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Here, in the heart of Africa,

lives one of this great continent's most
extraordinary yet misunderstood animals.

Animals that only thrive
through remarkable team work,

and through the strength and skill
of their leaders.

Painted wolves, once known
as Cape Hunting Dogs,

are one of Africa's
most threatened predators.

Their packs require huge areas
of territory in which to hunt.

But today, because of human pressure,
their world is shrinking fast.

And whereas once neighbours
could live together in relative peace,

today there is intense rivalry
between them.

For more than two years,

our team here in Mana Pools in Zimbabwe,

have been following the fortunes
of one of the last great families.

We join them at a moment
when competition between mother

and one of her daughters is boiling up,

threatening to not only shatter
a long-established peace,

but to tear apart the whole family.

This is Tait,
the family's ruling queen.

She's a mother and a grandmother.

For years, she has used her position

to keep the peace within her
sprawling family.

But Tait is now old.

Her powers are waning.

Tait still controls
the very best hunting territory,

the rich lands on the banks
of the Zambezi.

But she's surrounded.

To the east
lie the dangerous lion pridelands.

To the south, forests full of hyena.

And to the west, a pack led by
one of Tait's daughters, Blacktip.

For many years, Blacktip has lived
in peaceful coexistence with her mother,

each with enough territory to survive.

But Blacktip's pack has grown huge.
It's now 30 strong.

For the first time,
she needs more territory

if she's to feed her growing family.

Normally, a daughter would not invade
her mother's territory.

However, with hyenas ruling
to the south,

and humans having taken
the hunting lands to the west,

Blacktip has no choice

but to turn her sights east,

towards her mother's lands.

Where, after a morning's hunt,
Tait and her pack are resting.

Blacktip's pack outnumbers her mother's
by more than two to one.

An ambush!

Against these odds,

Tait is powerless.

Retreat is the only option.

This has now become
Blacktip's territory.

A brief but bloody battle.

Tait and her pack are now homeless.

She retreats eastwards.

But this is dangerous country.

This river marks the boundary between
her own territory

and the lion pridelands.

In her long life,
Tait has explored every part of Mana.

She knows that this is too perilous
a place to make a home.

Lions will search out and kill puppies,
and even adults, if they get the chance.

For now, it's the only place to hide.

But Tait must keep her family safe,

well away from the 26 lions
that rule here.

Three months have passed
since Blacktip's takeover.

And all these lands
are now firmly under her control.

Blacktip's pack have spent
a great deal of time scent marking,

establishing their
new territorial boundaries.

And Blacktip and her family
have fed well

on what was her mother's lands.

But now, it's the dry season,
and the landscape is changing.

The ground is dangerous for hunters
who rely on speed.

Deep footprints left by elephants
in soft mud have baked as hard as rock.

And a painted wolf putting a foot wrong
could seriously damage itself.

The impalas' ability to leap over
the worst of the pot holes

now gives them an edge.

In these conditions, Blacktip's pack
will find it hard to feed themselves.

But the size and strength of the pack
might enable her to catch

a totally new kind of prey.

A large male baboon is strong,

almost twice the weight
of a painted wolf.

And armed with huge canine teeth.

The great size of Blacktip's pack

means the large males can't defend
their troupe against them all.

The meal has been hard-won.

But discovering this new possibility
has come at just the right time.

Blacktip won more
than just hunting lands

in her battle to claim Tait's territory.

She secured the safest place
to raise puppies in all of Mana Pools.

And sure enough, Blacktip has
a new litter of five hungry pups.

Their father is babysitting them today.

Everyone is impatient for the return
of the hunting party.

While they wait, the pups discover

that there's more to the world
than just their pack.

There's no rest for Blacktip.

She not only leads the hunting trips,

but, as the alpha female,
she's the only who breeds

and provides milk for the pups.

It's not just milk.

They're already eagerly eating meat.

