All language subtitles for Swamp Cats BBC Natural World 2004 DVB XviD MP3 EN

In the heart of a great African wilderness

a tiny lion cub, her eyes still
closed and just a few days old

is carried by her mother
to a new place of safety

With luck and the help of her family

she will grow up to be a very special lion

Part of a pride who live
a very unusual existence

in an extraordinary place

These lions live in
the Okavango Delta in Botswana

and they spend more than
half the year in a swamp

This remarkable pride does
things very differently

from their savannah or
woodland-living cousins

Living here means tackling
the unique challenges of being

a Swamp Cat

It's the beginning of winter in the Okavango,
the driest time of the year

There's been no rain for months,
and most of the Okavango is dry,
windblown and layered in dust

But despite these, a great
gathering is taking place

From miles around,

thousands of buffalo have begun to assemble,
in preparation for a great march

For them there is almost
no grazing here and little to drink

Elephants gather here too

treading ancient pathways
to the few remaining waterholes

Before long, even this
precious water is churned to mud

Yet the buffalo appear to be moving even
deeper into the parched floodplains

Because they know a dramatic change
is on its way

It arrives as tiny tendrils of life

a precious annual flood that will turn the
arid plains into a massive swampland

Rain that's fallen in the
highlands of Angola 1000 miles away

has taken 4 months
to reach the Okavango

It starts slowly as trickles of
water creeping over the land

filling a web of dusty pathways,
sheeting out across the plains,

spreading into the land of the Swamp Cats

Somewhere here in a secluded woodland,
one of the female swamp cats
has hidden her newborn cubs

This is Fulani, the most mischievous
and playful of three sisters

As most lionesses do,
Fulani's mother left the main pride

and hid herself in a safe place,
away from male lions and predators

while she gave birth

She and her sister will
spend the next few weeks here

raising Fulani and her two siblings

All around them, their home is about to change

In a matter of days,

thousands of square miles of
dusty grasslands transform

Muddy waterholes become glistening lagoons

and the vast dry floodplains take on the
polished sheen of crystal clear water

Almost overnight, Fulani's
sanctuary has become an island

they are now separated by miles
of water from their extended family

the swamp cat pride

They roam 100 square miles of this wetland,
they're one of the few prides that have learned

to survive the tough conditions of the swamp

1600 lions live in the Okavango region

Most of them live the life typical of
savannah lions and avoid the flooded areas

This pride does things differently

At the head of the family
are the grandmothers with
years of swampland experience

With their older daughters

they form the nucleus of swamp cat pride

a formidable sisterhood
bound together by blood ties

The swamp pride is lorded over by a great
Kalahari male and his two brothers

While savannah males spend a lot
of time away on territorial patrol

these swamp males show unusually
high devotion to the pride

spending much of their time with females

In summer, availability of food
drops by 80% as prey animals disperse

The pride survives this lean season
by splintering into smaller groups

but now, as the flood arrives,
they all begin to reunite

But they are still not up to full force

Fulani's mother and her new cubs are
still in hiding several miles away

Their sanctuary now surrounded
by all manner of new life

Some antelope are in their element here,

these are lechwe, aquatic grazers that
have evolved to live in Africa's swamps

Surrounded by water and
with hungry mouths to feed

Fulani's mother is forced into
the shallows in search of a meal

Lechwe are perfectly at home in the swamp

They have oily waterproof coats
and elongated hooves for running
over waterlogged ground

Confident that no predator can
match their speed in the water

they spend their time in the
shallows grazing new swamp grass

Fulani's mother knows that these
lechwe are a tough choice for a meal

though she also knows there're
ways to increase her chances

Her best bet is to be bold

and to run an inexperienced
young lechwe onto dry land

She's been lucky

but she's not going be able to support
her small family on such difficult prey

The waters of the Okavango never reach the sea

Instead, they spill out over 6000 square miles
of the ancient Kalahari desert

to form the largest inland delta on earth

Desert turns to vibrant swamp

a temporary oasis created
by the great winter flood

For little Fulani it's a bewildering time

she's never seen water before

She is curious, but like every cat on earth,
she has an instinctive hatred of water

Her mother is intent on getting
the cubs into the shallows

Growing up here means that
Fulani and her siblings will
simply have to get their feet wet

