NARRATOR: Thata led the pride away from danger,
but into an unfamiliar land.
[music]
She'’s fast discovering being a leader
is even harder than she expected.
[fast music]
Hunting alone, she doesn'’t stand a chance.
Thata may be the new leader.
But not everyone is willing to be led.
The young, hungry cubs are devoted to her.
The unruly male teenagers are devoted to no one.
As the land dries out, the boys should help Thata hunt.
Instead, they pick fights with their enemies.
[fast music]
The teenagers think they know it all.
[fast music]
Yet they still have so much to learn.
[dramatic music]
[roars]
Thata is fed up with their childish games.
She knows the dry season will tighten its grip
and then what?
Find food, or her cubs will starve.
The land withers,
forcing prey to scatter in search of water.
But Motshidi is in luck.
A large impala, her latest kill.
She now revels in the respect of the forest.
[music]
But the dry season brings hard times.
[music]
And attention from less successful hunters:
another young leopard lured by the scent of blood.
Motshidi killed for this,
[growls]
and she'’s not about to share it.
[music]
A less than dignified retreat.
Fortune favors the bold,
but Motshidi knows her property will only be safe up there.
Reality dawns.
She'’s caught more than she can carry.
Her only option is to leave it where it lies and guard it from above.
Nothing complements a full stomach quite like sleep.
[hyenas sound]
[dramatic music]
She wakes to a walking nightmare.
Motshidi now knows better than to take on the thief
and risk being shredded herself.
Next time, you must do better, Motshidi.
Thata'’s world bakes.
The rains are late and her cubs are hungry.
But the teenagers refuse to help.
Lazy and self-absorbed.
Ignorant of what'’s coming, they prefer play hunting
to real hunting, and survival.
[music]
Thata knows the cubs need to eat, and soon.
Then she hears it: the sweet sound of success.
A kill, but not her own.
The dogs are faring better than the lions.
But now is no time for pride.
It'’s hardly the spoils of a glorious hunt,
but it should feed her hungry cubs.
The teenagers bore in.
[growls]
Their gluttony leaves no room for the hungry little ones.
Thata'’s blood boils over.
Get back!
[dramatic music] [growling]
Thata shows the teenagers a mother'’s fury.
And finally her cubs get to eat,
but how long before the teenagers rebel?
[melancholic music]
Motshidi lost her last meal to a thief and now hunger pains her.
There'’s still no sign of rain.
Her usual prey is nowhere to be seen,
leaving her little choice.
Baboons.
Be careful, Motshidi.
They were vicious enough to kill your mother,
but small enough to carry up a tree.
Her reputation as a killer precedes her
and the baboons are not taking chances.
[fast music]
Motshidi avoids her mother'’s fate,
but her confidence has taken another beating.
[music]
Perhaps if she lowers her ambitions?
Motshidi the impala slayer, reduced to hunting mere trifles.
[music]
The only thing she can swallow here is her pride.
The elderly Mogolo longs to hand over the reins,
but first her beloved daughter Wame must prove she'’s a worthy successor.
Trouble brews.
The dogs enjoy their latest kill
and the hyena know Mogolo leadership is not as strong as it once was.
[dramatic music] [hyena sounds]
Exploiting Mogolo'’s weakness, the marauders run amok.
She'’s losing hope.
When finally her daughter takes control.
[dramatic music]
Youthful energy electrifies the struggling pack.
[dramatic music]
Wame'’s spirit inspires the dogs to ramp up their defensive.
[dramatic music] [hyena sounds]
And drive the devils back to hell.
The young leader'’s reward?
Pick of the spoils.
Mogolo is exhausted.
Now, more than ever, she longs to retire,
but not until Wame passes her final test.
The hyena return empty-handed.
But as long as the drought lasts,
they will have plenty of corpses to consume.
[music]
Against all the odds, Khutlo, you are still with us.
[playful music]
Despite your sister'’s best efforts.
[playful music]
His mother supplies all the milk he needs.
But something more substantial arrives.
Fresh meat.
If Khutlo plays his cards right, he could get his first taste of flesh.
But even thieves have a pecking order and Khutlo is at the very bottom.
Careful, Khutlo.
A measly scrap of skin and hair.
