Episode 4 Big Cat Diary

One of the Marsh Pride females had had cubs.

But food is short

and the cubs' future looks rocky.

Half Tail the leopard found a meal

and showed her mastery of climbing.

But her cub needed a few lessons.

A soft landing - but growing up is painful!

Kidogo the cheetah

could only watch as her cub had a more serious accident.

Despite the fall, the cub's leg was all right.

But who knows what may happen to them next?

And this week, guess who we've got!

Fundi and her cubs

have shown up at last.

We must be quiet around these cats,

but the temptation is to go "Whoopee!"

We've looked everywhere for her.

We had a tip this morning from one of the drivers

that he'd seen a cheetah with two well-grown cubs about 9km away

from where we last saw her almost two weeks ago.

I haven't seen them walking, so I can't tell if the male's leg is bad

but they look in good health and I'm really chuffed to see them back.

CRANE CALLS

When he did move, it was obvious that the injury to his back leg had all but cleared up.

TWO-TONE RISING CALLS

Not that this impressed the local crowned cranes!

These showy birds have helped us more than once to find the cats.

If they see a predator among them, they let the whole world know!

CRANE CALLS

The cubs have learned a lot in two weeks.

Now the gazelles are giving birth, they can put their skills to use.

Fundi ends the game, showing her cubs its practical conclusion.

The cubs, though still playful, are taking life more seriously

even than they did three weeks ago,

especially when it comes to food.

The female cub, having caught the hare,

was not in the mood to share it with her mother or her brother.

GROWLING

Such a small prize is only enough for one cheetah.

Such kills will be the cubs' staple diet when they leave their mother.

Only after months of catching young and small creatures

will they be able to deal with larger prey.

Till then, selfishness is just another step towards independence.

With all our frantic searching for cheetahs in the last two weeks,

we now had one near our camp,

though not one of our regulars.

This is the adult male we've been seeing in the area,

almost certainly the father of Kidogo's cubs.

He's a loner and has only himself to cater for,

playing no part in the rearing of his cubs.

He also covers a massive area

and his turning up so close to base was a chance we couldn't ignore.

You might think life for a single male cheetah is a bowl of cherries.

But, though bigger than the females, he still has to be careful of kills.

A young impala - the perfect meal for a cheetah...

and finger-food for a hyena.

The cheetah didn't even see the hyena coming,

and faced with those powerful jaws, the kill wasn't worth fighting for.

This is the Big Pride -

7 lionesses, 16 cubs and 4 males,

the biggest pride I've seen.

At first, you think,

"How will I ever recognise individuals?"

The key is to draw them,

and that's what I've been doing.

The thing to look for

is the spot markings on the muzzle.

Every one has a different pattern

which stays the same all its life.

There are marks on ears, notches on noses and other characteristics

which helps you recognise them.

When you've done that, you can make sense of who,

out of all these cubs, belongs to which female.

Two of my favourite lionesses are Young Girl and her mother.

The Old One, as I call her, is at least 12 and a grandmother,

but still has cubs of her own.

Each lioness helps to keep an eye on the cubs, which is just as well.

At their age, there's mischief in almost everything they do.

All these lionesses are related

and grooming each other helps reinforce a feeling of togetherness.

Co-operation is the key when it comes to raising all these cubs.

A mother will suckle another's cubs,

but only if she has enough milk for her own.

But sometimes, none of them want to know.

This little cub was after a meal from one of these lionesses.

He didn't care whether it was from his mother, aunt or anybody else.

No matter how hard he tried, no-one was in the mood to give him his way.

The lionesses had other things on their minds,

like where their next meal was coming from.

Since I've been following the Big Pride, they've hunted at night.

By dusk, all but one of the lionesses were ready to move off with the cubs.

Why, I wondered, was this one being left behind?

That night, the lionesses killed a zebra, and we watched them feed

with our infrared cameras and lights.

One of the Big Pride males

had joined the feast,

allowing the cubs to feed with him.

