[Roars] Greg Hartman: We've picked up the Rogue Boys intruding to the max.

[Growling] Hartman: Oh, my gosh, they are making a racket.

[Roars] We're right in the center of the Xudum pride territory, and that--I can't exaggerate that enough.

[Growls] Narrator: 4 intruding male lions, the Rogue Boys, are advancing towards the Xudum pride.

Hartman: This is the greatest threat so far.

These boys could very easily kill all the cubs.

[Roar] ♪ Narrator: The Okavango Delta in Botswana... We are in a pristine environment right now.

Narrator: one of Africa's last wildernesses...

The magnitude of life here is unparalleled.

Narrator: and it's a haven for Africa's big cats-- lion, cheetah, and leopard.

Big cat country.

Narrator: Armed with the latest filming technology, the "Big Cats 24/7" team is following individual big cats for 6 months... Buchanan: This is a unique opportunity to follow these cats round the clock.

Narrator: through the day... Rea Schulte to Brinke: I used to think I'd have a fair fight with a lion, not so sure now.

Narrator: and the night... Hartman: We've got the most sophisticated thermal imaging technology.

Narrator: capturing their behavior 24 hours a day.

I have never seen anything like this.

Epic!

♪ [Insects chirping] This program was made possible in part by... ♪ and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

♪ Narrator: With the Xudum pride males missing, the Rogue Boys are making their presence known.

OK. We're just gonna look for the cubs.

Narrator: Gordon is searching for the pride's most vulnerable members-- its young cubs.

♪ We've got some lions up ahead.

Narrator: The Rogue Boys' roars travel more than 8 kilometers.

Buchanan: When they hear these rogue males and intruder males calling, there's concern, there's threat, and there's danger.

The females with cubs, they are moving out of the core part of the territory.

This is the furthest south that I've seen them.

♪ Narrator: Separating from the rest of the pride and keeping so many cubs on the move is dangerous... Buchanan: They've stopped.

Narrator: but these mums with young cubs have no choice.

Buchanan: A good position.

They're up on this termite mound here, so anything that is coming through this area, they're gonna see.

We'll just do a little count.

We've got 9, 9 cubs.

[Both growl] Narrator: These 8-month-old cubs belong to pride mothers Naledi... Tsebe... and Matho.

Buchanan: They are all hanging out together because they've all got cubs of the same ages.

My respect goes to these females because they're doing all the hard work keeping these cubs alive while Big Toe and Madumo, the heads of the Xudum pride-- they're the dominant males-- they're nowhere to be seen.

It's been a week since I've seen Madumo, and for Big Toe, that's 3 weeks since anyone has seen him, so when it comes to invading males, the burden of protecting the cubs just lands on the shoulders of the females.

♪ Right.

[Engine starts] They're on the move.

♪ The best thing we can do is just stick with them.

♪ Narrator: Water levels are at their lowest in this 400 square kilometers of the Okavango Delta.

♪ The annual flood will soon arrive, making it harder for Matho, Naledi, Tsebe, and their cubs to move freely.

♪ Every single one of them walking in the same direction.

Narrator: They must put distance between themselves and the Rogue Boys, who are just 5 kilometers to their north, while they still can.

[Beep] [Beep] ♪ Narrator: Sets is joining Greg to keep track of the Rogue Boys.

Oh, my goodness, they're on a buffalo kill, 3 subadults, and the big male is right here in front of me.

Hartman: Oh, my gosh, really interesting update.

They've killed the buffalo in the center of the Xudum lion territory.

Nthomiwa: It means they are willing to challenge Big Toe and Madumo, our dominant males.

Hartman: They really seem to be making themselves at home and have the nerve to make a large kill.

Narrator: The Rogue Boys are staking a claim to Xudum pride territory and everything in it.

Dude, what is going on?

I have no idea.

This is truly insane.

They're not even trying to hide.

No.

They're not.

They made to kill to prove a point.

Mm.

Yeah.

They're a very interesting coalition of one huge male with 3 subadults.

Narrator: Adult male lions form coalitions, lifetime partnerships for protection and strength.

Hartman: Typically, you don't find coalitions like this with vastly different age in the same coalition.

I wonder if it's a father and sons, potentially.

They've got a huge coalition leader.

He's in his prime.

We have decided to call him Dimo.

Dimo just means a giant.

I can see the size of his mane and how dark it is.

♪ This coalition looks like it's been fighting quite a lot.

Can take example of this youngster here.

He has a lot of battle scars on his face.

♪ Narrator: With no pride of their own, The Rogue Boys are looking for one to take over.

