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AnimalsTranscript
00:00 The twins survived the night and by dawn
00:03 are back with the pride.
00:04 But this morning, the two cubs' lives are about to change.
00:10 (gentle music)
00:13 The elder sister, the most secretive,
00:26 returns with four cubs, all males.
00:30 They're a week or two younger than the twins.
00:36 Three are full of confidence, but one holds back.
00:40 He might have been called the runt of the litter in the past
00:46 but he's probably just a more tentative character.
00:55 (cubs meowing)
00:58 Each lioness has four teats.
01:07 Nevertheless, the new cubs are keen to suckle
01:10 with their older cousins.
01:12 For the original confident female twin,
01:18 it's an inconvenience.
01:21 But for her brother, a lone male, it's salvation.
01:26 Four new males, cousins.
01:30 If all survive, they could form a powerful coalition.
01:34 And he's the eldest, potentially the leader.
01:39 Lions share suckling duty called allosuckling.
01:48 It forges bonds between litters
01:51 and is the foundation for future prides.
01:54 All six trying to suckle at once
02:04 is too much for the mother.
02:05 She sends the whole lot of them off to explore.
02:09 The cubs immediately form a gang of six.
02:16 (upbeat music)
02:18 But it's now that they face the greatest danger.
02:31 The Luangwa River has fallen to a few feet of water.
02:45 (birds chirping)
02:48 The barrier is down.
02:51 The maneless three on the North Bank
03:08 have ambitions to the South
03:10 and are closing in on the Nsefu Prides territory.
03:15 (upbeat music)
03:18 They set out across no man's land.
03:33 (upbeat music)
04:01 Their mission, defeat the two brothers,
04:04 drive out the male adolescents,
04:07 kill all the cubs and mate with their mothers.
04:11 Now they are in enemy territory.
04:25 They have strength in numbers,
04:28 but the brothers have the home team advantage.
04:31 They can smell the resident males pungent odor.
04:38 For years, the brothers have laid their scent
04:40 along their boundary.
04:41 The maneless three are not intimidated and mark themselves.
04:47 They keep to the river's edge, safer for them,
04:53 but their eyes turn inland, searching for the pride.
04:58 (birds chirping)
05:01 Half a mile away, the Nsefu lions are resting,
05:10 oblivious to the approaching threat.
05:12 But there seems to be a new tension.
05:19 The cubs' little teeth are sharp
05:24 and the two mothers become increasingly short-tempered.
05:27 The gang of six is a real handful.
05:32 They want to feed together,
05:35 but with only four teats on offer, that's impossible.
05:38 Milk changes over time from high fat to high protein.
05:49 So it may be that the cubs prefer one mother over another.
05:55 (cubs meowing)
05:57 The young lioness has finally come into oestrus
06:11 and the males are in attendance.
06:13 For four days, she mates 30 times a day,
06:18 mainly with the elder brother,
06:20 just to make sure any offspring are his.
06:24 (cubs growling)
06:26 She'll quickly become pregnant
06:35 and in 110 days, she'll give birth.
06:39 Her hormones fire up the males.
06:51 Their roars tell of strength and vitality.
06:54 Their urine reeks of power and sexual prowess.
06:59 Already fired up by courting cubs and mothers
07:17 and now by the hormones of a successful mating,
07:20 the brothers set out with renewed confidence,
07:24 determined to defend their pride.
07:26 They are two champions in their prime,
07:31 kings of the river.
07:32 A change in the wind brings these smells
07:48 and sounds to the three invaders.
07:51 They seem to reconsider their options.
07:55 They already have a pride of their own
07:57 to control on the north bank.
07:59 And if they become trapped on the wrong side of the river,
08:03 they could lose everything.
08:04 Their confidence evaporates.
08:08 They return north to their own kingdom
08:11 and their own battles at home.
08:14 (gentle music)
08:17 The Nsefu pride has triumphed.
08:21 The two sisters have six healthy cubs
08:26 and the youngest lioness has a replacement litter
08:30 on the way.
08:31 With five new males, the pride's future seems secure.
08:41 In a few years' time, these young lions may cross the river
08:46 to rule over new prides of their own.
08:49 (upbeat music)
08:56 (upbeat music)
08:59 (upbeat music)