01x03 - Cheetah

[bunniefuu]

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH:
Liuwa Plain National Park.

A vast wilderness

in western Zambia...

...home to a cheetah...

...known as Kali.

She's the longest-lived cheetah
known here.

Her satellite collar
has allowed scientists

to follow her
for most of her life.

For eight years, she's thrived
on these huge grasslands.

But despite this,

only two of Kali's previous
14 cubs have reached adulthood.

Now, after so many failures,

she has perhaps one last chance
to build a legacy...

...her three young daughters...

...so far,
her most successful litter.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

But these plains
are full of challenges.

The most difficult times
for her cubs are still to come.

If she can protect
and teach them...

...succeed
where she's failed before...

...Kali may finally
establish her dynasty.

Kali has spent
much of her life alone.

All female cheetah
are secretive and solitary.

She travels hundreds of miles,
traversing her enormous range,

rarely seeing
another cheetah...

...apart, that is,
from her own cubs.

Since they were born
15 months ago,

Kali's three daughters

have also been followed
by scientists,

and one of them, Lalu,

now wears a collar
like her mother.

The three sisters were
once part of a litter of six.

But like so many
of Kali's previous cubs,

the others died
when they were still small.

Managing to get the three cubs
as far as this

is a new milestone for Kali.

But it's one

that is increasingly
challenging for her.

The bigger the cubs get,
the more food they need.

Liuwa is over 1 ,300
square miles of grassland

and scattered forest.

The family are often forced
to walk for miles a day,

searching for a meal.

Kali needs to find something
big enough to feed them all.

(GRUNTING)

Cheetah are built for speed
and have lightweight bodies.

Some of these wildebeest

weigh three times as much
as Kali.

Taking one on is a huge risk.

The sisters are much too young
and inexperienced to help.

And if the cubs
accidentally alert the herd...

...the hunt will fail.

They stay back and watch.

The best approach
is from downwind...

...staying hidden amongst the
trees for as long as possible.

Kali can reach 60 mph
in under three seconds.

She's almost at full speed

before the wildebeest
even spot her.

A well-aimed hoof or horn
could easily k*ll her.

The cubs can now approach...
cautiously.

Kali is so strong,

she is just able to wrestle
the wildebeest to the ground.

(PANTS)

Hunting something
as big as this is a risk

that most cheetah here avoid.

But Kali has learned
to specialise

in taking on large prey.

The cubs are never
far from their mother,

following her lead.

But some lessons
have to be learnt alone.

(SQUEAKING)

A mole rat...

...out searching
for a new burrow.

It may be small, but it's not
easily intimidated.

(MOLE RAT SQUEAKS)

(YELPS)

(SQUEAKING)

(YELPS)

Kali is going to let them

figure out this one
for themselves.

It's unlikely that the sisters

have ever seen
a mole rat before...

...and certainly
they seem unaware

that it's armed

with enormous teeth.

The two uncollared daughters,
Zoho and Tune,

soon lose interest.

Lalu is a little bolder...

...and much more inquisitive.

(SQUEAKING)

And that
soon comes back to bite her.

(YELPS)

Eventually,
Lalu and the mole rat

both go safely
on their separate ways...

...each perhaps
a little wiser.

The sisters are still
heavily reliant on Kali,

but they must learn
the skills needed

to protect and feed themselves
as quickly as they can.

It's usually the mother
who chooses

when it's time
to leave the cubs,

rather than the other way
around.

When Kali left her last litter,

they were not much older
than the sisters are now.

But only one of those cubs
was ever seen again.

The longer she can stay
and support these three,

the better
their chances will be.

But Kali is already old
for a cheetah mother.

If she's to have
another litter,

she can't stay with
her daughters for much longer.

(GRUNTING)

A few days later...

...Kali has caught
another wildebeest.

But the commotion of the hunt
has attracted attention.

Liuwa is home to some
of the largest hyena in Africa.

Hyena usually hunt
for themselves

but certainly won't turn down
an easy meal.

They will k*ll young cheetah,

especially those who come
between them and their food.

(SNARLS)

It seems that all Kali's
efforts have been for nothing.

She won't risk a fight.

The family moves on...

...aside, that is, from Lalu.

She isn't willing to walk away

from her mother's
hard-won k*ll.

