Africa's Hunters

Kamuti is a wise old leopard. She's reigned over two square miles of prime territory in the Luangwa Valley for ten years. But now she's in trouble. At thirteen years old, Kamuti is one of the oldest leopards in the African bush, and she's not as effective a hunter as she used to be. Kamuti's problems are compounded by her neighbours, the Nsefu pride of lions, who steal her kills and attack her on sight. The film follows Kamuti over three days as she struggles to find a meal, while trying to avoid her neighbours from hell. As well as Kamuti's daytime struggles, a revolutionary thermal camera allows us to see in the dark and reveals the secret world...

For ten years Kamuti, a wise old leopard, has reigned over two square miles of prime hunting ground in the Luangwa Valley. She's held her own against the lions who steal her kills and survived to be thirteen years old, one of the oldest leopards in the African bush. But she's not as quick as she used to be - life is getting tougher. And now she's about to face the most serious challenge of her life. A younger, fitter and stronger female leopard is after her territory and is prepared to fight her for it. This will be a battle of age and experience versus youth and vitality.

It's the dry season, and the Nsefu lion pride is expecting cubs - three of the lionesses are pregnant. But each litter follows a very different story. The twins are born first to the middle sister, and the cubs have very different characters. The female cub is a bully, dominates all the cubs, while the male twin forms an extraordinary bond with his father. The youngest lioness, a first-time mum, is next, but makes a few mistakes, and faces tragedy and loss. The most experienced sister gives birth last. She has four cubs, all males, but one is born slightly smaller, and has an uncertain future. As the dry season progresses, their neighbours, three...

The Nsefu pride of lions has six new cubs, a few weeks old, feeding and playing together. One is a little smaller, and holds back, a misfit. He's perhaps the runt of the litter, and his chances of survival are low. Yet when he becomes separated from the rest of the pride, it is his shy character that saves his life. Alone and scared he wanders through the night, calling out for his mother. In an amazing turn of events, his mother, knowing the danger that surrounds him, responds to his calls. The instinctive love of her cub is triggered, and she comes to the rescue. She suckles him, yet he still can't keep up, and faces one final reverse of fortune....

The Nsefu lion pride would be perfect, with six new cubs, strong males to defend them, and the best territory on Luangwe River in Zambia. But, they've got teenagers! Seven gawky hopeless adolescent lions are learning how to hunt, and forgetting their manners. Then, one night they injure one of the cubs, and have a disastrous buffalo hunt. One teenager, a yearling, is killed, two injured, and three lost. The lost three brothers have wandered into the next-door territory, and discover their neighbours. What they find turns their family upside down, and when the two prides come together, the lion family is fractured by betrayal and rage.

On the Liuwa Plains in western Zambia lives a remarkable family: a clan of spotted hyenas. In this close-knit group, the larger females call the shots, and smaller males live peripheral lives. The Queen of the clan has two young cubs. There are also babysitters and a young orphan who finds herself at the bottom of the social pile. This film follows the clan through one of the toughest seasons in living memory. Their dogged determination has seen them through this most testing of times, making them the true survivors of the plains.