Original subtitles

Two sisters.

Royal Bengal tigers.

And natural born killers.

Granddaughters of Machli--

the most famous queen tiger in the world,

They are now heirs to her magnificent throne:

The Lake Territory of Ranthambore, India.

But like all royal families before them,

Only one heir can own that throne:

A paradise for these big cats--

And one of their last sanctuaries on earth.

But these tigers don’t know that--

The sisters only want one thing:

They need to remove their mother--

And destroy the other…

To be the new queen and reign… Over Ranthambore.

CLASH OF TIGERS

In Rajasthan, India’s largest state

there’s a very special place:

Over 500 square miles of protected land

where tigers rule.

And this is Krishna, the queen of the lake territory.

Her cubs are only six weeks old

and she’s already moving them to a safer place.

Two boys and two girls.

For a mother tiger, having four cubs is rare.

And a handful.

Each one is already twice the weight of a domestic cat—

But they’re still vulnerable.

There must have been a good reason

to pack up and leave.

Perhaps other predators--

a leopard or another tiger—

got far too close.

But today, they must cross this lake—

Where there’s another, cold-blooded threat.

Hundreds of them.

The mugger crocs are the dominant lake predator here.

And where there’s water, there’s thirsty prey.

These ancient reptiles will try to eat anything:

Even a baby tiger.

Krishna is on a mission to move her four cubs

to a safer den—

--within the crumbling Raj Bagh ruins

that lie on an island in the middle of the lake.

Her jaw has the power to crush the neck of a large deer

and yet the tenderness to grip the scruff of her weakest cub--

Her daughter… Arrowhead.

Perhaps only a mother can know that.

The other three try to keep up.

Born to swim…

But these cubs are just beginners.

They make it onto dry land.

One, two…three…

A cub is missing.

Only one in two tiger cubs make it to their first birthday.

Today, this mother tiger loses one in four.

So, the odds are still against her.

Her searching calls are lost on the ears of crocs. ALT: crocodiles

Krishna took a gamble:

To save Arrowhead, her weakest,

she lost one of her strongest.

But there’s little time to mourn.

She still has three hungry mouths to feed and protect.

There’s Arrowhead…

Her sister, Lightning and their remaining brother: Bhola.

At this age, these mini-predators are still pretty helpless.

A mother cat also needs to eat

so that she can feed them her precious milk.

And it’s been four days since her last meal.

Krishna’s kingdom is a land of plenty.

Ranthambore is prime tiger real estate for a reason.

There may be an abundance of prey in the park

but catching it is another matter.

Here, for every seven attempts-- one kill.

And it doesn’t help when all these menu items

are in cahoots with each other.

The monkeys conspire with the spotted deer.

It’s a finely tuned alert system.

But disappearing stripes in the grass

is her strong suit.

This apex predator is patient...

and hungry.

Mother scores. A small, spotted deer.

But the smell of death travels far.

She must conceal the carcass from other predators--

Just the right distance from her den and the cubs.

When Krishna returns, her cubs know to be cautious

before they run out to greet her.

Prime access to her milk is all they want right now.

And mom’s position triggers tussles

between the two sisters and their brother.

The power struggles begin.

In a young litter, tiger cubs have got each other’s back.

But it’s short lived.

Serious competition is on the horizon.

Against each other and eventually their own mother.

The fifteen hundred-year-old fort that once blocked invading armies

is now just a crumbling nuisance for tiger cubs.

At three months old,

these little carnivores are already eating meat.

Krishna brings a giant steak home for dinner.

A sambar deer.

A royal catch for a queen.

But a mother tiger always wants to create a challenge for her cubs.

Today: the courage to leap.

Brother goes first.

But not to be outdone, the sisters want their share too.

A tiger super mom’s work is never done.

Krishna marks her territory

to ward off any danger to her cubs.

But there’s one massive threat

that she cannot communicate with nor control:

The weather.

As the heat and humidity builds,

Krishna knows she has to leave.

The monsoon is coming

and the land bridge to the tigers’ island paradise

is about to go underwater.

To get back off the island and to higher ground,

a long trek looms ahead.

Krishna’s three cubs face another dangerous test.

In India, the monsoon transforms the land so much

that all life must swim or sink under its relentless power.

