Original subtitles

Narrator: In zambia's luangwa valley,

Two tribes are at war.

(groans)

On one side the mighty mwamba pride:

A band of hunters who rule this wilderness.

Their opponents...

A veritable battalion of 300 buffalo.

Armed and very dangerous.

(growling)

As their life and death feud plays out,

It sends ripples through the lives of every animal here.

(snarling)

When the final confrontation draws near,

Who will come out on top?

(snorting)

(♪♪♪)

This is the mwamba pride.

A 20-strong family of lions,

Constantly on the lookout for their next meal.

Nine powerful lionesses are the pride's elite hunters.

Their teenage cubs are eager to join the hunt...

Practicing their moves at any opportunity.

At the helm sits a trio of pride males...

(groans)

Axel,

Spike,

And mohawk.

These fearsome beasts

Are the most powerful lions in the land,

And rule a prime territory

In the heart of zambia's luangwa valley.

It's a patchwork of grassland and forest...

Teeming with just the sort of animals lions like to eat.

(zebras yapping)

Running through it is the broad luangwa river,

A lifeline for everything here.

The mwamba territory

Occupies nine square miles of the west bank.

It's August, three months since the last rains...

Two more until the next.

At this time of year

Prey has no choice but to venture to the river to drink.

And with their well-appointed riverside real estate,

The mwambas are in the perfect position

To reap the riches of the dry season.

There's one animal

The mwamba pride covets above all others.

(snorting)

Buffalo.

But this ultimate prize is also the deadliest.

These one-ton giants are lion killers,

With hooves that trample attackers into the dirt

And horns that rip through flesh.

Armor-plated by their two-inch-thick hide,

It takes a whole pride to bring down a buffalo.

Not something to undertake lightly.

(snarling)

A successful buffalo hunt

Usually requires the strength of the big males.

The lionesses specialize in smaller prey.

(grunts)

They're experts in concealment and surprise.

And this patchwork landscape is full of hiding places.

The prey's only hope is to run.

Like all lions the mwambas lack the stamina for a long chase.

But, once night falls,

The lionesses' vision gives them the advantage.

Despite their deadly skills,

Only one in three chases ends in a kill.

A lot of hard work for such a small meal.

One impala doesn't stretch far between 20 diners.

Keeping everyone well-fed

Is testing the mwamba lionesses to their limits.

By the following afternoon, the pride is hungry again.

This time pork is on offer rather than venison.

(warthog squealing)

The warthog slips the net.

But as the temperature drops towards evening,

The menu changes again...

Beef.

A bachelor group of buffalo.

One bull would feed this hungry family for a week.

A crack team,

The lionesses fan out...

Their movements are coordinated,

Each knows her role in the hunt.

They isolate a bull.

But he's ready for them.

The mwambas must stay out of range

Of his wickedly sharp horns.

His thick hide foils an attack from behind.

On his feet, this ton of muscle is unstoppable.

Without the heavy pride males,

The lionesses lack the bulk to fell him.

(♪♪♪)

Spike arrives...

Too late.

The bull has taken refuge in a lagoon...

And there's no way to reach him

Without getting trapped in the mud.

(grunts)

Abandoning a lost cause...

The hungry lions head off to hunt elsewhere.

By daybreak the buffalo is long gone.

And the lionesses bear the marks of their bruising encounter.

In the days that follow,

Kills are few and far between.

The hungrier these lions get...

The more tempting the sight of a buffalo becomes.

But this buffalo isn't alone.

A herd 300-strong has crossed into mwamba territory.

Its dangerous ground,

Lorded over by known buffalo-killers.

But the pride-lands hold rich grazing,

And access to water.

The buffalo soldiers must take the risk.

Forging the way is the pathfinder.

A strong, dominant male.

The entire herd puts their trust in him.

This strategy keeps the group together

As they travel through the wilderness.

The buffalo have a much larger home-range

Than that of the lions...

Up to 400 square miles.

They follow a circuitous route through their domain,

Constantly searching for new grass

And never venturing more than twelve miles from water.

The buffalo's visits to the mwamba pride-lands

Are brief and unpredictable.

As they walk,

Mothers with calves seek shelter inside the herd,

Surrounded by burly adults.

