Big Cats 24/7

Tsebe’s large and very rare litter of five cubs indicates a healthy pride. But survival isn’t guaranteed. A young cub must consume more than 20 fluid ounces of milk each day, and a nursing mother needs food to supply it and remain healthy. In reality, Xudum Pride’s growth is outpacing its food supply. As prey becomes less available, Tsebe and her five cubs will be the first to go hungry.

Shortly after Xudum returns to her young cub, she detects another leopard at the den site. It’s Musweo, nearly double her size and believed to be the dominant male in the area. She confronts him head-on to protect her baby, but in the harrowing encounter, Musweo manages to grab the cub and carries it off into the night.

Food is running low for Tsebe, and she’s always on the lookout for a meal. As a nursing mother, producing enough milk for her large litter of five cubs leaves her constantly hungry. When the female lion hears a lechwe struggling in the water nearby, her hunger leads to a desperate and dangerous battle against a crocodile to steal its prey.

As lion numbers rise, the competition for food becomes fierce. A lioness risks her life to feed her five cubs and Xudum’s newborn leopard cubs face a deadly threat.

Xudum the leopard is hunting again. Now pregnant, she desperately needs a successful kill and makes a risky decision to strike from the treetops. The gamble pays off, and Xudum takes down an impala. But her victory is short-lived when she attracts the attention of the lioness mothers, and they move in and steal her meal.

Xudum has yet to successfully rear cubs, but she’s reaching an age where experience should help her raise at least one to adulthood. Nearly two years after losing her last litter, she gives birth again. Female leopards keep their cubs concealed at this time, but a revolution in low light camera technology offers a glimpse of the den. At around four days old, they’ve rarely been filmed this young.

Matho’s lost lion cub has been alone for 14 hours. As night approaches with no sign of his mother, he starts to wander off into the tall, dense grass. At this age, a young cub has little chance of survival on its own, and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan fears the worst.

The team witnesses a baby boom in the Delta. Lioness Matho must protect her cubs alone, while leopard mum, Xudum, reveals her newborns with danger looming nearby.

A male leopard moves onto the floodplain, heading straight toward Xudum. This poses a great risk to the female leopard, who is close to giving birth to cubs. But Metsi isn’t on Xudum’s trail. Instead, he’s picked up the scent of a young lechwe lamb – and his hunting style takes everyone by surprise.

The Xudum Pride finds itself in a tough spot when it gets stuck between a large herd of buffalo and a river channel. Lions may eat buffalo, but a herd of this size has the upper hand. When a bull charges, the lions flee into the water. Panic drives the cubs into deeper water, and the risk of attracting crocodiles increases. Even dominant male, Big Toe, is in jeopardy.

The Okavango Delta is transformed by the arrival of the flood, bringing new challenges for the big cats. The lion cubs experience water and its dangers for the first time.

Two intruding male lions on patrol slowly enter Xudum Pride territory. With no sign of the pride’s dominant males, Big Toe and Madumo, a lone female and two juvenile males must defend it alone. But, at only half the weight of an adult male, it’s a dangerous risk for the young lions to take.

The threat from intruder lions is particularly high for the sub-adult males in the Xudum Pride. Nkgonne and Colin may be physically larger than cubs, but these inexperienced two-year-olds hardly act like nearly independent male lions. Instead, the siblings clown around together, even taking their outlandish behavior into the trees.

Two intruding male lions appear in Xudum Pride territory, putting the lion cubs at risk. Intruding males will often kill unrelated lion cubs to establish dominance over the pride. Will the lionesses be able to defend their cubs from the intruders long enough for Big Toe and Madumo to return?

A fight with intruders leaves the lion pride males injured and the mothers with cubs vulnerable to attack. Xudum, the female leopard, takes risks to find a mate.

Survival isn't easy for lion cubs, and 80% won't make it to their second birthday. For the Xudum Pride, the survival of the entire family comes down to its experienced mothers and dominant adult males, Big Toe and Madumo. But wildfires have put the pride in jeopardy, and the pressure is on Big Toe and Madumo to protect their territory and young cubs.

Hunting from trees takes time and considerable skill, especially since it can result in serious injury instead of a meal. But Xudum’s patience pays off. After days without eating, the female leopard ends up in the right tree, in the right position, and with the right prey beneath her.

The pressure is on for Pobe to make a kill. She’s the only resident female cheetah in the Xudum area, but survival is still hard, even for a smart and experienced hunter like her. Cheetahs may be fast, but it takes energy, and they need time to recover after a chase. Fortunately, lying low is also the perfect hunting strategy when pursuing impalas.

The Xudum Pride mothers must make a kill to feed their young lion cubs. Slowly, they spread out in the tall grass to stalk a large herd of zebras. Hunting as a group helps lions take down much larger prey. When a fourth female joins the lioness mothers in the hunt, their success becomes even more likely.

The situation becomes critical as wildfires to the north change direction, driving them straight toward the team's camp. It's the biggest fire on the Okavango Delta in five years, and it puts the operation and big cats at risk.