In Krishna’s small corner of this great sub-continent,

a water-world is born.

Her lake territory becomes more lake than territory.

It’s a tough season for a tiger mother.

Hunting is grueling in the rain.

The soaked animals are always on the move

and hidden by the misty fog.

As her island refuge gets cut off from the mainland,

Krishna guides her cubs back safely to higher ground.

She keeps them high and dry

as the monsoon months roll by.

As the weather improves, Krishna goes out to hunt.

At ten months old, she leaves the cubs for longer periods

to build their independence.

The forest becomes their playground.

Play-fights build strength and a competitive streak.

The two sisters seem to relish this aggression the most.

And not just against each other.

The stronger sister, Lightning makes her first small kill

while her brother, Bhola sits back and watches.

It’s a tricky little mongoose.

Not bad for starters.

Bhola is used to always being fed first by their mother.

Perhaps because he’s the only male left in this litter,

he’s Krishna’s favorite.

But now, the tiger sisters can get their revenge-

--tease their brother and deny him a bite.

The play fights are becoming less about play

and more about fight.

Lightning continues to assert her power over Arrowhead.

Sharp claws are now unsheathed.

Is that a playful swipe or an aggressive strike?

But while the two sisters may not get along,

they both have time for their brother.

Even though male tigers are bigger

and stronger than the females,

Bhola doesn’t get caught up in these catfights.

He’ll have his own battles to face soon enough—

With other male tigers.

Perhaps even with his own father, Star—

Who for now, protects Krishna and her territory

and keeps other males away--

Males that could kill cubs that aren’t their own.

Their mother finally returns…but in silence.

No excited growls… and no scent… of meat.

Hunger pains aside though,

the cubs still greet their mother with tiger love.

But now Krishna has the extra duty

of disciplining her aggressive daughter--

Lightning is now too rough for her sister, Arrowhead.

Krishna also knows that her three cubs are hungry

and that milk is not enough for them anymore.

They need more meat.

Lightning, Arrowhead and Bhola are growing fast

and still very dependent on their mother for food.

But rather than leave them alone again,

Krishna makes the decision to take them hunting with her.

She’s chosen a place where the tree coverage is less dense.

And the spotted deer are in abundance.

Perfect for teaching junior predators

the skills of the chase and the final, deadly attack.

But they’re still a little too green.

Rooky hunters slow you down

and mother tiger cannot afford to fail again.

From the deer’s perspective,

a pack of four hunting tigers is not something they see every day.

They’re on high alert.

Krishna’s game plan is

to let the cubs approach from different directions,

confuse the deer while she hems them in.

That gives the tigers more targets to choose from.

But it takes a lot more skill to actually catch one.

The cubs have at least learned that

complete stillness is the secret to success.

Spots versus stripes.

Who has the best coat of deception?

Predator and prey face off.

Nothing escapes the multiple scanning senses

of an experienced carnivore.

The alarm shatters the forest.

The unmistakable siren of sheer panic.

The hunter herds the deer into denser foliage.

Krishna singles out the nervous and the weak.

And homes in on the perfect targets:

A mother and her fawn--

--a guaranteed handicap.

Another chase begins.

And this time the cubs are close on mom’s heels.

Krishna makes the final sprint

and cuts both deer off at the pass.

She brings down the mother.

And Arrowhead gets the fawn.

The cubs’ very first hunting lesson

has produced a two-course meal.

But they are still learning the lessons

of who sits where at the dinner table.

Bhola is given the honor of delivering the fatal bite.

And Arrowhead hogs the fawn.

Gaining confidence along with greed.

But there’s plenty to go around.

Lightning tucks into her piece of the carcass.

And like all good tiger mothers,

Krishna lets her cubs have the lion’s share.

Re-energized by a full stomach,

the mock battles continue between the two sisters.

And they only seem to get worse.

A tiger’s family doesn’t work

like we might expect it to--

A tiger’s family has a dark side.

Krishna’s main goal is to teach her cubs

to be independent and not to kill each other.

But …this part of Ranthambore is not big enough

for four grown tigers.

Soon, all this play fighting will become a battle for territory.

There’s always a risk that

all this training can backfire on a mother tiger.

Can Krishna ultimately hold onto her turf?