Blacktip's hold on Tait's territory
appears to be paying off.

It has been four months since
Tait and her pack were forced into exile

here in the lion pridelands.

Compared to her home territory,
there is not only more danger,

but there's much less prey.

Yet, remarkably, even here,

Tait has managed to keep
every member of her pack alive.

But she is nowhere to be seen.

The rest of her family are waiting
close to an abandoned aardvark burrow.

And this is why.

Tait has spent the last three weeks
hidden underground.

She has managed, against the odds,
to produce her eighth litter.

Two tiny puppies emerge
for the very first time.

Honey badgers.

They are notoriously aggressive,
and a danger to the pups.

Tait's youngest daughter, Tammy,
has never seen one before.

But her instinct tells her
to drive them away.

And this gives Tait the chance
to get her pups to safety underground.

This year, both Tait and Blacktip

have produced far fewer puppies
than ever before.

Perhaps this is the first sign that
the conflict between the two packs

is threatening the future
of the entire family.

Twice a day, Tait has to lead her
hunting party on a risky journey

to the banks of the Zambezi river,
where the prey gather.

But it is also the very heart
of lion territory.

She must sneak them
into position undetected.

Then, it's in and out
as fast as possible.

The pack need to work fast.

All that effort
for a few mouthfuls of food.

The puppies will go hungry today.

And the pack
has been dealt another blow.

Again it's Tammy, Tate's youngest
daughter, who spots the problem.

Tammy's sister has fallen.

She has broken a leg
stumbling into an elephant's footprint.

For most animals, this would be the end.

But the family won't just leave her
to fend for herself.

Painted wolves, perhaps more
than any other animal,

care for pack members
who are old or injured.

Tait's family will protect and feed her

while she herself
cannot join in the hunt.

The dry season turns to drought.

The great buffalo herds are on the move.

Food and water are becoming
increasingly scarce.

All of Mana's inhabitants
are now drawn towards the Zambezi

and the few pools that remain
along its banks.

The drought also means that it's time
for Blacktip and her pups

to leave their den behind.

For the pups,
this is their first adventure.

Now the pups are old enough
to follow the adults,

Blacktip can resume marking
the new boundaries of her territory

to consolidate her takeover.

On the far eastern borders,
Blacktip picks up a familiar scent.

It's old, but unmistakable.

Her mother.

This discovery
has an extraordinary effect on Blacktip.

She can tell from this smell
which direction Tait took.

Blacktip stops territorial marking
and instead sets off in pursuit

of her mother.

It seems that Blacktip is going
to try and drive Tait out of Mana

once and for all.

But she's taking a huge risk by going
into territory she doesn't know.

Hyenas.

On moonless nights,
the pack would normally rest up

somewhere safe until dawn.

But instead, Blacktip leads them,
marching on into the gloom.

No one wants to be
the straggler in the dark.

The family bunch together
much more closely at night.

And now, 15 hyenas are tracking them.

Attack may be the best form of defence.

Blacktip thinks
she's got the upper hand,

but she's let her pups get separated.

The puppy is lost.

Heads down, tails down,
they seem to mourn.

For hours, they march in silence.

A solemn procession.

Despite her loss,
Blacktip drives her pack on,

far beyond the boundary
of Tait's old territory.

Tracking her mother into a place
she's never been before,

deep into the heart
of the lion pridelands.

Tait, remarkably, has now managed
to keep her pack safe from the lions

for eight months.

Her injured daughter is on the mend.

The family have been protecting her
while she recovers.

They only survive here by being
on constant alert for signs of danger.

And today it is the wind
that carries a warning.

Blacktip is coming.

Forewarned, Tait isn't going
to risk an attack.

The pack turns tail and runs.

The temperature has reached 50 degrees.

Still, Blacktip pushes
her pack on in pursuit.

They're closing in,
less than a mile behind Tait.

But, finally, the heat is just too much.

Blacktip is forced to call a halt.