It'’s better than nothing,
and a taste of what'’s to come
if the dry season continues.
But a change is in the air.
[lightning]
The heavens open and transform the world.
Prey returns to the kingdom.
And hope returns to the hunters.
[music]
After the rains, a new generation of impala.
Hungry Motshidi now has plenty of prey to choose from.
This is your chance, Motshidi.
Don'’t blow it.
A calf, small enough to take up a tree.
[music]
Again, the forest awaits.
And loyal subjects are quick to announce her.
[howling]
[fast music]
High hopes dashed once more.
If Motshidi'’s not careful,
her reputation for success could be her downfall.
[howling]
She seeks obscurity once more,
her greatest ambition to become invisible.
[music]
[roars]
Thata wakes to a world replenished by rain
[roars]
and the teenagers gone.
Peace at last, but for how long?
Eager to escape Thata'’s discipline, the teens strike out on their own.
Luckily for them, the rains offer plenty to drink.
[dramatic music]
And eat.
[dramatic music]
Buffalo:
the ultimate prize for hungry lions.
[dramatic music]
But the teens are hardly seasoned hunters,
all ego, no experience.
So much for surprise.
[music]
The hunters feign indifference.
And fool no one.
The impulsive teens must be careful.
Buffalo horns will skewer a lion.
There'’s no accounting for the arrogance of youth.
One of the teens stands his ground.
[dramatic music]
Deadlock.
[dramatic music]
The hunters are now the hunted.
The boys try to turn it around.
It'’s too little, too late.
The boys are only a danger to themselves.
Inexperience is costing them dearly.
And confidence doesn'’t fill an empty stomach.
Mogolo soldiers on,
leading the pack as best she can.
Until it'’s time for her daughter to face the ultimate test:
a hunt.
With her mother'’s approval, Wame is now fully in charge.
There is no shortage of targets.
But only a born leader can deliver the goods.
[fast music]
Wame'’s first kill, and a feast for the whole pack.
[music]
Including proud Mogolo.
[music]
Wame is ready to succeed her mother.
And finally take up the reins of power.
[music]
Tension runs high between the runaway teens.
Hunting isn'’t as easy as it looks.
[growling]
But not all food needs hunting.
Scavengers.
Where there are vultures, there is meat.
A buffalo carcass left unattended.
[music]
A hungry teenager takes what he can.
[music]
But something bigger watches.
[growling]
A lucky escape.
He would have ripped the teenager to shreds.
The boys finally realize just how little they actually know.
[music]
Wame basks in the glory of her first victorious hunt.
Mogolo looks on, proud, as her daughter attracts one of the males
for the very first time.
He can'’t resist the perfume of power.
[music]
[growling]
And he'’s not the only one.
The males battle-- in lust for Wame.
But there can only be one alpha.
Courtship is short and sweet.
And establishes Wame as the leader, once and for all.
With her life partner beside her,
Wame begins the long journey ahead
and for Mogolo, a much needed rest.
High in the treetops, out of sight...
Motshidi pinpoints her next meal.
A young kudu.
It'’s the chance she'’s been waiting for.
[music]
This time she knows to stay hidden.
Until the very last second.
[dramatic music]
Motshidi is now every inch a killer.
But killing, as she knows, is only half the battle.
Thieves close in.
[music]
Motshidi must do what she has never managed before.
Treeing her kill.
[dramatic music]
Hurry, Motshidi!
[dramatic music]
The moment of truth.
Tree the kill, and salvage your dignity.
[dramatic music]
No, don'’t rest.
After all her efforts, Motshidi has at last perfected her craft.
The forest is yours.
The return of the prodigal sons,
hungry and humiliated.
Just as Thata expected.
She welcomes them back, willing to forgive and forget.
But the boys must pull their weight
and work for the good of the pride.
They must learn precision hunting,
and she is their teacher.
[music]
Thata holds her nerve.
A model of restraint.
The warthogs are oblivious and the teenagers gripped.
Watch and learn, boys.
[dramatic music]
A master class in execution.
But someone wants more than the lion'’s share.
[growling]
He wants it all.
[dramatic music]
This meal is his, and his alone.
[dramatic music]
The boys are back, and they are no longer boys.
[dramatic music]
Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
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