All language subtitles for Kingdom.2025.S01E06.2160p.iP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.HLG.H.265-SAiNT_track3_[eng]

CHIRPING

For five years...

THUNDERCLAP

..we have followed the stories
of four families of animals.

Now it's time to meet
the people behind these dramas.

The scientists
and conservationists...

Be careful!

..who helped us
understand the animals.

And the anti-poaching squads...

..who risk their lives
to protect them.

We will also meet the film-makers

who recorded those dramas...

Come, come! Fast, quick.

..of life in the kingdom.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

Our four animal families
live in Nsefu...

..a corner of South Luangwa
National Park in Zambia.

It's an important sanctuary
for wildlife.

SNORTING

And a temporary home
for our film crews.

There are
elephants coming.

A remote base camp enables them
to live alongside animals, day...

..and night.

HIPPO SNORTS

ELEPHANT RUMBLES

They have the latest technology...

..and are able to film
in all conditions.

How's it going, Nathan?
I'm loving it!

Making the series
would have been impossible

without the team
of conservationists

from an organisation called
the Zambian Carnivore Programme.

They have studied and safeguarded
the wildlife here for decades...

..tracking the movement of
hundreds of animals,

following their every step...

..both from the air...

..and on the ground.

Frank, can you please send me
the coordinates for the lions

10km south of here?

It's a remarkable undertaking,

covering thousands of square miles.

Our film crews rely on them
to keep in touch

with all our animal characters.

Fraser, do we have the signal?

Yeah.

Animals that move huge distances.

The technology
that makes this possible...

..GPS and radio-tracking collars.

The conservation teams fix a collar
on a member of each family.

In a pride,
they put it on a lioness.

And for wild dogs,

they usually select
a male and a female.

That allows them to locate
and follow the entire family

throughout their lives.

These collars have
to be replaced every two years,

and today, it's the turn
of one of the lionesses.

Henry Mwape is the leader
of the collaring programme.

First, Dr Sichande sedates
the lioness using a dart gun.

Right now,
we're removing this old collar,

so that I...

I put the new one on.

While the lioness
is still unconscious,

Henry makes a general health check.

OK.

I think some people
think it's not safe

to work with lions.

Of course,
the lion is immobilised.

So, if it was fully awake,

I can't get close like this.

The conservationists
are keeping track

of over 40 animal families.

My best moment of collaring
is when I see the animal up.

I'm like, "Wow, we've done it."

Without collars, I can't
imagine how we would be doing

what we're doing.

The collars produce an enormous
amount of information,

which helps the conservationists

to build a picture of the lives
of all the animals.

Where they're hunting...

BRAYING

..what they're eating...

CHOMPING

YOWLING

..how their behaviour
affects each other...

..and even where they
choose to make their dens.

Information that is essential
for conservation,

but also critical
for the camera crews.

Finding the place
where a lioness is hiding

her newborn cubs is proving
particularly difficult.

The crew have searched everywhere.

It's been about seven days,

just driving around in the bushes.

And then, at last,

they pick up the radio signal

coming from the lioness's collar.

I'm very excited to have a signal.

But Mark knows it could be coming
from any one of these bushes.

Every single bush
is a potential den.

I mean, she's been missing
for five, six days

and we've been
combing this whole area.

But we've found her cubs.

It's four
really beautiful cubs,

and we think the cubs
are about four days, five days,

because their eyes are just
starting opening at the moment.

We've managed to get shots of them,

so it's a really big moment,
actually.

Our powerful lenses produce images
that enable the conservationists

to see the animals they study
in intimate detail.

This unique collaboration
brought many surprises.

One of the biggest surprises -

finding that one wild dog
had only three legs.

Go, go.

He really needs
urgent expert assessment.

We are leaving camp now.

Thandiwe Mweetwa and Henry
are on their way.

They recognise that this injury

must have been inflicted
by a wire snare.

A wire snare is formed
in the shape of a noose.

It's basically a trap
for catching wild antelope,

but any animal can get trapped.

And then, as it struggles,
this wire starts

to cut through whatever
body part has been caught.

Despite his snare injury,

this wild dog, which the team
have named Flint,

seems to be coping well
on three legs.

Yep. Centre, yep.

Flint is still an important member
of the wild dog family

that we followed
throughout the series.

His story illustrates the way
wild dogs look after each other.

The pack makes sure
he can keep up...