This is very risky.

(SNARLING AND YAPPING)

The hyena's massive jaws
could crush her.

(HISSES)

(YELPS)

(SNARLS)

(YELPS)

That was just
one step too close.

Another lesson learned.

Cheetah are built for speed...

...not confrontation.

It's time for the cubs

to try out
their hunting skills.

But they'll need
to start with something

slightly less ambitious
than wildebeest.

Pelicans.

They're not right either.

Their mother
certainly knows what is...

...and what isn't
worth pursuing.

But Lalu can't resist
investigating.

(SNARLING AND HISSING)

It might be fun
to chase a wild cat...

...but it's never going
to make a decent meal.

Occasionally,
even the most promising hunt

can be spoiled...

...by a passer-by.

And sometimes, the sisters
need to look a bit harder.

(SNORTS)

(SNORTS)

At other times, the cubs
just aren't able to keep up...

...either with their prey...

...or each other.

This chase has taken Lalu
far from the others.

Surrounded by grass as long
as this, it's easy to get lost.

Lalu may be
the most independent

of the three sisters,

but she's not ready
to be alone just yet.

(SHARP CRY)

Calling to her family
might work...

(SHARP CRY)

...but it might also attract
the wrong attention.

Others are out here, too...

...always listening.

Best to keep a low profile.

(HYENA CACKLES)

Her mother
and the rest of the family

still have no idea
where Lalu is.

Carried on the wind...

(DISTANT SHARP CRY)

...the faint call of a cheetah.

It's her mother, Kali.

(SHARP CRY)

(WIND WHISTLES)

(SHARP CRY)

(SHARP CRY)

Lalu is now heading
in the right direction.

(SHARP CRY)

(PURRING)

At last...

...reunited with her family.

The cubs are now
at a critical age,

for both themselves
and their mother.

It's nearly time
for them to go it alone.

The next month or so
will be crucial.

(GRUNTING)

(CALLS)

Six weeks later...

...and the sisters have finally
honed their skills.

They're now transformed,
working together.

They break up the herd,

allowing Kali
to single out a yearling.

Larger wildebeest will try
to drive off predators,

but just as
Kali loses her grip,

Lalu arrives to help her.

Zoho and Tune
keep the other adults back,

charging the herd and stamping
their feet into the dust.

With the rest of the wildebeest
kept at bay,

Lalu and Kali
are beginning to win.

While the cubs help
to subdue their catch,

Kali keeps her jaws
clamped on its throat.

This could keep them well fed
for the next few days.

Together, they have succeeded.

But they still have the problem

of keeping possession
of their hard-won meal.

Hyena...again.

But this time...

...the sisters refuse
to back away.

In fact, quite the opposite.

(YELPS)

They force the hyena to flee.

They are not cubs any more.

Not only have the sisters
reached a turning point,

but so has their mother.

Kali is now
nearly nine years old.

Many cheetah
never even reach this age.

Her three daughters,

her most successful
family ever,

may be ready to face the world

without her.

But does Kali
have enough time left...

...for just one more litter?

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

(RAINFALL)

A few weeks later,

and the rains have arrived
in Liuwa.

The dry, dusty plains...

...have been transformed
into lush grassland...

...teeming with life.

The sisters
have been sheltering

from an overnight storm

in a patch of scrubby woodland.

(BIRDSONG)

(SHARP CRY)

But as dawn breaks...

(SHARP CRY)

...something is missing.

(SHARP CRY)

No matter
how much Lalu calls...

...there's no sign
of their mother.

(SHARP CRY)

(SHARP CRIES CONTINUE)

The time has arrived.

Kali has left them.

The sisters are now
18 months old.

Kali stayed with them
for much longer

than any
of her previous litters.

Those extra months gave them
the chance to practise,

learn, and grow in strength
and confidence.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

(RAINFALL)

For now, these sisters
have the support of each other.

And they will need it.

Life without their mother
to look after them has begun.

A few weeks later...

...the sisters are still near
to where Kali left them.

(RAINFALL)

The three of them are hungry.

They spread out,

trying to flush out suitable
prey from the long grass.

They still don't want
to take on anything

as dangerous as a wildebeest.

Not yet.

Oribi are relatively tiny.

But they're still not easy
to catch.

Despite her speed...

