Documentary series uncovering the secret lives of big cats, using the latest technology and scientific research to bring these animal superstars out of the shadows.
Leopards are considered to be extremely shy big cats. Only a few animals can match the elegance of these feline predators. The cautious hunters are rarely seen in the wild for more than a few seconds. The cats can be observed more extensively when they rest asleep in a tree and recover from the mostly nocturnal hunt. But a leopardess has switched to hunting in broad daylight. Its home along the brook bed of the Olare Orok offers everything a mother needs to protect and nourish its offspring: picturesque rocks and dense bush, a landscape in which the big cat can disappear in seconds to sneak up on potential prey, which includes warthogs and antelopes. But hyenas and lions are always ready to contest for its territory and nourishment. The renowned wildlife filmmaker Reinhard Radke managed to capture astonishing insights into the social life and hunting tactics of the ambush hunters in the Maasai Mara.
It is a powerful predator, one of the most elusive animals in Patagonia and rarely filmed. In the very South of Chile the Pumas' hunting grounds lie in the awe-inspiring Torres del Paine National Park, follow a mother Puma as she rears her cubs in the wild, teaching them to survive and thrive.
Trek into the hidden battlefields of northern Botswana where lions and spotted hyenas clash in overlapping territories. With never-before-seen footage, much of it filmed at night, you'll uncover an intense and vicious blood feud that has been waged for millennia. Follow the Southern Clan, led by a powerful hyena matriarch whose firstborn female cub kills her sister at birth to assure her succession as leader of the clan. Lurk in the shadows as a lioness from the Central Pride gives birth to three cubs and then encounters a deadly Egyptian cobra. You'll be stunned by breathtaking chase scenes as the hyena matriarch is brutally killed by a male lion, throwing the clan into chaos. Discover nature's savage conflicts in this ancient rivalry.
In the Kruger National Park there is a hunting force that rivals anything else in Africa - a lion pride, 28 members strong! Despite the females' hunting prowess, nine adolescent males dominate every kill. Bigger and stronger, they bully their way to the best spots on the carcass. The pride's two powerful males could easily enforce discipline, but with them away on patrol, the unruly youngsters are running riot. When eight strong lionesses split from the Megapride, food pressure mounts as the remaining females struggle to cater for their sons' growing demands.
Africa's big cats lead a predictable life, they are masters of the dry terrain. However, for eight intense weeks, violent storms transform their world. Storm Cats follows the lives of two generations of big cats during the fleeting wet season in arid Botswana. It is an intimate portrayal of lion and cheetah families pushed to the edge by nature's raw power. Only those that can adapt will survive
A documentary which follows two lion brothers as they become rulers of a pride in Botswana after a battle for dominance.
National Geographic filmmakers, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, explore how some animals are thrust together by the forces of nature-sometimes through a millennium of evolution or even last year’s drought. In the aftermath of strange elephant deaths, they piece together a visually stunning story that confirms their theory that lions were hunting elephants. Narrated by Jeremy Irons.
Soon after we meet Manyari, the queen of her pride, she does something both unusual and bold: She leaves the sanctuary of the clan with her young cubs and takes them on a dangerous odyssey. She makes a bid to escape because two young bloods are sniffing around, and if they take over the pride, they will kill her cubs
The Lion, Africa’s ultimate predator. They’re known as the kings of the jungle yet their homeland is an open grassland rather than rainforest. In the African plains prey-rich real estate can be hard to come by, and lions work together to ensure no one claims their territory and usurps their crown
Only few big cats have been as intensively studied as lions. We thought we knew everything about them. Yet some parts of their lives kept hidden in the dark. Cameras follow two prides and their respective females by day and by night, revealing astonishing behavioral patterns of Africa's largest lions. Symbols of courage and power, lions have been intensively researched for many decades. While hardly a single facet of their lives has gone unnoticed, certain things have remained hidden. Thanks to thermal imaging cameras, this two-part series reveals the last secrets of Africa's largest wild cats. We follow two prides in Southern Kenya and their respective females by day and by night, discovering astonishing behavioral patterns. Lean times face the animals as the huge wildebeest herds, which, until now have supplied the young families with ample food, are migrating south to the Serengeti. We will watch the daily struggle for survival as these mothers risk everything in order to rear ...
The film reveals the story of conflict between lions and hyenas, relatively unknown or even suspected in the scientific world before this. The intense relationship and enduring rivalry between the two species play out in a battle of survival.
For many years lions and hyenas have competed hard for meat. Both control each other, stealing and killing each other. But in this game, both survive and no one prevails.Their destinies are united. This is the story of the ancestral confrontation between the most iconic predators of Africa
Lion Battlefield is a story about a pride of lions, and how daily interactions with their prey, their competitors and their deadly enemies, could affect the lives of their cubs. A chance encounter with a herd of buffalo could provide the pride with food for a week, but these hefty animals form a co-ordinated unit of advance guards, flankers and rear guards that can turn the tables and decimate a pride.
David Attenborough narrates the intimate story of a leopard mother and her two cubs. This very special family must survive in the wilds of Botswana alongside some less-than-friendly neighbours: lions, wild dogs and hyenas. The competition for food is tough, and if they are going to make it they must learn a new skill - they must learn to fish. This is an epic family drama. With them every step of the way is local cameraman Brad Bestelink. Brad's 18-month journey following the lives of these secretive big cats offers a rare glimpse into an otherwise hidden world
Husband and wife team Phil and Lynne Richardson live at a water hole with lions, elephants, and baboons in the African bush of northern Zimbabwe's Zambezi Valley. Video technologies like miniature infrared cameras and lenses for nighttime vision help them capture natural behavior without interfering with the wildlife
Africa's largest herd of elephants and a fearless pride of young lions come face to face in an epic fight for survival. Rarely do their worlds collide, until now. This is no chance conflict; nature has played its part. Drought has weakened the elephants and the lions are desperately hungry. The dawn of the giant killers has arrived
Follow two males lions who swam across the river from Namibia, and joined up with two females in Selinda. This union resulted in six cubs as they grow, learn to hunt, and ultimately, become the first pride in Selinda in many years
Following award-winning filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert on their 30-year-long quest to document the behaviour of big cats in Botswana, this film brings together three decades worth of material, including extraordinary footage of hunting lions, scavenging hyenas and stealthy leopards. See firsthand the numerous changes that have led to dramatic decline of the lion population, and what needs to be done in order to ensure their survival
Five lion prides in Africa compete for scare food and each have adopted their own style of hunting. Follow them as they take down everything from buffalo to giraffes. Only the most cunning and capable will survive.