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Here, in the heart of Africa,

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

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Animals that only thrive
through remarkable teamwork,

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and through the strength and skill
of their leaders.

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Painted wolves, once known
as cape hunting dogs,

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are one of Africa's
most threatened predators.

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

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

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And whereas once neighbours
could live together in relative peace,

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today there is intense rivalry
between them.

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For more than two years,

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our team here in Mana Pools in Zimbabwe,

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

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We join them at a moment
when competition between mother

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and one of her daughters is boiling up,

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threatening to not only shatter
a long-established peace,

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but to tear apart the whole family.

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This is Tait,
the family's ruling queen.

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She's a mother and a grandmother.

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For years, she has used her position

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to keep the peace within her
sprawling family.

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But Tait is now old.

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Her powers are waning.

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Tait still controls
the very best hunting territory,

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the rich lands on the banks
of the Zambezi.

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But she’s surrounded.

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To the east
lie the dangerous lion pridelands.

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To the south, forests full of hyena.

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

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

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each with enough territory to survive.

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

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For the first time,
she needs more territory

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if she's to feed her growing family.

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

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However, with hyenas ruling
to the south,

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and humans having taken
the hunting lands to the west

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Blacktip has no choice

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but to turn her sights east,

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towards her mother's lands.

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

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

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An ambush’

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against these odds,

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Tait is powerless.

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Retreat is the only option.

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This has now become
Blacktip's territory.

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A brief but bloody battle.

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Tait and her pack are now homeless.

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She retreats eastwards.

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But this is dangerous country.

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This river marks the boundary between
her own territory

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and the lion pridelands.

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

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

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

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

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But Tait must keep her family safe,

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well away from the 26 lions
that rule here.

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Three months have passed
since Blacktip's takeover.

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And all these lands
are now firmly under her control.

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

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establishing their
new territorial boundaries.

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And Blacktip and her family
have fed well

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on what was her mother’s lands.

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

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The ground is dangerous for hunters
who rely on speed.

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

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

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

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now gives them an edge.

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

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

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a totally new kind of prey.

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A large male baboon is strong,

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almost twice the weight
of a painted wolf.

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And armed with huge canine teeth.

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The great size of Blacktip's pack

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

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The meal has been hard-won.

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

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Blacktip won more
than just hunting lands

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in her battle to claim Tait's territory.

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

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

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Their father is babysitting them today.

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Everyone is impatient for the return
of the hunting party.

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While they wait, the pups discover

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

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Strange giants.

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There's no rest for Blacktip.

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She not only leads the hunting trips,

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

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and provides milk for the pups.

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It's not just milk.

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They're already eagerly eating meat.

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

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

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here in the lion pridelands.

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

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but there's much less prey.

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Yet, remarkably, even here,

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

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But she is nowhere to be seen.

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

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And this is why.

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Tait has spent the last three weeks
hidden underground.

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

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Two tiny puppies emerge
for the very first time.

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Honey badgers.

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

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

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But her instinct tells her
to drive them away.

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

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This year, both Tait and Blacktip

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have produced far fewer puppies
than ever before.

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

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

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

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But it is also the very heart
of lion territory.

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She must sneak them
into position undetected.

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

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The pack need to work fast.

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All that effort
for a few mouthfuls of food.

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The puppies will go hungry today.

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And the pack
has been dealt another blow.

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

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Tammy's sister has fallen.

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

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For most animals, this would be the end.

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

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Painted wolves, perhaps more
than any other animal,

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care for pack members
who are old or injured.

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Tait's family will protect and feed her

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while she herself
cannot join in the hunt.

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The dry season turns to drought.

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The great buffalo herds are on the move.

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Food and water are becoming
increasingly scarce.

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

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and the few pools that remain
along its banks.

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

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to leave their den behind.

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For the pups,
this is their first adventure.

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Now the pups are old enough
to follow the adults,

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Blacktip can resume marking
the new boundaries of her territory

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to consolidate her takeover.

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

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It's old, but unmistakable.

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Her mother.

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This discovery
has an extraordinary effect on Blacktip.

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She can tell from this smell
which direction Tait took.

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Blacktip stops territorial marking
and instead sets off in pursuit

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of her mother.

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

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once and for all.

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

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Hyenas.

