0:04 these are the black rocks in the south of Kenya's Masai Mara Reserve where three lionesses have raised nine Cubs back in September 2017 the babies were just 6 weeks old four females and five males this is the true story of their rise to [Music] adulthood over 5 years the young males could grow into a coalition working together against [Music]
0:51 Rivals first though their Carefree childhood had to end [Music] because hunting never comes easy sometimes they were lucky to escape with their lives the route to the top is hard [Music] at 2 years of age it's time for the Lions to quit their crash on the black
1:38 [Applause] rocks their mothers have given birth again there's no room for them now these adolescents must look out for themselves always hungry forever sparring over food the males stronger than their sisters don't hesitate to press their advantage one evening it gets too
2:28 much racked by hunger the strongest male kills one of his sisters the males and females go their separate ways that makes it harder for the males they rely on the Speedy females to hunt so the young males try their luck on prey that can't outpace them but they have no chance against these [Music] Giants there is another risk they can take stealing from veteran
3:17 Lions that's a mistake months later one of the brothers will be wounded trying something similar now his m for life this time it was just a clip on the ear they can steal Hyena's prey so they're always looking out for a chance members of the Buffalo heard intervene scaring the hyenas
4:07 off it seems the Lions have missed their chance but danger averted the Buffalo leave their sick comrade the Lions take courage then no longer after the Hyena's leftovers they want the entire prize that should do it till the herd come back in [Music] force a new experience for the young
4:55 males the cow is so weak that help has come too late the Buffalo soon withdraw the Young Lions once again smell success [Music] the Lions hold their nerve they've earned a hearty meal and learned a valuable
5:42 [Music] lesson the landscape of the mara reserve the brothers Patrol here for 2 years sometimes alone often together together they're stronger and [Music] safer by March 2021 the five brothers are 4 years old Majestic young adult Lions without territory of their own they spend their time in an area roughly 25 km north of their first home as this leopard knows only too well
6:30 they've claimed enough of his prey the Lions have started to attract a lot of attention and the Messi have given them Nam to suit their characters this is alumina the lame one no scars on his face he neither joins the hunt nor fights but sexually he's the most active of
7:18 all as an adolescent he trespassed on other males territory now he has difficulty walking ocadu the stay behind he's a cautious Soul often isolating himself from his brothers Loop the hag along has a permanently runny nose they think a buffalo hoof broke the bridge constant pain holds him back with the radio collar scientists track the brothers
8:06 or padan the hunter always in the lead and first to the prey supremely self-confident and relaxed he's a real fighter on the left olor the sister killer he's the boss very self-contained the strongest male he can be ruthlessly aggressive [Music] together these two Define the fate of the [Music] group in the spring of 2021 observers had a surprise the arrival of the five Lions mothers the females were forced from their territory when a big Pride invaded
8:52 from the East actually the boys are too old to be with their mothers it's an unusual setup as the mothers aren't alone they've brought the young they've been raising in the meantime three young males and two females 13 Lions Al together a formidable group The Young play while the five brothers looked to their experienced mothers to capture prey for them
9:39 all these fascinating new surroundings require thorough [Music] exploration rambunctious juveniles could worn off prey at other times s their enthusiasm will come in [Music] useful you wouldn't call this a proper Pride it's more a loose grouping of convenience to hunt together in every other way the
10:25 interests of the mothers and their older Sons diverge for one thing mating with your half sisters is out of the question let alone with your mother but the brother's urge to reproduce is growing stronger the 13 lead a nomadic life claiming no territory of Their Own and avoiding other Lions it's May 2021 in the rainy season the grass is
11:13 growing fast that should attract herbivores but the hungry cats are having trouble finding prey finally they come across a buffalo herd in a valley a single bull has strayed into Bushland next to the stream the young brothers and sisters are raring to go they still have to learn a buffalo in broken country is dangerous prey
12:02 the powerful males hold back they're hoping the females will do all the hard work [Music] a one-ton bull is a powerful [Music]
12:48 opponent even 13 Lions haven't managed to cause him real difficulties they let him go on his way East Africa's long Reigns start in April and continue to the end of [Music] May right now there's plenty of food for the herbivores so they can move to the best places
13:34 [Music] that means they leave the low-lying wet areas where their Hooves could pick up fungal [Music] infections for others the saturated regions are perfect [Music] warthogs are truly in their element now pastures hog wallows and water wherever they [Music] look antelopes mostly prefer shorter
14:20 grass it's especially nutritious and they can spot Predators far away they often gather for long periods in a small area trimming the grass with their [Music] Grazing In recent decades heavier rainfall has brought Lusher vegetation to the northern Serengeti over wide stretches Grass Grows over a meter high in the rainy season [Music] since most hooved animals dislike High
15:07 stringy grass many big cats leave the region [Music] too so the rainy season brings advantages for the rootless lions from black rocks 2 months hundreds of square kilometers free of competition no need to fear territorial disputes with local Lions but it's tough finding prey for emergency rations they often turn to