...Tune can't make up
for the oribi's head start.

But Lalu is still close by,
ready to join in the hunt.

One trip,
and the Oribi is down.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

The meal is shared
by all three of them.

The sisters are supporting
each other...for now.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

(RAINFALL)

It's hard for them
at the moment.

But it will get even harder.

If they're ever to have cubs
of their own,

they will eventually have to go
their separate ways...

...and break the bond
between them.

So far, they've spent
their entire lives together.

But once they split up,

they may never
see each other again.

A few months later, and the
rains are drawing to a close.

Ever since leaving
her three daughters...

...Kali has been living
out on the open plains.

Today, she seems cautious...

...carefully scanning
the long grass for danger.

And she has reason to be so.

Two tiny cubs.

One male...

...and one female.

(PURRING)

Kali may be
over nine years old...

...but once again
she's become a mother.

Since their birth
ten weeks ago,

these cubs
have been kept secret,

hidden in a den
deep in the long grass.

But now, for the first time,
she's brought them out.

With their mother
taking a well-earned nap,

it's a good opportunity
for the cubs to begin to learn

how to survive here.

If she's ever to provide
for litters of her own,

the female cub must become
an accomplished hunter.

(SQUEAKS)

From up here, there should be
a chance of spotting prey.

But then, of course,

there's the tricky problem
of getting down again.

(SQUEAKS)

Now, learning
the art of the chase.

(SQUEAKING)

As well as hunting,
the male cub will, one day,

have to challenge others
for territory or females.

He needs to learn how to
hold his own, even at this age.

(SQUEAKING)

Finally, they both need
to learn

how to bring down their quarry.

No peace...

...for Kali.

But the early days
for the family are, in fact,

the most dangerous days.

(DISTANT GRUNTING)

Kali lost
many of her previous cubs,

sometimes even whole litters,

while they were still
very young.

In order to feed them,
she must hunt regularly,

and that means
leaving them alone...

(SQUEAKS)

...unguarded.

Without her to protect them,

they're vulnerable.

Meanwhile,
over 30 miles away...

...Lalu.

She has split away
from her sisters...

...and now lives alone.

She's beginning to adjust
to the solitary life

of an adult female cheetah.

With neither her mother
nor her sisters to help her,

hunting has become
much, much harder.

But her mother
has taught her well.

Stay low...

...and hidden

until the last moment.

At full speed, her tail serves
as a counterbalance

to help her outmanoeuvre
her prey.

(PANTS)

Now a successful hunter...

...she's survived this
most difficult transition...

...adapting to life alone.

Soon, she may be ready to
take on the enormous challenge

of bringing up a family
out here...

...and follow
in her mother's footsteps.

A few months later,

on the far side
of the plains...

...Kali is still
caring for her latest litter.

But she now has
only one cub left...

...the young male.

A few weeks after leaving
the den, his sister died.

A life spent continuously
on the move took its toll.

She was just not strong enough
to survive.

Kali and her son stayed
with the body for two days

before finally moving on.

But the male cub, with his
mother's undivided attention,

is growing in strength
and experience.

One day, he may
go on to father cubs

beyond even the area
roamed by his elder sisters.

Kali has now travelled
these plains for a decade...

...the oldest known cheetah
in Zambia.

Over the last two years,

she has successfully
raised more cubs

than all her previous litters
combined.

Her daughters now range
right across these plains -

three more potential
cheetah mothers.

She and they now make up
almost two-thirds

of all breeding females
known here.

Bringing up a family
on these unforgiving plains

is always hard.

But despite
years of struggle...

...Kali's dynasty is finally...

...thriving.

- Ready to go.
- Cheetah today.

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH:
For the Dynasties team,

the biggest challenge
when filming cheetah

is simply finding them.

Every morning, we set off

between four in the morning and
kind of five in the morning.

You can see the colour
of the long grass here.

Cheetahs are so camouflaged
in this environment

and, as you can see,
the area is vast and wide.

Liuwa Plain National Park

has one of the biggest
cheetah populations in Zambia,

but they're spread across

an area
of over 1,300 square miles

and individuals can travel

huge distances
in a single night.

Fortunately
for Mark and the team,

they're not alone
in the search.