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On moonless nights,
the pack would normally rest up

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somewhere safe until dawn.

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

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No one wants to be
the straggler in the dark.

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The family bunch together
much more closely at night.

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And now, 15 hyenas are tracking them.

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Attack may be the best form of defence.

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Blacktip thinks
she's got the upper hand,

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but she's let her pups get separated.

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The puppy is lost.

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Heads down, tails down,
they seem to mourn.

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For hours, they march in silence.

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A solemn procession.

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Despite her loss,
Blacktip drives her pack on,

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far beyond the boundary
of Tait's old territory.

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

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deep into the heart
of the lion pridelands.

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

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for eight months.

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Her injured daughter is on the mend.

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The family have been protecting her
while she recovers.

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

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And today it is the wind
that carries a warning.

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Blacktip is coming.

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

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The pack turns tail and runs.

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The temperature has reached 50 degrees.

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Still, Blacktip pushes
her pack on in pursuit.

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But, finally, the heat is just too much.

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Blacktip is forced to call a halt.

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But danger is approaching.

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The pack has scattered!

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

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There's only one adult with the pups.

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That won't be enough to save them.

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But this might.

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Buffaloes and lions
are always in conflict.

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To charge in alone is very unusual.

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But it's certainly saved the pups.

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Blacktip and her pack have been
halted in their tracks.

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Blacktip's pursuit of Tait

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has exposed her family
to too many dangers,

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too many risks.

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The pack are desperate to help,

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but there is nothing they can do.

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The pursuit of Tait is over.

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Blacktip's pack run.

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They run, and run.

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Mile after mile.

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Puppies in tow.

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All through the day,
all through the night.

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All the way home.

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The territory they stole, abandoned.

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The conflict is over.

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It cost too much.

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

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For the first time since
the beginning of the conflict,

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they appear relaxed.

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Soon, their keen sense of smell

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will tell them their stolen territory
is no longer occupied.

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

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But Tait will not be joining them.

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For seven-and-a-half years,

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she’s been their leader,
their matriarch.

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

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she has ensured her pack
still have a future,

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a real chance
to reclaim their old territory.

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Before her pack could,
at last head home,

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age finally caught up with Tait.

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Joo old, too slow,

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she was no longer able
to evade the lions.

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Her Alpha male refused to abandon her.

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Together, they died in the pridelands.

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Tait's pack are left leaderless.

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

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Life-giving rains follow the drought.

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Hard times are quickly forgotten
in times of plenty.

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And the story takes another twist.

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

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And with these reinforcements,

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

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but also perform a ritual
never witnessed before.

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

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And the chance
to continue Tait's bloodline.

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Six months later,

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hidden away in a secluded part
of the forest

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a litter of seven tiny puppies.

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

246
00:48:55,266 --> 00:48:58,474
and now heir to Tait's throne.

247
00:49:03,023 --> 00:49:05,810
With these new arrivals,
and the new males,

248
00:49:06,110 --> 00:49:11,025
Tait’s old pack has bounced back
to 23 members.

249
00:49:14,827 --> 00:49:19,947
Tammy now leads a pack that is
once again a force to be reckoned with.

250
00:49:32,970 --> 00:49:35,962
Back in the west,
with the conflict long over,

251
00:49:36,390 --> 00:49:40,884
Blacktip has produced
10 healthy puppies of her own.

252
00:49:49,153 --> 00:49:54,819
Balance has finally been restored
to Tait's dynasty.

253
00:50:01,749 --> 00:50:06,914
There are only 6,600 painted wolves
left in the world.

254
00:50:09,924 --> 00:50:16,045
To date, we count 280 descendants
from Tait's bloodline.

255
00:50:17,932 --> 00:50:23,097
Tait’s contribution to the survival
of this species is unparalleled.

256
00:50:26,190 --> 00:50:28,055
Her dynasty feels secure.

257
00:50:29,944 --> 00:50:32,606
For now, at least.

258
00:50:40,079 --> 00:50:41,114
Next time...

259
00:50:41,247 --> 00:50:44,990
A tigress struggles to rear
her new family.

260
00:50:47,670 --> 00:50:50,252
Rivals are trespassing on her territory.

261
00:50:56,929 --> 00:50:59,796
Can she raise her cubs
through adulthood?