15:52 warthogs the problem is they're hard to spot in the Tall Grass lions and Hogs can be tens of meters apart with neither noticing that's why the lionesses start looking for the holes Hogs use at night in the early morning many are still occupied it's not that the places of protection young Hogs are very sensitive to cold and the holes are there to keep them
16:42 [Music] warm this one's in deep it's not going to be easy to reach digging it out is hard work and Hogs can be unpleasant [Music] adversaries while the young Hunters hesitate a lioness keeps
17:31 watch in the rainy season BS seek females in estas especially near holes kept in constant use and here's a hopeful Romeo in her time the female has caught hundreds of hogs she knows exactly what to do another female blocks the Escape Route [Music] it's over in seconds everyone piles [Music]
18:21 in as so often olor the strong takes his Lion's Share the others know the rules a pride male's duty is to protect the young in this grouping however the males have no Offspring to protect the females get nothing back for their hard work in the long run that will be a problem [Music] with so few animals to hunt the Young Lions will chase anything that
19:11 [Music] moves hunger takes them into unfamiliar regions where they could easily meet other lions [Music] they're very unsettled for weeks they dare not cross the rangi river that might mean entering another Pride's [Music] territory but curiosity and hunger finally get the better of them
20:15 they must have a powerful urge to cross these cats do not like water especially when it's deeper than expected [Music] all that effort only to discover the
21:02 hunting is no better on the other side one morning they come across a single hippopotamus that hasn't reached the safety of his usual pool this arouses the brother's hunting
21:48 instincts this gray can't run away from them but it may turn the tables [Music] each lion is probing for weakness it's almost like a game interestingly the females hold back almost as though they're not sure of this one the younger brothers and sisters are
22:34 excited what are the [Music] [Applause] tactics the hippo has to stay on his feet if he does little can happen to him for now Beyond a couple of scratches [Applause] but after a while it gets too much for him he leaves the small pool it wasn't really keeping him [Music] safe he has momentum and he makes for the nearby
23:20 bushes [Music] this is a dangerous situation for the lion the massive hippo could swing him into the [Music] trees but aladan can't let go now a hippo weighs six times more than a lion but or pan has a firm grip on his hind quarters and brings him
24:05 down briefly down but not [Music] out unable to restrain their offspring the mother's half edly join in they know they must exhaust the hippo until he passes out [Music]
25:13 another hour the hippo is steaming these huge animals have difficulty releasing the enormous heat generated by their muscles [Music] but his circulation seems to remain stable he fights his way from pond to Pond always finding a new place to cool off after hours of combat the lions are exhausted taking longer and longer breaks but they can swap with each other and so keep the pressure up who will reach their limits first
26:05 this Pond protects the hippo's flank the big cats must watch out in the thorny thickets even the stubborn young females are gradually tiring [Music] the fight has taken almost 6 hours the hippo hasn't left a decisive opening hippos rarely fall victim to lions and they're not high on a lion's
26:51 prey list even in hard times like this finally it's a draw both parties side by side exhausted the hippo will live on wherever the lions look Buffalo are the only reliable food source with three herds moving through the high stringy grass along the rungi river most herbivores wouldn't eat this grass and they would avoid this place but these wild cattle are comfortable chewing and digesting the fibrous vegetation a herd can be 800 strong Limitless meat but the price Buffalo are
27:40 tougher to hunt than other herd animals not only because of their size it has to do with their social structure herds consist of closely related cows accompanied by Bulls who have joined from outside so a buffalo herd isn't an agglomeration of individual animals but a community aunts sisters and cousins with their young unlike antelopes that swap between herds and show no solidarity Buffalo support one [Music] another and yet in every big group there
28:28 are some who can't keep up or are simply too careless peeling off to go their own way the Lions have spotted a female on her own she noticed them too late they surround her out of the high grass working together they distract the so she can't use her lethal horns one of the lioness's dares a frontal attack she needs to grip the cow's
29:21 muzzle the brothers hold back letting the mothers get on with the dangerous work 500 M away the herd is grazing buffalo have poor eyesight but the cows bleeding attracts their attention the Cavalry is coming you don't mess with angry
30:07 buffalo even oradon knows [Music] that all that wasted effort the Lions have nothing they'll have to keep following the herd in hopes of a better chance at least the yellow throated longclaw gets something trampled grass is perfect Nest material lions are powerful but slow so
30:55 they have to concentrate on the bigger prey animals Buffalo too depend on their strength but also on their solidarity a kind of balance has grown between the two species aerial views show groups of Friendly Buffalo coming together close relations behaving like a big [Music] family this group solidarity is surprisingly effective seriously ill even blind Buffalo are protected by their family groups they survive carried Along by the [Music] community on the move a herd functions
31:42 like a single organism with Pathfinders and animals to defend the flanks and also [Music] stragglers like this elderly male he's frail and he needs longer rest [Music] stops the hungry lionesses are doing what they must following the herd watching for gaps in the security system or for stragglers that lost
32:28 contact with the herd like the old bull that rested a bit too long in the late afternoon he seeks to rejoin the herd that's the lioness's que he's old his eyes and ears are way past must their best the females easily lay their [Music] trap the younger females are first