At 12 months old,

the cubs are the equivalent of teenagers.

Size wise, it’s hard to tell them apart from their mother.

But as far as maturity goes,

They still have a long way to go.

Friction has intensified between the two sisters.

It’s like Lightning’s jealous

of Arrowhead’s closeness to their mother.

She takes every opportunity to take a swipe at her more passive sibling.

Lightning’s attacks are becoming more violent

and Krishna has to intervene before they escalate.

With all this bullying,

Arrowhead starts to lose confidence.

Perhaps she feels safer if she walks in her mother’s shadow.

No more play fights--

if Krishna wasn’t around,

Lightning might seriously injure her sister.

The transition to adulthood has begun.

Arrowhead tries to escape to the lake area

for some hunting practice.

But Lightning won’t let her out of her sight.

By sneaking up behind her sister,

she alerts the prey,

which ruins any chance of success for either of them.

The weaker sister tries to bite back

but Lightning strikes and beats her down again.

Krishna moves in fast to break them up.

A mother tiger’s job is to protect the weaker cub

and help build her strength and courage.

If navigating the world for her cubs wasn’t difficult enough,

these ‘teenage’ years have to be the toughest for a mother tiger.

Keeping the competitive sisters from injuring each other

is the biggest challenge.

She can try to discipline Lightning

with a warning growl or a harmless swipe.

But her bossy daughter is defiant and ignores her mother.

So, it seems like the ultimate punishment is

for Krishna to ban her

from the privilege of walking by her side.

To make it clear that she won’t tolerate any trouble.

Constantly intimidated by her sister,

Arrowhead’s going through a rough time.

She’s safe while her mother is there to defend her

but is she strong enough to go it alone?

The once close-knit family is developing serious cracks.

Just like a sulking teenager feeling rejected and unloved,

Lightning leaves her family

to try her hand at hunting alone.

It’s now time to prove

her independence and potential to be queen.

First stop: her mother’s favorite hunting grounds.

This tiger cub has the confidence of youth on her side—

But does she have the skills yet to pull it off?

One of the toughest to master

is getting close to prey without them knowing.

This is where Lightning lacks experience.

She thinks she can just walk right up to them.

And if that doesn’t work…

There’s always Plan B:

Just go for it.

These deer take all tigers seriously

but this one is confusing them:

Is she hunting or just patrolling?

Lightning has watched her mother

create confusion and panic within the herd before…

But she’s not quite sure what to do after that.

It takes guts to charge…

and actually make the kill.

The/These deer aren’t taking any chances.

To scatter and flee is the best policy.

One final charge---

And incredibly Lightning makes her first solo kill.

She’s got what it takes to be a successful predator.

Arrowhead has caught the scent of her sister’s kill.

But she’s smart enough to be timid in her approach.

Unlike her generous mother,

her bossy sibling has no intention of sharing.

This success has only emboldened Lightning.

And she marks her territory to prove it.

Now that she can hunt, she’s ready for the next step.

Which does not bode well for her sister or… her mother.

Is Lightning destined to inherit the throne?

Mother tiger, Krishna has been gone for a few days now.

She’s been busy hiding her latest kill.

Although she’s still driven to feed her cubs,

now she eats her share first.

The mother-cub separation process has really begun.

The three cubs used to look out for each other

when mom was gone.

But not these days.

The two sisters now deliberately stay out of each other’s way.

But For their brother, it’s a different story.

He misses his mother

and still looks to her for food and comfort.

When Krishna does return, the cubs are different.

She calls for them but only her son, Bhola responds.

He’s the only one to greet her this time.

Together, mother and son go in search of the feuding sisters.

They find Lightning alone at the lake.

She joins her mother and brother for a cooling bath.

But Arrowhead is still missing

so all three of them go and look for her.

Arrowhead is back at the fort area

to try her luck at hunting a formidable beast—the boar.

Because of their sharp tusks,

this is a dangerous target for young and inexperienced tigers.

Just like Lightning did,

she makes a premature dash for it…

scattering the boar and hoping for the best.

But unlike Lightning, she fails.

Tiger cubs are used to failure

but they usually have their mother around to fall back on.

So, by the time her mom and siblings find Arrowhead,

all disputes are forgotten.