their very survival depends on it

The water is rising

and if they are to join the main pride,
their mother will need to move now

Most savannah lion cubs aren't faced
with so many challenges early on

but these 6-week-old cubs
are straight in at the deep end

They will now have to make
an arduous and exhausting journey

across miles of cold, flooded grasslands

Icy water makes progress slow and tiring

Lions aren't designed for this environment

Only minutes into their journey,
the lionesses become uneasy

They're being followed

This unknown nomadic male poses
a serious threat to the cubs

For little Fulani and her siblings,
there's no rest

the shortest routes are
through the deepest channels

and with only their noses above water,

the risks of drowning and hypothermia are high

Still their mother urges them on

The young familiar male shadows them until dusk

Now Fulani's group is within striking
distance of the main pride

One last fast-flowing channel
separates them from home ground

The moment they cross this natural boundary

the male loses confidence
and abandons his pursuit

Winter nights in the Okavango
can plummet below freezing

and at first light,
the swamp is covered with frost

tough conditions for tiny cubs

The soft contact calls of Fulani's
mother drift across the dawn

letting the swamp pride know
she is coming home

Fulani's first big challenge's over

her mother cautiously leads
the cubs towards the pride

She stops at a safe distance

to reassure them she is family and not foe

After several weeks apart,
the sisters are reunited

Fulani is immediately at home in the accompany
of cousins large and small

She will be introduced to lion behavior

that is very different
from traditional lion families

Lions elsewhere have very separate
and rigidly enforced territories

Perhaps because of the unpredictable flood
and dry land being a short supply

lion prides in the swamp appear to
be less aggressive towards each other

and they actually share the islands

Uniquely, the swamp pride's home range

might overlap by as much as 80%
with a neighboring pride

So rather than patrolling borders
and scrapping with the neighbors

the swamp pride males spend more time
socializing with the rest of the family

The pride will need this level of cooperation

if they are to make a success
of life in the swamp

Under the watchful eye of the old grandmothers,
Fulani already has a head start

Although this pride male may be
a little daunting for Fulani now,

one day she will form a bond as special
with him as she has with her mother

Fulani is still dependant on her mother's milk

soon she will start to eat meat

and that's when she will need the
support of the extended family

The last two absent females accompanied
by a young male, head back towards the pride

For the entire summer, they've
been on their own trying to hunt
down whatever they could find

But lions are far less effective in small groups

so they end up stealing much of their food
from more successful hunters

Hyenas are perhaps the most
adaptable predators in the swamp

On the east African plains, it's the
lions that tend to make the kills

but here the lions are often
cast in the role of scavengers

At full force,

the swamp cat pride now has the muscle-power
to tackle extremely large prey

and they've brought down an adult
giraffe during the night

Giraffe are one of the few large
animals left in the flooded plains

yet incredibly the swamp pride had worked out
how to pull down this powerful animal

Fulani climbs in for her first tentative
taste of meat alongside her father

Elsewhere pride males rarely allow
youngsters so close at the kill

but the swamp pride males show
remarkable levels of tolerance

This feast is unusual and
will tide them over for a while

but the prey they really
depend on has yet to arrive

As the flood continues to rise
and spill out across the land

it reaches its highest level for 20 years

pushing out most of the grazing animals

After several weeks of trekking
the great herds of buffalo finally
begin to appear in the swamp

streaming in sinuous lines
across the flooded grasslands

Their goal is the new sweet grass,
nourished by the floodwaters

These herds are constantly
on the move across the swamp

searching out fresh grazing

And, keenly awaiting their return
are the swamp cats

After the hardships of the last few months,
suddenly there's potential prey everywhere

But hunting these buffalos
is not for the faint-hearted

Stalking very deep in the swamp
is far more demanding than on dry land

and tackling the highly
dangerous African buffalo

is a task that only experience
and weight of numbers can achieve

It will be a testing time for the lions
especially the youngest in the pride

From now one the swamp cats
will be constantly on the move

to stay within range of the buffalo

and little Fulani and the other cubs
will be forced to keep up

no matter how exhausting
and treacherous the journey

In front are the wise old grandmothers
who are veterans of the game

How well they use their knowledge
and experience will determine

the survival of Fulani and the rest of the pride

The grandmothers maintain a relentless pace

as they lead the pride from island
to island on the trail of the buffalo

On a welcome patch of dry land

Fulani and her cousins take
the rare opportunity to romp

a brief lapse in concentration
that has serious consequences

Fulani becomes separated from the group

The pride drawn by the distant
sound of buffalo presses on

unaware that Fulani is missing

A yelps are muffled
by the sounds of the swamp

And her mother's scent trail is lost in the water

Naturally, Fulani's mother hears a faint cry

Neither mother nor cub is sure of direction

and their paths diverge in the swamp

Fulani is in real danger

Small cubs separated from
the protection of the pride

for even a short time are killed
by hyenas, crocodiles or leopards

or simply succumb to cold and exhaustion

In the Okavango more than half the cubs
die before they are even 12 weeks old

Despite her frantic searching,
Fulani's mother cannot find her lost cub

As dusk approaches, the rest of the pride stop
trailing the buffalo and settle down to wait