..and that he doesn't go hungry.

But then...disaster.

WHINING

Just watching the crocodile
attack was incredibly tough.

We're only 20 feet away

and see others trying to save him.

And I found it probably
one of the worst things

I've had to film in 20 years.

In the end, Flint's snare
injury proves to be too much.

Oh, my God.

Wow. That was good teamwork.

Missing a leg meant that he wasn't
as fast when escaping danger.

So sad.

The use of snares is widespread,

and is one of
the biggest threats here

to both lions and wild dogs.

So, when news comes in
about a lion caught in a trap,

they know that they
must get the snare off

as quickly as possible,

especially so because that
individual is a dominant male.

If the snare's
not removed very soon,

it can keep tightening
and it can suffocate the lion.

It will take about ten minutes
for the lion to go to sleep.

GUN POPS

This male is protecting 12 cubs.

Losing just one individual can be
catastrophic for any dependent cubs.

If he dies from this injury,

rival males could take over
the pride and then kill his cubs.

We can approach and see.

ENGINE IGNITES

You want that snare
off as soon as possible,

you know, just in case the lion
wakes up halfway through.

Wounds from snares
can often cause infection,

so it's important
to clean it thoroughly.

So... OK.

By saving this one male lion,

the team has also helped
to protect his cubs.

Those cubs will end up
having more babies.

So, it's going to be
a lot of other animals

just from the result
of one de-snaring.

Bye.

There have been 400 cubs
born to the lions

saved by the teams working here.

Is it worth it,
saving just one life?

The answer is a resounding yes.

Even though this area
is a sanctuary,

thousands of snares
are set here each year.

One day it could be a lion,
the next, a giraffe,

and that can be particularly tricky.

It takes a big team,
and it's dangerous.

A single kick
could certainly kill someone.

SHOUTING

Giraffes are so sensitive
to the sedative

that the team have
less than ten minutes

from the dart going in
to getting the snare off.

SHOUTING
Hold, hold, hold, hold!

Their methods may seem extreme,

but it's the only way
to save its life.

MUFFLED SHOUTS

The clock is ticking.

URGENT SHOUTING

Extra hand! Careful!

The snare's off? Snare's off.

GIRAFFE SNORTS

It's a win for the team...

..and the giraffe.

But it takes all sorts of approaches

to keep these animals safe.

Godfrey Mwanza leads the unit
working to stop poachers

killing wildlife in this area.

He sees snares all the time.

Snares are cheap, silent and deadly.

Each can kill dozens of animals,

and does so indiscriminately.

It's not just snares.

Poachers here use guns, too.

In the fight against poachers
of every kind...

..Godfrey has a secret weapon.

BARKING
Detection dogs.

They're so crucial to his work

that the dogs are protected by
their handlers around the clock.

Tonight, the team is responding
to a tip-off that poachers

are operating close
to the national park.

ENGINE IGNITES

By operating at night,

it's more likely the poachers
will be off their guard,

reducing the chance of them
opening fire on the officers.

Using the dog is very,
very important...

Good boy.

..because the dog
will pick up the scent.

Good checking.

Good boy.

The dog's picked up the scent

of the animals
previously caught in this trap.

HE TAPS

But the snare is proof
that poachers are operating here.

And that is a big worry
for the film crew.

Lianne and Will have been
filming Mutima

since she was a tiny cub.

Mutima was a very small cub,

and she was very shy.

Now she's beautiful and elegant,

but you only see them
when they want to be seen.

Despite this, Lianne managed to film

a pivotal moment for the family,

when Mutima's mother
made it clear it was time

for the young cat
to find a territory of her own.

SNARLING, YOWLING

Mutima travelled over 100 miles
in search of a new home.

She actually wandered way further

than we could have ever imagined.

We heard from a guide
from far south,

"Oh, yeah, that leopard,
we've seen her here."

Because of her birthmark
in a shape of a heart,

people would recognise her.

She left the national park

and was forced
into an unfamiliar world.

Beyond the park's boundary,
there are hundreds of villages,

home to thousands of people.

VEHICLE PASSING

Travelling outside a national
park can be dangerous...

..for any leopard.

Godfrey's K9 team is
the first of its kind in Zambia.

As well as finding snares,

guns and ammunition...

..his dogs are also trained
to detect animal skins and ivory.

BARKING

Tonight, his team
has gathered new intelligence

and are heading
to a different village

to look for a cache of guns.