They're able to work

with a group
of dedicated researchers,

the Zambian Carnivore
Programme,

who have pioneered the use
of satellite tracking collars

to better understand
and protect the cheetah here.

These studies have given them
unique insights

into the lives of individual
cheetah, including Kali,

also known as Cheetah 180.

So, Cheetah 180 is

the first cheetah
I saw here in Liuwa.

When I followed her
for the first time,

she was still young.

Knowing what she's been through
in all those years

makes her a very special
cheetah to me.

She's a symbol of survival
and resilience.

For me,
she is the queen of Liuwa.

Working closely
with the researchers

gives the Dynasties team
a head start.

But even then,
finding the cheetah every day

in the vastness of these plains
isn't always straightforward.

A lot of mornings
we've got collars to rely on,

but today there's no...there's
no GPS fix from the collars,

so we have to do it
the old-fashioned way.

MARK: We're looking
for footprints

in the sand
to try and pick up her trail.

So, this is fresh

and you can see the paw marks
here, here, here and here,

and just the pad there.

Oh, there goes Ason.
You got something?

Yeah, we've got the tracks

- and they're going that way.
- OK.

We're very lucky - we've got
amazing trackers with us

and they are in hot pursuit

at the moment. I mean,
they are disappearing

faster than I can keep up.

By following the tracks,

the team hope to be able
to catch up with the cheetah.

It's pretty amazing. About
four hours of tracking her,

through about three woodlands,
about five kilometres.

She's just popped her head up
over here, which is great.

Pretty impressive work
by the trackers.

Working with experts like these

means the team can spend
as much time as possible

with the cheetah,

allowing them to capture
intimate moments

in their lives.

MARK: She's just rolling around
in front of us.

It's completely magical.

The tracking work here,
however,

has a much more
important purpose -

to help protect
these wonderful cats.

DAAN: It's not going well
with cheetahs in Africa.

The threats cheetahs are facing
now is habitat loss,

prey depletion, ill*gal hunting
and ill*gal wildlife trade,

so having a population
like we have here in Liuwa

is very important.

Cheetah numbers have halved
in the last 40 years

and the huge areas they roam

makes protecting
those that remain

particularly challenging.

This is why the collar-tracking
data is so important.

DAAN: We collar cheetahs
to know where they go,

how they use the environment.

If we can identify all of this,
we are able to better protect

not just cheetahs here
in Liuwa,

but also cheetahs
in the rest of Africa.

The collars don't harm the cats
or affect their behaviour,

and the protection
they can give

has never been more vital
than now.

In the last two years,

at least three
of Liuwa's cheetah have died

in poachers' snares.

But the collars
allow park authorities

to target conservation efforts
where they're needed most,

helping to protect
this vital population.

The battery in Kali's collar
is starting to run out.

If it isn't changed soon,

it may risk
both the long-term study

and the ability to protect her.

Working with expert
wildlife vet Dr Brian Musalo,

they first need to sedate Kali.

The procedure that we are doing
is quite short.

Yeah, we are basically
just fitting a collar,

so a short an aesthetic period

would be ideal
to actually do that.

(SHOT)

It's a tense moment,

but the team are able
to keep the disturbance

to Kali and her son
to a minimum.

They get to work
as fast as possible,

all the time carefully
monitoring the nearby cub.

How much? How much?

A splash of water
helps keep her cool

throughout the process.

Slowly.

In just a few minutes,
the collar is fitted

and vital measurements
are taken.

Nose to base of tail...

- 126.5.
- 126.5.

Everyone else withdraws,

before Dr Musalo
administers the antidote.

The effects of the drugs
wear off quickly...

...and Kali is soon
reunited with her son.

DAAN:
So, now she has a new collar.

That will give us
the opportunity to monitor her

and protect her
for the next two years.

Yeah, job well done today.

The collar worn by Lalu,
Kali's daughter,

has shown that she roams
far beyond the park,

even crossing
international borders.

Data like this may one day

lead to the expansion
of protected areas,

giving cheetah the space
they need to survive.

DAAN: With only 7,000 cheetahs
left in the wild,

every population,
every individual counts,

so every single cheetah
can make a difference

and that's why
it's worth protecting

every cheetah
that we still have.

With luck, Kali's legacy might
not just be felt in Liuwa...

...but play a role
in protecting cheetah

right across the continent.