Fulani's mother won't give up her search

The hours of darkness are the most
dangerous for an unprotected lion cub

with many predators on the prowl

The little cub has survived the night

but she is frightened and confused

During the night the pride has
joined Fulani's mother in the search

And now they can hear the cub's desperate calls

Fulani's misadventure has cost
the pride valuable time and energy

A day's gap is opened up
between them and the buffalo

The herd is many islands
and water crossings away

And the swamp pride needs to make up ground

When the exhausted cubs begin
to slow the pride down

the females are forced to leave them

All lions leave small cubs alone while hunting

but it's a much tougher situation
for Fulani and the other cubs

The swamp pride may be away
for days tracking the buffalo

so the cubs must wait quietly
for fear of attracting hyenas

Out on these floodplains, the swamp cats

face far more hunting challenges
than most lions

There is so little cover

that an ambush is difficult to set up

Stalking low in the water is impossible

But they still need to rely on stealthy and surprise

So the swamp cats have had to master
the art of approaching quietly in water

Even if they can get close,

the lion's main weapon - explosive speed
is severely hampered in the shallows

Buffalo are clever, powerful and dangerous

They are also strong swimmers

so the pride needs to employ special tactics

As the lions close in and the buffalo's
own noisy progress through the water

marks the sound of the lions' approach

These swamp-specialists have learned
through bitter experience

not to attempt an attack in the water

They carefully maneuver around the herd

two females swim round
to cut off any escape route

The pride inches into position

concentrating on a small group
with a calf

They wait until the buffalo edge onto
dry land before springing the ambush

But the buffalo know exactly how
to respond by heading for deep water

Despite the size of the pride,

most buffalo hunts in water end like this

Nine out of 10 hunts fail

The swamp cats regroup and
get back on the buffalos' trail

They will shadow the herd
and wait for another chance

Each side understands the inevitable
and ongoing contest

As the shadows lengthen, the lions settle
down prepared to play a waiting game

Darkness brings cover

and at night, the buffalo tend to spend
more time on dry islands than in the water

giving the swamp cats an edge

Hunting by moonlight

these two adversaries play out
an ancient game of cat and mouse

Only this time,
the mouse weighs nearly a ton

and is heavily armed

All night long, the 3 males harass
the resilient buffalo herd

When the dawn comes, there's no kill,
but there's a victim

An old bull is down,

exhausted by the lions' persistent attacks

Some of the buffalo cows have banded
together and stand by him

presenting a united and intimidating
front to the waiting lions

But eventually the cows recognize
the old bull's time is up

and abandon him to his fate

He rises to his feet for one last defiant stand

There's no rush

both the hunters and the hunted sense
that the outcome is now inevitable

As the adults settle down to feed

Fulani's mother goes back to fetch
all the junior members of the pride

This is Fulani's first taste of buffalo

And she joins in alongside the adults

All show remarkable tolerance
towards each other

Fulani soon learns the tricky art
of picking the bones clean

Because each buffalo is so hard won,
the swamp cats won't waste a thing

There will be nothing left for the vultures

An old female meticulously buries the entrails

disguising any smell that would
carry on the wind and attract hyenas

Fulani watches and learns

but more importantly, the meal has
bought the pride some time to relax

Lions are the only social big cats

and none are more sociable
than the swamp cats

Playing is important for forming alliances,

and the special cooperation

that the pride need for killing
dangerous animals like the buffalo

Fulani will need a little bit more weight

and tackling experience before
she will be taken seriously

A few weeks later, at the height
of the winter season

over 70% of the swamp pride's
home range is under water

The waterlogged land lies under a
blanket of mist in the cold morning air

This is when the great Okavango
is at its most spectacular

Emerald green grasses grow
through the floodwaters

and the areas between the
isolated islands are crisscrossed

with a web of trails left by animals

as they move through this complex wetland

In the intervening weeks,

the swamp pride has managed
to pull down a few buffalo

and Fulani is growing into
a strong and independent cub

One of the most intense periods of
her young life is about to begin

The water is now so deep that the great
buffalo herds break up into smaller groups

and begin to disperse,
making them harder to find

The swamp cat pride are so reliant on
the buffalo to keep them in good shape

that they must venture into the deeper swamp
and take whatever opportunities they can

Only by being able to swim and follow the
buffalo, can the swamp cats survive here

The pressure is on for the cats,
because the season is drawing to an end

The buffalo begin to move out
of the swamp cats' territory

and soon they will be gone

Time is running out for the lions

Fulani and the other cubs will go with them

it will be her greatest challenge yet

Hours of swimming with the pride
across the deepest part of the swamp

Leading once again will be the grandmothers

they remember the best places
to cross deep fast flowing channels

They can anticipate how to play
the swamp to their advantage

and they know where these last isolated
groups of buffalo might be found

Fulani's ability to learn
the tricks of being a swamp cat now

will determine whether she will
succeed or fail in years to come

She must learn to find safe crossings

how to stalk prey, the best ways
to conserve heat and energy

where crocs will be lurking.

How to take part in an ambush

In other words, the problems of
being a cat that lives in water

The swamp cats have followed the last big herd

to one of the large dry islands
on the very edge of their home range

Now they prepare an ambush

The cubs are far too small to approach
aggressive buffalo who would kill them on sight

so they're left close by to watch and learn

Fulani has a grandstand view

Each lioness maneuvers carefully
into position surrounding the buffalo

Some hide and patiently wait

Others begin a flanking movement
to get behind the herd

Every cat moves closer,
waiting for the buffalo to panic

Soon the floodwaters will start to recede

and the delta will turn
once more towards desert

In these summer months,
Fulani will become a young adult

During the dry season,
the pride will split up

and Fulani will shadow
her mother learning to hunt

honing her skills in the swamp

So that by the time the annual
floodwaters arrive again

and the swamp pride reunites
for the next great buffalo season

Fulani will be an accomplished
hunter and a successful swamp cat

www.mvgroup.org