Hartman: These Rogue Boys, they're gonna want to mate with the females, and that'll mean killing cubs if they want those mothers to come back into estrus so that they can have their own cubs... ♪ and no one is defending this territory.

Nthomiwa: It's crazy, hey?

It's gonna be really hard to fight off these Rogue Boys.

♪ ♪ ♪ Narrator: Leopard specialists Brad and Tristan have found new mum Lediba.

♪ ♪ [Growls] Bestelink: This is too cute.

Lediba has two cubs 3 1/2 months old.

Really quite sweet.

They've got this whole nursery area that their mother has put them into, and she'll walk in and call, and then they'll reveal themselves to her.

[Growls] Narrator: Lediba's cubs are too young to go with her when she hunts, so the nursery keeps them hidden.

Woodward: It's the perfect nursery here.

It's thick, thick sage.

You know, it's a lot of places these cubs can learn, play, and run around.

There's nowhere really better suited to a leopard raising her cubs than an area quite like this.

[Grunts] Woodward: I love that interaction between a mum and a cub, something so gentle and beautiful about it.

Lediba is suckling this one cub.

It's a pretty, little thing.

It's a busy time for a mum, two cubs that are highly mobile and needing to be fed.

She'll have a good session of feeding, and then she'll do her long hunting forays.

Narrator: Lediba must hunt every two to 3 days, traveling kilometers from the nursery.

Woodward: She can't be there all the time.

Leopard cubs have very high mortality rates.

They don't have somebody else to look after them.

Narrator: This is one of the most vulnerable times in a leopard cub's life.

♪ [Bird peeping] ♪ Woodward: Sun's just dipping behind the tree line, and Lediba is now on the move.

♪ She's heading off on another hunt.

♪ Narrator: As Brad follows Lediba away from the nursery, she hides in some bushes.

There's a male sitting here on the road.

♪ and he's definitely interested.

Narrator: Brad and Tristan have already experienced how brutal male leopards can be.

Bestelink: Male leopards are notorious for killing cubs.

♪ We were just so happy with her having cubs in this area because there's very little male traffic through here, and just when we say that, a big male rocks up.

♪ [Growls] They're growling.

You can see the way his tail is twitching, he's definitely on her scent.

I just hope that she doesn't lead him back to where she's keeping those cubs.

[Sawing] He's letting Lediba know that he's here.

♪ Not gonna sleep easy tonight.

♪ ♪ Narrator: The lion mums are still moving their young cubs south.

[Insects chirping] To their north, the intruding Rogue Boys have left their buffalo carcass unguarded.

♪ Nthomiwa: Oh, this is ballsy.

Narrator: Some other members of the Xudum pride have found it.

These two boys are enjoying a free meal.

Narrator: It's the pride's two subadult males.

♪ Nthomiwa: This is really bold of him.

The Rogue Boys, they are heading to have a drink at a nearby waterhole not far from here, about 500 meters.

He's quite nervous, looking around because he knows when those males come back, it is not gonna be pretty.

Narrator: These two youngsters might look almost fully grown... [Grunting] There's some grunting.

♪ That's Dimo.

Narrator: but the Rogue Boys' leader Dimo is almost twice their weight.

The big boy, he's about a 50 meters behind me.

He's advancing.

♪ [Grunts] ♪ You can see how massive he is.

He is showing signs of aggression, his body posture.

[Grunts] ♪ Oh, he's chasing.

He's chasing.

[Roars] Ah.

The lions have run off.

They ran like hell out of there.

Hopefully, they're safe.

♪ [Roars] ♪ [Roars] ♪ Dimo is victorious.

He is going to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.

[Roars] Narrator: Two subadults are no match for Dimo.

[Roars] The absence of Big Toe and Madumo... [Bellows] is leaving the pride defenseless.

[Bellows] [Insects chirping] [Bellows] Nthomiwa: It just shows how bold he is.

[Bellows] It's a clear challenge.

[Bellowing] Narrator: Dimo and the Rogue Boys are now taking more ground, moving south towards the mums and young cubs.

♪ Nthomiwa: Just begs the question, where are Big Toe and Madumo when all of this is happening?

♪ [Birds chirping] ♪ Got Pobe and the cubs.

Ha ha!

Dimitraidis, on radio: Excellent news.

I will be there ASAP.

[Beep] Narrator: and Anna are with Cheetah mum Pobe... ♪ and her 5-month-old cubs.

♪ Schulte to Brinke: Pretty cool to watch these guys.

I mean, when we're following them every single day, you literally see their development.

It's like having your own baby going from crawling to walking.

It's a feeling of accomplishment, watching your little children grow up.

Narrator: Now, Rea and Anna know the cubs, they've named them-- Kea the confident female and Bo her shy brother.