This time round,
they've been informed

that the guns have been hidden
inside the house.

CAR DOOR SHUTS

Checking.

Good checking.

OK, OK, let's go.

The team have searched everywhere,

but there's still no sign
of the guns.

This is where the dogs
really come into their own.

At last, the dog sits down.

It's a sign he has detected
something.

So far this year,

Godfrey and the team have
seized over 80 illegal guns,

many of them handmade,

but they are still able
to kill a leopard.

Thankfully, Mutima
eventually made it back

to the sanctuary
of the national park.

She was pretty adamant
to come back

and she is still here,

and I think she's waiting
for her mum's territory.

Despite Godfrey's team's success...

..they're facing a setback.

Rudi has been one of the best dogs.

But he is old, and he has
a condition on the legs.

It's time for Rudi to retire.

I'm proud of Rudi.

I'm going to miss him.

He was like a family member.

Godfrey has only four dogs

to patrol tens of thousands
of square miles.

He needs more canine recruits.

This is Ody, the latest trainee.

Down.

It's essential that his new handlers
build a relationship

from the first moment they meet...

..and start to build a bond.

You are a nice dog.

ODY PANTS
Good boy.

Looking good and healthy.

To catch poachers,

the pair will both need to be
at the top of their game.

Not only for their success,
but for their safety.

First...

..obedience training.

Swim!

He still has to learn some things
because he is young.

All right, come.

Like this morning,
though I was asking him,

he didn't want to come.

Come on, come.

He could hear me,

he was just pretending.

Ody, come.

Come!

That's why we are
doing the obedience training,

so that when we go in the field...

Good boy, man.

..he will listen to me as a handler.

Ody, come.

Sit. Wait.

There's a lot riding
on this young recruit.

Will he be able to make
the grade before Rudi retires?

For one of our camera team,

South Luangwa
is more than his workplace.

It's his home.

If you come from South Luangwa,
wildlife is a part of you.

When you see the elephants in
the park, filming them...

..you can easily tell they are,
you know, like, relaxed.

They're just minding
their own business.

But that's not always the case.

There is another side to elephants.

As we saw in earlier programmes,

they can be aggressive.

ELEPHANT RUMBLES

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
CUB YAPS

ELEPHANT BELLOWS

ELEPHANT SHRIEKS

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

Growing up in a village
beside the national park,

Samson Moyo has experienced
two sides of the wildlife.

These villages are mostly
farming communities

and the entire park is unfenced...

..which means wildlife is free
to move in and out at will.

Elephants are huge,
and when they come

to your village, it's scary.

I've heard a sound
and peered out of the window

to see an elephant eating our crops.

I know how terrible it is.

But people fear hunger
more than elephants.

So, people risk their lives

in trying to protect their food.

As dusk falls,

it's approaching the time
when elephants come

to villages like Samson's.

It's hard to imagine.

But Samson has a chance
to use the Kingdom filming tech

to show what it's really like

to have hungry elephants
on your doorstep.

This is the first time
I've had access

to night-vision technology.

We just sit,

wait for the elephants to come.

RUSTLING

LOUD RUSTLING

ELEPHANT SNORTS

RUSTLING, SNORTING

ELEPHANT RUMBLES

SHOUTING

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS LOUDLY

SHOUTING

ELEPHANTS TRUMPET, RUMBLE

Mangoes are very valuable
to the villagers.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

THUDDING

SHOUTING

HORN BLASTS

TRUMPETING
DOG BARKS

SHOUTING

HORN BLASTS

COMMOTION CONTINUES

SHOUTING

HORN BLASTS

ELEPHANT GROWLS

HORN BLASTS

SHOUTING
ELEPHANTS BELLOW

This can last for hours,

until the crop fields are empty
and the mango trees bare.

But there is a potential solution.

There's a new team in town.

The Rapid Response Unit.

The only one in Zambia.

Tonight, Samson is joining them.

They know that this
is not their area.

They just come here to steal
food from the community.

The Rapid Response Unit has
developed the imaginative technique

of using guns that fire chilli oil.

So, the bullet
carries chilli liquid.

Once you fire,
if you hit the elephant,

that scent of chilli
will stick to the animal.

They don't want to smell chilli
and they all run.

The unit is responding
to a call from a farmer

who has elephants in his field.

FAINT CLATTERING

MUFFLED CONVERSATION

Where are you? There. Elephants.