The calves weigh only 90 pounds at birth.

A fraction of the size of their parents.

Their horns are just tiny stubs.

A much easier prospect for the hungry mwambas...

If they can get one on its own.

Impala and warthog would have run by now.

These buffalo are going nowhere.

Instead, they close ranks around the calves.

And then, turn the tables.

The lions know better than to put up a fight.

The buffalo win again.

Banding together safeguards the next generation.

It also protects adults

Who might not survive on their own.

Lions and buffalo are old foes.

The herd treads the same well-worn paths

Through the mwamba territory several times a month.

They're lion-savvy...

A missing tail is a sure sign of a lion encounter.

But this knowledge cuts both ways.

The lions know what it takes to bring down a buffalo.

They must choose the right time and place

To shift the odds in their favor.

The buffalo will only be in their territory

For two or three days before moving on.

The pride's best option is to shadow the buffalo army

And look for a chink in its armor.

Every move the buffalo make, the lions will be watching.

The herd marches on through the mwamba lands,

Driven by the need to find food and water.

Buffalo are long-grass grazers,

Eating plants too dry and coarse for most other herbivores.

Their pathfinder seeks out patches of tall grass.

The buffalo bundle long stems together with their tongues,

And shear them off with their teeth.

Other long-grass grazers, like zebra,

Tag along with the buffalo battalion.

Staying close to this armed infantry

Is the best way to find food and stay safe in lion country.

The relentless trampling and grazing of hundreds of buffalo

Keep this grassland open

And stop the forest from encroaching.

Once they've cleared this area of long grass,

The buffalo will move on,

Only returning when the grass has regrown.

Wildebeest and other antelope that each short grass,

Follow in the buffalo's wake,

Lured by the promise of newly exposed grazing.

By keeping clearings like this open,

The buffalo help to draw other herbivores

Into the mwamba's territory.

In part, the pride owes its rich pickings to its foe.

By their second day in mwamba territory,

The buffalo have attracted other hungry eyes.

Leopards are opportunists,

Eating anything from mice to antelope.

This big male

Could take down a buffalo calf given half a chance.

Rumbled.

Guinea fowl,

Foraging on insects disturbed by the herd,

Are excellent bush sirens.

(grunts)

Another predator put in its place.

It's a lesson for the hungry lions...

A surprise attack is not an option.

Threat taken care of,

The herd gets straight back to business.

Each adult buffalo needs 30 pounds of fodder a day.

It takes around 9 hours of eating

To meet that quota.

The lions aren't the only animals

After the buffalo's blood.

Biting ticks burrow into their hide

And are hunted out by yellow-billed oxpeckers.

Each bird can eat 100 blood-swollen parasites a day...

Wherever they're hiding.

(chirping)

The birds aren't just being good samaritans.

They also peck at open wounds to drink the buffalo's blood,

Which stops injuries from healing.

The oxpeckers cling to the buffalo day and night.

With the herd on the move around the clock,

The birds can't risk losing their meal ticket.

They only leave their host once a year to nest

And rear chicks.

Once they've grazed the clearing,

The herd starts to move on,

Taking their blood-thirsty passengers with them.

But this army of eaters leaves something behind.

A buffalo produces just over 2 pounds of dung a day.

This herd of 300 can drop a third of a ton.

Nutrients in the droppings fertilize the soil,

Spurring the growth of new grass.

This will draw the buffalo back

Into the mwamba's territory again in a few months' time.

Just one stop in their never-ending quest for food.

The trail of dung also makes them simple to follow.

The herd doesn't just come to the pride's domain

For the good grazing.

Buffalo have to drink every day.

That long grass is coarse

And doesn't contain the moisture they need.

Wherever he takes them in search of food,

The pathfinder must eventually lead them to water.

In the dry season

The banks of the shrunken luangwa river are steep.

Access points where 300 buffalo can reach the water to drink

Are few and far between.

And the mwamba pride territory

Is centered around just such a place.

This is the ace in the lions' hand.

It's why the buffalo herd keeps coming back.

(snorting)

Each thirsty buffalo

Needs nine gallons a day to sustain it.

It only takes each one about six minutes to drink its fill.

But in a herd of 300,

Hours can pass before everyone's thirst is quenched.

The lions too come to drink.