All the cubs are his relatives,

sired by himself or one of his three male companions.

The lionesses were more wary.

Unrelated, they're viewed as competition for food.

The big male must have eaten 30kg alone!

In just two hours, the pride had picked clean the 200kg carcass.

The weather has done it again - in a big way!

A hurricane-force wind swept through our camp, causing devastation.

Several tents damaged - a few, wrecked!

One tossed over 70 metres through the air into the river -

complete with tables and a metal bed.

Some contents were saved, most were a write-off.

The rainfall eased toward the end of the week.

That was good news for some of the other Mara residents!

Because the water level's been so high,

the crocodiles in the Mara have had to go without food.

Now, they're extremely hungry

and ready to make up for lost time.

The river's home to many crocodiles

but only a few reach these gigantic proportions!

The largest may measure over five metres and weigh nearly a ton.

And such a monstrous animal needs a BIG meal!

With the migration of wildebeest and zebra all but halted for weeks,

pickings have been very lean.

This week saw some movement from the pioneers of the migration.

Zebras usually venture north first.

The price they pay for being first at the green banquet

is to bear the brunt of the great reptiles' sharpened appetite.

An adult zebra is formidable -

immensely strong with a jaw-breaking kick

and a bite that can easily take out an eye.

The crocs bide their time,

sizing up each as it passes.

If they spot a young or a weak animal,

they can put on a remarkable turn of speed.

The vast majority brush past the deadly jaws unaware of danger.

But for a few, the Mara river marks the end of their migration.

Once they've secured a meal,

crocodiles are co-operative when it comes to feeding on it.

Smaller animals, who can't tackle a creature as large as a zebra,

eat with their massive neighbours

without dispute.

Half Tail and her cub

have been at Fig Tree Ridge for two weeks.

We'd found them there every day!

We were wondering how long our luck would last!

I couldn't imagine a more perfect resting place for our young leopard

slumped in these ancient fig trees.

And for her mother, Half Tail.

It wasn't just because they felt safe here

that they liked this place so much.

There was plenty for them to hunt.

And both our leopards are always on the lookout.

The cub's lucky that her mother's such an experienced hunter.

Impalas are her first choice,

and fawns are perfect playthings for our fledgling huntress.

But, like all youngsters, nothing holds her attention for long.

Half Tail was so relaxed,

she carried the kill to the ground so the cub could feed more easily.

On this particular morning,

things couldn't have looked better - but the Mara is full of surprises!

What's she seen now? She's obviously...

GROWLING

This means danger. She's obviously upset and she's moving ahead...

to make sure the cub doesn't get into any trouble.

The cub will hear and take cover.

That's the problem!

There's a couple of lionesses!

This is REALLY dangerous for a leopard.

Of all predators, lions are their biggest threat.

SHE ROARS

ROAR

Alerted by Half Tail's warnings the cub slipped safely away...

..while Half Tail kept an eye on the lions.

Only when she was certain they had gone did she dare collect her cub.

But Half Tail's worries weren't over.

A spotted hyena had heard the lions

and came looking for food.

Hyenas aren't as powerful as lions,

but they're more than a match for a leopard.

Half Tail hissed out a warning as the cub beat a hasty retreat.

The hyena circled from downwind,

testing the air for signs of a kill.

Half Tail ignored her larger rival.

With no food to fight for, she could afford to hold her ground...

..while the cub watched nervously from a safe distance.

Half Tail's on the move. I'm sure it's because of the fright she got from the lions and hyena.

Up till now, she's stayed at one location and she's been easy to find.

But if she gets into this long stuff, it could be very difficult indeed.

In fact, it's difficult right now!

Keeping track of them in long grass is never easy.

Then, anticipation pays off.

My hunch was that she was headed for Double Gorge or Leopard Gorge.

This time, I was right.

The cub immediately investigated the bushes for signs of other passers-by

and appeared to spray mark like an adult leopard marks its territory.

Half Tail sniffed carefully, checking for signs of other leopards.