But danger is approaching.

The pack has scattered!

And now the lions
will try to pick off the puppies.

There's only one adult with the pups.

That won't be enough to save them.

But this might.

Buffaloes and ions
are always in conflict.

To charge in alone is very unusual.

But it's certainly saved the pups.

Blacktip and her pack have been
halted in their tracks.

Blacktip's pursuit of Tait

has exposed her family
to too many dangers,

too many risks.

The pack are desperate to help,

but there is nothing they can do.

The pursuit of Tait is over.

Blacktip's pack run.

They run, and run.

Mile after mile.

Puppies in tow.

All through the day,
all through the night.

All the way home.

The territory they stole, abandoned.

The conflict is over.

It cost too much.

Tait and her pack
can already sense Blacktip's retreat.

For the first time since
the beginning of the conflict,

they appear relaxed.

Soon, their keen sense of smell

will tell them their stolen territory
is no longer occupied.

It won't be long until it's time
for Tait's pack to also go home.

But Tait will not be joining them.

For seven-and-a-half years,

she's been their leader,
their matriarch.

And now, as their exile
finally draws to a close,

she has ensured her pack
still have a future,

a real chance
to reclaim their old territory.

Before her pack could,
at last, head home,

age finally caught up with Tait.

Too old, too slow,

she was no longer able
to evade the lions.

Her alpha male refused to abandon her.

Together, they died in the pridelands.

Tait's pack are left leaderless.

But the story doesn't end
with Tait's passing.

Life-giving rains follow the drought.

Hard times are quickly forgotten
in times of plenty.

And the story takes another twist.

On their way home, Tait's pack
attract a band of roving males.

And with these reinforcements,

they not only reclaim
some of Tait's old territory,

but also perform a ritual
never witnessed before.

With these haunting calls,
they are choosing their new leader.

And the chance
to continue Tait's bloodline.

Six months later,

hidden away in a secluded part
of the forest,

a litter of seven tiny puppies.

They're born to Tammy,
Tait's youngest daughter,

and now heir to Tait's throne.

With these new arrivals,
and the new males,

Tait's old pack has bounced back
to 23 members.

Tammy now leads a pack that is
once again a force to be reckoned with.

Back in the west,
with the conflict long over,

Blacktip has produced
10 healthy puppies of her own.

Balance has finally been restored
to Tait's dynasty.

There are only 6,600 painted wolves
left in the world.

To date, we count 280 descendants
from Tait's bloodline.

Tait's contribution to the survival
of this species is unparalleled.

Her dynasty feels secure.

For now, at least.

Of all the animals
featured in this series,

painted wolves range over
the greatest distances.

To document the unfolding story
of Tait and Blacktip,

the team first needed to find them,
and that required help.

This film is essentially undoable

without people
who really know the dogs.

Principally Nick and Henry.

Nick's been working
with the dogs for years.

Not only does he know
how to track them incredibly well,

but he also knows their habits
and their behaviours.

So, for 20 years,
I've been watching these dogs,

and when you're sitting on the ground
and you've got them

running around you, and they're
totally unfazed by you,

that's a great experience.

Nick Murray can identify
all of the 91 painted wolves

that the team saw on the floodplains.

But there's one individual
that he knows better than any.

MURRAY We've been interacting with Tait

for literally ten-and-a-half years
of her life.

With each successive litter
that she has,

we've got to know all of those dogs

when they come out of the den
and spend time with them.

Nick's knowledge of who is related to whom,

meant the team knew that it was Tait's
own daughter who was challenging her.

What was unfolding in front of camera
was a family drama.

The crew not only have
a team of trackers,

luckily the filming coincided

with a research project.

The reason for collaring the dogs
is to aid our monitoring of the pack.

Because we're actually able
to physically follow the dogs

so we can record their movements,

their territory size,
where they're going.

And that builds up a picture
of their land use.