But water does little to blunt the pride's growing hunger.

The buffalo seem like sitting ducks.

But this is not the place to launch an attack.

In such wide open terrain

There are no hiding places for the lions,

And plenty of escape routes for the buffalo.

But the herd can't rest easy.

Other ambush hunters have the buffalo in their sights.

Nile crocodiles.

Old males can reach sixteen feet in length.

These are the only predators in africa

Strong enough to take down a bull single-handed,

Something the mwamba pride can only dream of right now.

A kill would keep these reptiles fed for weeks.

(grunting)

Missed.

But the shock of the attack causes panic.

The stampede takes the buffalo back into the bush...

The lions' preferred terrain.

Most of the herd is still thirsty.

But they're nervous of returning to the river.

Before nightfall the pathfinder must find water,

Where everyone can drink.

He leads them to a muddy lagoon nearby,

The remains of an oxbow lake that was once a river bend.

It's too shallow to hide crocodiles,

But it's in full view

Of the mwamba's favorite shade trees on the far side.

The buffalo smell the lions before they see them.

Their eyesight is good,

But their sense of smell is even better.

(snorts)

The buffalo know the lions

Won't risk crossing the deep mud to attack.

And there's no cover for them to slip round the back of the herd.

At last, the buffalo can quench their thirst...

While the oxpeckers mine their ears for oil-rich wax.

Where the lagoon is deepest,

Older males indulge in a little pampering.

Their thinning hair no longer protects them from the sun

And biting flies,

But the soothing mud offers relief.

These old dirt-crusted bulls are known as dagga boys,

After the local word for mud.

Past their prime,

They live on the fringes of the herd.

If the hungry mwambas are ever going to bring down a buffalo,

A dagga boy may be their best hope.

When the herd finally leaves the lagoon,

The pride quickly skirts its borders and follows.

In their eagerness, they miss a golden opportunity.

A pregnant female, trapped in the deep mud.

(squawking)

(buffalo mooing)

Weaker than the massive bulls,

And made more cumbersome by her huge belly,

She can't haul herself out.

The lions haven't spotted her,

But others have.

White-backed vultures start their macabre vigil.

A clan of hyenas spots the birds a mile away.

White-backed vultures are only interested in big game,

So the hyenas know there's something worth investigating.

(buffalo mooing)

(flies buzzing)

The gang arrives under cover of darkness.

They're trespassing on mwamba turf.

The pride and the clan are deadly rivals.

(flies buzzing)

Less than half the weight of a lion,

The hyenas can walk over the mud.

These skilled hunters

Wouldn't normally tackle such dangerous prey.

But the pregnant cow has succumbed

To heat and exhaustion.

The hyenas work in silence,

To keep their prize secret.

Each of them can bolt down more than 30 pounds of meat.

While some eat their fill,

Sentinels watch for the lions' return.

Oblivious to the feast they've just missed,

The mwambas are a mile away,

On the trail of the rest of the buffalo.

In the darkness, the herd is on the move.

Buffalo spend 18 hours a day walking and foraging,

Only resting in daylight when they can spot danger coming.

This time spike is hunting with the lionesses.

It could be just the edge they need.

The wary buffalo close ranks,

Leaving no outliers vulnerable to attack.

Blinded by night,

The buffalo still stare their enemy down.

Even with a male in tow,

The lions know better than to attack this formidable garrison.

The darkness enhances the lionesses' hunting skills.

Their eyes are seven times more sensitive than humans',

Picking up and amplifying glimmers of light

From the moon and stars.

Staying downwind and using the darkness as cover,

They stalk puku.

This is open ground.

In daylight the puku would be long gone.

But in the dark the enemy is much harder to spot.

The lions can't maintain a top-speed chase for long.

(squealing)

They only charge when a target is tantalizingly close.

(♪♪♪)

(squealing)

With the teenagers in tow

There's no co-ordination to this hunt.

The whole family joins in.

(squealing)

(growling)

(♪♪♪)

Success!

(growling)

But again, there's barely enough to go around.

With food so limited, the lionesses eat first.

(growling)

The teens are left with scraps.

The pride needs a good meal that will feed everyone.

They must kill a buffalo before the herd leaves their territory.

Time is running out.