Dimitriadis: Only a few weeks ago, they were reliant on their mum's milk, but now they are full-blown carnivores.

♪ Schulte to Brinke: Cubs are looking pretty hungry.

They've-- Their bellies are concave.

♪ Narrator: Kea and Bo must now eat more than a pound of meat a day.

[Engine starts] Dimitriadis: Cubs are really far in the distance.

This could be a moment for Pobe to get a successful hunt in without her cubs distracting her.

Narrator: Pobe needs to catch a meal every day to feed the cubs.

♪ [Pobe grunts] ♪ Schulte to Brinke: She went.

She went, she went, she went for them.

They should be coming out to your side.

[Braying] Dimitriadis: Where is she?

[Hoofbeats] Oh.

[Braying] ♪ [Growls] Dimitriadis: She's done it.

Well done, Pobe.

What an absolute genius.

[Beep] Guys, she's got one.

She's got one.

I'm sh-- My hands are shaking.

Everything is shaking.

That was incredible, and, you know, she's done that for her cubs, and I can see them coming in.

This is going to be an absolute feast for these two.

Schulte to Brinke: What Kea and Bo need is for Mummy to open up this carcass so they can have a meal.

Narrator: The cubs' teeth won't be sharp enough to tear through skin for another two months.

Schulte to Brinke: Pobe needs to catch her breath a little bit.

Cheetah's main tactic for hunting is a full-on sprint.

Sometimes being able to go over 100 kilometers per hour, very hard for cheetahs.

They are not really able to sweat properly.

You can see her right now.

She's having a very heavy pant.

"Hah hah hah..." Ha ha!

That's just to help with cooling.

Dimitriadis: This is a really dangerous time for cheetah because there was quite a lot of commotion when that all went down, a lot of alarm calls.

Narrator: Cheetahs lose one in 10 of their meals to other predators.

Schulte to Brinke: Pretty much every single predator can chase our lovely cheetahs off this kill.

Sadly for them, amongst all our big cats, they are the underdogs.

Being such a small cat like a cheetah, you really are down the pecking order.

Narrator: The challenge for Pobe now is keeping hold of their meal.

♪ With the annual flood due any day... Hartman: Hey, girls.

We have run into the mums and cubs.

♪ Narrator: Greg has found the pride's mums and youngest cubs... Hartman: It's Naledi, Tsebe, and Matho with their crew of cubs.

Narrator: at the southern limit of Xudum pride territory.

♪ Hartman: The lionesses are all very much on edge about male lions, and there's just, you know, anxiety and stress and built-up tension.

[Birds chirping] [Growl] Hold on.

I think we have another lion there.

Oh, it's big male.

Who is this?

Here comes Matho, the most formidable lioness.

Matho is approaching as if this could be one of the intruders.

♪ [Roars] Whoa!

Yoo, she's upset.

[Both roar] [Panting] Wait a minute.

I think that this is Madumo.

[Growls] Big Toe has very obvious eyebrows, whereas Madumo does not.

♪ I'm so pleased to see Madumo back looking strong and healthy at a time when we've had so much upheaval from the Rogue Boys.

Matho looked so angry.

She was ready for battle.

She was just assuming that every male that approaches her is about to go after her cubs.

That was amazing just aggression from her.

Even Madumo has to approach with caution.

Now that the mums, including Matho, have calmed down, everyone's approaching Madumo.

♪ Oh, it's a snuggle with Dad.

♪ The cubs are so excited.

That's so sweet.

Gordon.

Gordon for Greg.

Buchanan, on radio: Hey, Greg.

Go.

Madumo is back in town.

Wow.

Buchanan: Madumo, my boy.

He is a handsome fellow.

Last time I saw him, he was severely skinny.

Look at him.

He's put on a lot more weight.

One question I always have whenever I see Madumo on his own is, where his Big Toe?

Narrator: Lately, Madumo has been seen with the pride from time to time, but his coalition partner Big Toe has now been missing for almost a month.

Hartman: Since we've been following the pride, I've never had it that the big boys have been separated for so long.

Narrator: Alone, Madumo is no match for the 4 advancing Rogue Boys.

Hartman: No matter how determined and how strong and how big he is, he's not gonna win against multiple lions, so until we find Big Toe... it's still a very precarious moment for the pride.

♪ ♪ Narrator: Tristan and Brad... [Growls] are checking in on Lediba... Narrator: after finding a male leopard close to her nursery.

Woodward: Lediba is back in the nursery area.

One cub showed up.

Looks like Mum might be trying to pick up the second one now, and she seems to be getting a little bit concerned.