Leopards tend to avoid one another. Scent marking helps them do this.

If there's a place for leopards,

this is it.

Leopard Gorge is at the heart of Half Tail's territory.

It's a wonderful daytime resting place for the leopards.

As you can see, it's also a very safe place for her to leave her cub when she goes off to hunt.

Rocky outcrops are dotted with caves

and Half Tail used them to hide her cubs

during the early weeks.

They both must know every crevice.

The cub was obviously hungry and kept pestering Half Tail.

By doing so, she might motivate her mother to hunt.

In the meantime, she found plenty to amuse herself with.

Despite the heat, the cubs seem to have boundless energy.

I'm always amazed how daring and agile leopards are in trees,

balancing on flimsy branches.

One day, these games will be put to the test

when birds or monkeys are snatched from the tree tops.

The cub still seemed to be missing a playmate,

but all Half Tail wanted was to be left in peace.

Kidogo the cheetah and her cubs are full of fun

despite the climbing accident of last week.

The youngsters have tried to suckle several times a day,

even though their mother's obviously not very happy about the idea!

In fact, it's about time the cubs stopped this sort of thing

as Kidogo often tries to tell them.

A noticeable development this week has been the change

in the male cub's character - his games have grown rougher

to the point where his little sister is quite intimidated.

He adopts the classic threat posture, hackles raised.

Though they may stay together after they leave their mother - in about a year -

these two will eventually go their separate ways.

Meanwhile, the female eventually finds sanctuary with her mother.

Later in the week, I joined the night crew again

as they followed the Big Pride on the hunt.

Lions usually take large prey like zebra and wildebeest,

so it was a surprise when they showed an interest in a herd of gazelles -

animals they'd have little chance of catching in daylight.

But this was the darkest of nights

and the rules had changed.

With such a small kill, it was a real free-for-all

with every member of the pride - big and small - fighting for their share.

In just ten minutes, nothing was left.

With so many mouths to feed,

the lionesses were, unusually still keen to hunt at daybreak.

As they passed my car,

Young Girl spotted something up ahead.

But I was more than a little surprised at her choice of target!

Giraffes are killed by lions, but not that often.

Some of the other lionesses joined the hunt.

But as the whole pride got closer to the bull giraffe,

their interest seemed to evaporate.

The giraffe couldn't have cared less!

SHE GROWLS FAINTLY

Elephants have little to fear from lions,

especially from ones this small!

It was a stand-off, but if anybody was going to give way,

it was going to have to be the lions.

They weren't moving off fast enough in this cow's opinion!

Even elephants have a limit to their patience

and faced with so many lions, they were feeling more than uneasy.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

Frustrated and still hungry, the cubs and lionesses gave up

and started to make their way back to cover.

Following them at a distance

was the youngest lioness, who is more and more becoming an outsider -

the outcast.

The cubs seem totally unaware of any disharmony.

They greet all the lionesses with their usual enthusiasm.

But their mother is only interested in chasing off The Outcast.

There are probably enough lionesses in the Big Pride already.

They are basically saying, "Sorry, no room! We've got cubs to look after!"

Although she's clinging on,

The Outcast may eventually be forced to leave by her older relatives,

and that will be extremely tough on her.

Things are tough for the Marsh Pride.

Their territory - normally stuffed with game - is barren.

And that's not good news for the newborn cubs.

They're dependent on milk, not meat, for at least seven months.

But if their mother doesn't find sufficient food, she will abandon them.

The result of this food shortage is that the Marsh lions are forced to hunt anything at any time of day.

Waterbuck are large, very alert antelope with a musky taste that puts them at the bottom of the menu.

But whether they taste good or not is academic.

You only need one look at the Marsh

to see why the lions are having such a bad time.

Whenever I've been here before, this area has been black with wildebeest.

But now there's nothing.

It doesn't look like there's a change imminent.

That's not good news for the Marsh Pride or their cubs who lie hidden somewhere out there.

Subtitles by BBC Subtitling - 1996