33:13 they're the hungriest least aware of the dangers olor and or padan are away checking out the territory the lionesses and their daughters must bring the Buffalo down on their own only then do Lup and ocadu Dain to join Olina holds back entirely as usual the females are generous there's enough food for several days so they won't be arguing over
34:04 shares almost every day brings a heavy rain shower the Lions Trail through saturated PLS after the Buffalo they lost contact in the night they've been searching for for hours the rain has washed away the TRS in this undulating country 500 Buffalo can simply disappear the Lions can see as far as the next
34:53 hillup late in the morning they reestablish contact now they take their time studying the herd across the valley looking for calves born during the rainy season sometimes a mother and her Cal get separated from the bigger group that's what the lions are waiting for [Music] even 13 Lions couldn't grab a calf
35:38 inside the [Music] herd but there's a small group of stragglers the cats try to spin off the Defenders breaking up the for [Applause] formation in the turmoil olor grabbed a calf but the Defenders are here at once he has to let go to save his
36:26 life the badly wounded calf won't survive the Lions have time they encourage the herd to move on this prey is far too small for the group once again olor becomes violent [Music] [Applause] these outbursts of rage are becoming unbearable for the three mothers they gain nothing from being with their powerful Sons but they can no longer
37:11 drive them out of the territory as they did before the only solution may be to split off from the males [Music] June the rainy season is over the five brothers are now confident enough to advertise their presence far and [Music] wide it seems there are no other claims on this [Music] region olor and Oran are often away together patrolling they r see their
37:58 mothers and their younger siblings luckily the five brothers haven't yet encountered the previous Pride males but they noticed them a long time ago two old males for years they defended their territory by the river and they bear the scars to prove it they no longer have the confidence for a direct confrontation and they withdraw if they don't get into fights they can survive for several years in their old
38:46 [Music] territory they leave The Interlopers to get on with it in this difficult but rewarding territory for several months of the year the rangi river flows attracting herbivores Buffalo herds use the valley all year round almost guaranteeing the Lion's [Music] survival the two veterans live quietly in the bush near the stream Scavenging other Predators prey or digging out the
39:32 occasional War talk but the real owners of this territory are three adult females and their adolescent Offspring they conquered and now defend the region every couple of years they take new Pride males [Music] now the five brothers are here and the first couplings soon [Music] happen this Union might not yet produce Offspring but for the brothers it's the
40:18 first step to claiming the territory as their own lame olom can't keep up with his brothers they won't let him approach their new partners but he too feels the growing urges so he tries his luck with his half sisters and aunts that understandably doesn't go down too well
41:21 the lionesses of the rangi River on the other hand seem content with the new situation but there is a problem here the three females already have adolescent Offspring three daughters and a son the new masters of the valley might not take to the young male and olore has already noticed his presence [Music]
42:07 the young male is scared but he'd like to stay with his mother olor doesn't see it that way [Applause] olor could hurt the Adolescent badly but his mother's presence holds him back [Music]
43:01 and she definitely takes her son's [Music] side powerful older Lions would normally not hesitate to crush a young whipper snapper but olor's hold on his territory is too new this is just a demonstration of power over the next few days the rangi river is a turbulent
43:48 place but not principally because of the brothers the territory still belongs to the three females and they re re the lionesses that came with the five males again and again they chase away the mothers of the five brothers the mothers can't compete with their confident female Rivals they leave the rangi valley forever ending the short reunion with their sons olore and his brothers are now truly in
44:44 control it means weeks of uncertainty for the three daughters and the son of the rongi pride females relieved sisters welcome their brother back to the group so far he's made it without serious injuries the young females have nothing to fear from the big males after all their potential future Partners but they keep their distance for the time [Music] being over the coming weeks they wander the edges of their mother territory since they're not yet sexually
45:30 mature the five brothers ignore them the Adolescent male is still a potential rival he must be careful the two strongest brothers oror and or padan roam far and wide leaving their markers everywhere new Lords of a big territory by mid 2021 they control almost 100 square kilm the lioness's rangi river territory and the great expanse of plains to the South Where the Buffalo spend the rainy
46:16 season Oran and olabor are responsible for security day after day they Patrol the edges of the territory far from the rest of the pride olore still has the blonde man of a Young Lion but together with oridan he's the dominant male of the
47:08 Pride he's constantly venturing into foreign [Music] territories one day he goes too far deep into a neighboring Pride's domain [Music] for the dominant males there it's a massive challenge oror sees them too late too late to flee
48:03 this could be the end he seems Paralyzed by fear he mustn't provoke them any further things have gone too far there are iron laws among Lions olor has transgressed he's mauled to with an inch of his life he'll be out of circulation for
48:51 [Music] months a severe setback for the newly formed Pride but the brothers must go on and soon there's an important development the wilderbeast migration streams through the territory bringing relief from the precarious dependency on Buffalo but when these herds leave again the Lions face the ultimate test against their Arch enemies the buffalo
49:38 [Music] h