Back at the lagoon,

The hyenas have made short work of the trapped cow.

The white-backed vultures

Are forced to wait until the hyenas are finished.

(hyenas yapping)

They were first to spot this bonanza,

But they must make do with leftovers.

(screeching)

Bellies bulging,

The hyenas head back to their den,

Out of enemy territory.

(panting)

The mwambas are worn out.

Tracking the herd is taking its toll.

Right now

The priority is to conserve energy and keep cool.

As the morning heat intensifies,

The only sign of life is a flock of red-billed quelea.

(chirping)

These are seed-eaters,

Drawn to grassy areas in search of juicy grains.

The buffalo's frequent grazing in the mwambas' territory

Means there is plenty of grassland here.

It's a quelea hotspot.

As the grass seed ripens

The birds reach plague proportions.

Lions have been known raid quelea nests in low branches

And eat chicks when times are hard.

Things aren't that bad yet for the mwambas.

Right now this pride only has eyes for buffalo.

In the mid-morning heat

The pathfinder leads his herd back to the lagoon to drink.

The fate of their unfortunate comrade is forgotten.

They ignore the mwamba pride, safely across a sea of mud.

All the hungry lions can do is watch.

This is not the time.

Then, unexpectedly close,

Oblivious to the danger,

A huge male buffalo appears on their side of the lagoon.

All eyes are on him.

A dagga boy from the fringes of the herd.

This is the opportunity the pride has been waiting for.

And this time they have everyone they need for a take down.

The old boy's back legs look weak.

He may be injured or ill.

A healthy adult can easily outrun a lion.

But this loner is vulnerable.

He's still a ton of muscle and horn...

A formidable opponent.

The lionesses are ready to attack,

But they need the weight and strength

Of a male to win the day.

Spike steps up.

(♪♪♪)

The bull finally realizes the danger he's in.

The herd, his only possible source of help, retreats.

They must keep the cows and their calves safe.

The dagga boy is expendable.

It's the cue the mwamba lionesses were waiting for.

They distract the bull...

Spike seizes his chance.

(growling)

The bull's fate is sealed.

(groaning)

Mohawk ambles over.

The hard work already done,

He finishes the job with a firm grip

On the bull's windpipe and suffocates him.

The bull's thick hide means the lions can't go in

Through his stomach as they would with other prey.

They target weak points on his muzzle

And at his rear end.

Axel arrives as the lionesses breach the carcass.

He's played no part,

But as a defender of the pride he can claim his share.

There's plenty for all.

At last,

The pride has the big meal it so desperately needs.

Even the teenagers don't need to wait their turn.

The feasting continues for the rest of the day.

Lionesses who have eaten their fill retreat to the shade

To digest their huge meal.

Digesting meat produces a lot of heat.

The big cats have to pant to stay cool.

A male like mohawk

Can eat almost 100 pounds of meat in a single sitting.

After a feast like this,

He won't need to eat for days.

And there's plenty of meat

Still left on the carcass for the ravenous teens.

By nightfall, the whole pride is sated.

As they sleep off their epic meal,

Intruders arrive.

The clan's running a risk coming here.

Lions will kill to defend a carcass.

But the mwambas are so bloated they barely stir.

All that remains is the shell of the bull's tough skin,

Draped over his skeleton.

Hyenas aren't fussy eaters.

Their strong jaws shear through his thick hide,

And they crunch up and gulp down his bones.

The lionesses may not be hungry,

But they're not ready to let their rivals have a free meal.

(snarling)

Dawn reveals all that's left of the huge, old bull.

Butterflies, attracted by the scent of the kill,

Feed on his spilled stomach contents,

Along with an army of other insects.

The semi-digested grass is rich in valuable salts

And amino acids.

Nothing from this epic battle goes to waste.

The victorious lions rest together,

Their hunger finally satisfied.

After three days shadowing the wandering buffalo

The mwamba pride's determination has been rewarded.

They've faced their most dangerous adversary

And won.

It's time for the buffalo to leave mwamba territory

In search of pastures new.

They've lost two of their number,

But have done well to protect their calves.

They set off once more along well-trodden trails.

Eventually, they'll be back.

And the mwamba pride will be waiting for them.

(♪♪♪)

(♪♪♪)