's great news for him." "Rosa and one loyal aunt have retreated from the Punks' pride," "Outcasts once more." "They will provide food for him and give him a good chance to get big enough to get experienced enough to survive on his own." "He certainly seems to have been quite a fighter." "He keeps coming back." "He's certainly got the determination to survive." "In a year's time," "Ziggy will be ready to strike out on his own." "But for now his family are looking out for each other." "The weather begins to turn." "It's amazing." "We've just been sat here watching and almost, this most sudden feeling of coolness and that smell of rain has just started." "The dry season is over." "And at last the pressure cooker atmosphere is defused." "And the wildlife can spread out far and wide once more." "All but two of our cubs made it through their most dangerous year." "So with luck and some determined parenting, one day these little fighters will be the kings and queens of Luangwa." "Subtitles by Deluxe"