This cub is happy to see her family

and hoping for some dinner.

They all head back to the carcass Krishna hid earlier.

But it’s gone.

Their father, Star has found it

and taken the meaty prize for himself.

There’s not much they can do.

Krishna knows it’s futile to challenge the resident male tiger.

Even though he’s their dad.

But Bhola has different ideas.

Is his mother trying to restrain him?

Her son is unheeding.

He makes a daredevil attempt

to snatch the carcass from his father.

But Star easily knocks him away.

Although protectors on one level,

male tigers have no problem stealing food from their families.

The cubs are only left with the guts

and some scraps but that’s not enough--

They each need around 4 pounds of meat from every meal now.

Krishna will need to hunt again soon

but this may have been their final meal together as a family.

While Bhola’s brave move shows that

the cubs are maturing and changing,

something dramatic has happened to Arrowhead.

Once the weakest cub,

she’s always been the one to receive special protection from her mother.

But now the tables have turned.

With all the battles to fight off her sister,

she’s become the stronger one…

And now… the bully.

She’s discovered the full power of her lethal claws

and doesn’t hesitate to use them against her sister.

It’s now Lightning’s turn to avoid Arrowhead.

But there’s no real need.

Her now dominant sister breaks away from the family unit.

Normally, tiger cubs don’t separate

until they are at least two years old.

At only 15 months old,

is Arrowhead really ready to survive on her own?

Krishna’s family has broken apart.

The cubs live in two different locations now.

But this mother tiger is not done with raising them yet.

Which of her cubs should she care for now?

Incredibly, all of them.

Krishna shunts between Arrowhead in one place

and Lightning and Bhola in the other.

Never empty-handed.

And without mother around as much,

Lightning commandeers dinner

and Bhola often misses out.

He’s probably not ready for this family break up.

But the sisters are forcing the split

and pushing hard to rule their mother’s kingdom.

And Krishna doesn’t appear to like it.

When Lightning starts to show too much dominance,

she experiences the full wrath of her mother’s anger.

And when Arrowhead challenges her mother,

she quickly gets put in her place.

A loving tiger mother

who taught her cubs everything she knows

now faces two competing rivals to her tiger throne.

One early morning in Ranthambore National Park…

Arrowhead attacks her own mother.

But mother wins.

Krishna-- the queen -- injures her daughter.

She’s not prepared to give up her lake territory…

Just yet.

And she makes that message clear.

This is a mother who once indulged her weakest cub.

And protected her from her bossy sister.

Has the bond between mother and daughter

been broken for good?

It turns out that

leaving the nest for a tiger cub is no easy task.

Krishna’s three are not quite there.

Bhola continues to only show affection for his mother

and relishes the extra attention.

Krishna eventually seeks out Lightning too

and makes her peace.

Her daughter seems to forget

all the harsh discipline she’d received from her mother.

And then something surprising happens…

Like some sort of peace offering,

Krishna nurses her grown daughter.

Something rarely seen in the wild.

Krishna now goes in search of her third

and most disgruntled cub.

Arrowhead is still licking the wounds from her mother’s attack.

Has her mom now come to drive her out forever?

As it turns out,

Krishna has come to make peace with her too.

Arrowhead also tries to drink her mother’s milk for the final time.

After these final loving reunions,

Krishna disappears from the lake territory without fanfare.

Her job as a mother is complete.

But with that she’s left a hole that needs to be filled.

The role of queen.

And the lake territory is not big enough for two of them.

Krishna’s throne is finally up for grabs.

Now her nearly 2-year-old daughters turn on each other to take it.

Arrowhead marks out her territory

and Lightning takes careful note of the chemical messages she leaves.

While their brother appears to play peacemaker,

these once loving tiger sisters are now sworn enemies.

Who will be the final victor?

The strategy is simple.

It’s all about intimidation and submission.

Arrowhead repeatedly harasses the once dominant Lightning

until she defeats her.

And then watches as her sister leaves ALT: exits the area forever.

Bhola must move on too

and establish his own male territory.

Even though the two sisters turned on their mother,

Krishna sacrificed Ranthambore’s best land for her cubs, regardless.

Arrowhead becomes the new reigning queen of the lake territory--

The great tiger bloodline continues.