In open landscapes,
these collars can transmit for miles.

But in the mixed habitat of Mana,

the signal often struggles
beyond 500 metres.

This is where Nick and Henry's
tracking skills really come into play.

Henry's been incredible on this.
His tracking is unbelievable.

Tracks are the key to the Whole game.

They tell the story.

And it's Henry's
highly-tuned tracker senses

that allow the team to capture
the pivotal moment in the film.

The team are tracking Tait's pack

when they drive through a pile
of droppings from the painted wolves.

I recognised the smell
which is Blacktip, not Tait.

Blacktip's diet of baboons

is enough for Henry to be able
to tell the packs apart

simply by smell alone.

The team quickly switch from
following Tait's radio channel

to Blacktip's.

Right away we heard
the very strong “ping, ping,"

so we carried on down to the river.

Sure enough, they were right there,

which is an area
they'd never been before.

It was incredible.

And then Henry noticed

some lions approaching
through the grass.

Knowing that there are
puppies in their pack,

I just turned my head away
from the scene.

You know,
I just didn't want to see, um,

any of the pups getting harmed.

I just stayed with the lion,
and suddenly this huge buffalo

came into shot.

I think what was amazing for me

was to see the lions
interact with the dogs.

But to then catch a buffalo
under the very same tree,

that's just ridiculous.

I tell you, I just like stood there
dumbfounded, mesmerised,

seeing the whole scene
that was going on.

It was like a dream, really.

To try to capture every aspect

of the unfolding story,

it was sometimes necessary
to have five camera teams

working simultaneously.

We've got 52 cases of kit.

A Cineflex, a night thermal camera,
and umpteen other things.

It's very ambitious,
what we're trying to achieve.

Not wanting to miss a thing,

our teams follow both packs,

on the ground,

and in the air.

One ground team with Tait,
the other with Blacktip.

Employing the latest
in unmanned aerial camera technology

allows the crew to capture unique views

as the pack go about
their business undisturbed.

To cover more ground
the crew bring in a helicopter.

And as the days draw to an end,

the latest ultra high-definition,
low-light cameras

capture the action,

even when it's almost too dark to see.

And once complete darkness falls,
the night team take over.

A thermal camera can penetrate
the darkness with no need

for any artificial light.

You know, to get those shots,
it takes a lot of skill.

And that is not our skill,
that is our guide's skill.

Oh, there they are, over there.

The yield of shots has gotten
better and better on every shoot.

On the last shoot
we were with them every day.

And that's What's brilliant about
being able to put true time in.

And it's tough, actually,
because you spend

day in, day out with these animals
for months and months and months.

And their lives become
very important to you,

and the story can be incredible.

But it's actually quite
an emotional roller-coaster

to see what happens to them.

This story of family rivalry

only began because Blacktip was unable
to expand her territory away from Tail;

and was forced instead
to invade her mother's lands.

The biggest problem facing
painted wolves today is habitat loss.

Basically, they're running out of space.

We have isolated National Parks
surrounded by human settlements.

In the modern world, that means they're

running across roads,
they're hitting snares,

getting poisoned.

It's a... It's a tough world
out there for them.

7% of painted wolves

actually live outside
of the National Park system.

Their future is very bleak.
It's not looking good.

So the wild dogs of the Zambezi Valley
are lucky,

because these dogs can travel
from park to park, through corridors.

But that's not the case
in most areas in Africa.

If you came back in ten years' time,

I think Tammy's descendants
will still be around,

battling it out
against the lions and hyenas.

It's a tough life,
never mind the human conflict.

Painted wolves, individually,
may lack the nobility of a lion,

but the subtlety of their communications

and the complexity
of their social organisation

gives them a fascination
all of their own.

Surely they deserve to hold their place

alongside the great hunters
of the African plain.

Next time...

A tigress struggles to rear
her new family.

Rivals are trespassing on her territory.

Can she raise her cubs
through adulthood?