Let's go, let's go, let's go.

Stop.

There, there. OK.

He's... He's firing now.

Eh, fire.
GUNSHOT

Reload, reload.

Go ahead, fire.
GUNSHOT

PANICKED TRUMPETING

Stay away!

TRUMPETING

The Rapid Response Unit are
doing such an amazing job,

but a lot of people need their help,

and they can't be everywhere.

THUNDER RUMBLES

In South Luangwa National Park,

animals move freely.

They are truly wild.

WHINING

And throughout filming,
the dog pack moved

into and out of the kingdom.

At the end of the series,

they were last seen
heading over the border

and out of the national park.

But thanks to the signal
from the alpha male's collar,

Henry can still keep tabs
on the family from afar.

We know now the wild dog pack

is looking for a new home
outside the park.

GPS data shows wild dogs
travel huge distances.

Some even cross
international borders.

Conservationists can use this data
to help protect wildlife.

It can be used to identify
safe corridors,

both within Zambia and between
neighbouring countries.

It can even identify
likely hot spots

where poaching and conflict
might take place.

PHONE RINGS

Today, Godfrey's team is
targeting one such hot spot,

setting up a wildlife checkpoint.

You conduct a search
in every vehicle

which passes your roadblock.

Godfrey and Ody
have been training hard,

and now Ody is ready to be tested.

ODY GRUMBLES

He's certainly enthusiastic...

..but will he pass the test?

The team has hidden ivory

in one of their own patrol vehicles

to see if Ody can find it.

If Ody sniffs it out,
he should sit down,

to signal that he's found something.

ODY SNIFFS RAPIDLY

Oh, wow, Ody! Oh, yes!

Ody has graduated.

Good boy!

Good boy! Good dog!

To me, he did well

because this is
a new environment for him.

And just in time,

because a new challenge
is approaching.

THUNDER CRASHES

As the season moves on,

South Luangwa transforms.

THUNDER RUMBLES

At the end of the year
comes an intense rainy season.

And even the first rain showers

make it difficult
for teams to get around.

We've been trying to get to some of
the lions we've been filming.

Most of the roads are very bad.

Getting stuck out here is not ideal.

There could easily be lions hiding
in any one of these bushes.

CHEERING, SINGING

In a matter of weeks,
roads will become rivers.

Not only will filming
become unfeasible...

FLIES BUZZ

..but more importantly,

tracking poachers by vehicle

will be almost impossible.

The race is on for a solution.

This afternoon, we'll be doing
helicopter training with Ody.

Using the helicopter,

the team will be able to reach
all areas of the park - and fast.

But none of the older dogs
will go in the helicopter.

They're scared of the sound
of the rotors.

They don't like the helicopter
because of the sound.

They did not receive
the helicopter training

when they were young.

So now, hope is pinned
on their newest recruit.

All right.

Will he even get on board?

It's a very big success
if Ody goes into the helicopter.

Up.

Ody jumps straight in...

..but he does look a little nervous.

How will he respond
to the sound of the rotors?

Good boy. Good boy.

Turns out, Ody's a natural flyer.

This is game-changing for Godfrey.

Now nowhere is out of reach.

Using a combination
of the helicopter

and the dog team is
a big deterrent against poaching.

Ody, I may say,
is our hope for the future.

The tactics used
on helicopter missions

in the national park
are top secret...

..but across their operations
this year,

they have arrested
76 suspected poachers.

It's part of my job
to arrest people.

I'm also a human being...

..where I feel guilty
arresting people,

taking people to jail.

Cos maybe he's doing this
to put food on the table.

But that's what I was employed for -

to stop poaching.

And by stopping poaching,

Godfrey is helping
to protect both the old...

..and new generations
in South Luangwa National Park.

LION ROARS

CUB YELPS

A symbol of what is possible

when the people who know
this place work hand in hand.

I am hopeful that as long as we
continue doing what we are doing,

we have a bright future.
BEEPING

A future where the animals can live
out their natural wild lives.

My hope
for South Luangwa is that

people and wildlife
just continue to thrive.

I just hope that
20, 30 years down the line,

this place will still
be as amazing as it is today.

Or maybe even more amazing.

South Luangwa's wildlife

is protected by an army
of local people,

working tirelessly
to address the challenges

of our modern world.

People who have known
this place all their lives.

Perhaps this is the secret
to conservation success.