♪ [Barks] ♪ [Barks] ♪ [Barks] Woodward: She's calling, searching, broadcasting her presence.

[Barks] ♪ Narrator: The male cub is missing.

[Grunts] [Barks] I've never seen this amount of vocalization coming from a single leopard in such a short space of time.

[Barking] She's just desperate for a response... [Barks] and she's just not getting it.

[Barks] [Sawing] She's sawing.

[Sawing] Narrator: This call, known as sawing, is unique to each individual leopard and can travel almost 3 kilometers.

Woodward: The fact that she's trying this hard really starts to... scare me, to be honest.

It's not a good sign.

The longer it's missing... the lower its chances drop.

♪ Less than 50% actually survive ♪ because they do get left alone.

They do have to fend for themselves.

♪ Bestelink: Now she's high up, she's increasing her throw of her call.

She's throwing caution to the wind now.

She may draw other predators, and I think what we're seeing is a very desperate mother.

[Sawing] It's looking more and more likely that we've lost a cub already.

♪ [Saws] ♪ ♪ ♪ Narrator: Life for all the big cats of the Okavango Delta is about to change.

Ha ha ha!

They're actually by the flood.

♪ Narrator: The annual flood has arrived.

Nthomiwa: We're expecting it to be here within the next week, but it's here now.

This is now.

Ha ha ha!

♪ This is the first time seeing the flood come in in real time.

[Birds chirping] Nthomiwa: Hey, Gordon, I have something amazing to show you.

I'm intrigued.

We're on the right road.

I can see your tracks, so, yeah, I'll bump into you soon.

♪ Nthomiwa: The waters of the Okavango have come a long way, close to 600 kilometers from the highlands of Angola through 3 countries, finally ending up in Botswana... Buchanan: It goes from pure, dry floodplain to a flowing river within a matter of hours.

Nthomiwa: to create a spectacle that's beyond words.

♪ Whoa, whoa, whoa.

I don't need to ask what you've got to show me.

Oh, yeah.

You can see it already.

The speed.

Listen.

I was here yesterday, it was just bone dry.

Yeah, it was completely dry.

Yeah.

It's really gonna affect the lions.

It really is.

The territory is going to shrink.

These waters, they are dangerous for them.

Yeah.

For the mums and smaller cubs, they'll be restricted.

They can't really move around as freely as they used to before the flood has arrived.

Mm.

There's less dry ground.

Yeah.

♪ Narrator: With the flood waters rising, the mums and cubs are running out of safe space.

The Rogue Boys are now just a kilometer away.

[Roaring] Buchanan, on radio: Don't know if anyone else heard that, but I heard some roaring.

It's Dimo.

This is a sign that these boys mean business.

[Roars] Narrator: The mums and cubs can't rest.

♪ Buchanan: On a still night like this, Dimo's roar will carry throughout this whole territory.

What he's saying is, "Be afraid.

Be very afraid."

[Roars] ♪ Dimitriadis: This is when it all starts to get a little bit scary for cheetahs, especially when they're on a fresh kill.

♪ Narrator: Anna is with Pobe and her cubs.

Dimitriadis: They still have the kill.

Nothing's come in to take it.

I think that could be something to do with her smart tactics, which involve basically covering the carcass with dust.

She's trying to cover the scent because when it turns to night, things start to get a little bit dangerous around here.

Pobe needs to be on high alert all of the time.

Who knows what predators could be lurking in the shadows?

[Whispers] I wonder if there's something there.

[Ping] [Distant bark] Ooh, jackal.

The cubs are essentially learning how to guard their food against animals, and level one is the-- the lovely jackal.

♪ [Growls] ♪ [Growling] ♪ Jackal doesn't really pose much of a threat for these cubs.

♪ I am super chuffed that Pobe and the cubs have managed to keep hold of this meal, but it's when the big things come in, like lions and leopards, that's when it's gonna get really real for these cubs.

♪ Narrator: The flood is making it harder for the mums with young cubs to escape.

♪ Nothing quite like crashing through a floodplain.

♪ Narrator: To stop the advancing Rogue Boys, the pride needs both of its dominant males... ♪ Loads of vultures here.

What's going on?

Narrator: so Greg is searching for Big Toe.

♪ Hartman: We've looked in all the regular spots, so we're gonna look in areas that we would never normally go.

♪ Ah!

♪ I think we've got Big Toe tracks.

Yes!

Finally!

♪ Ha ha!

♪ He must be not far from here.

Let's go and find him.

♪ [Birds chirping] ♪ Oh.

Uh-oh.

Oh, oh.

Somebody up ahead of us.

♪ This is a big male lion just in front of me, so who is this?

♪ Ahh!

Oh, gosh.

♪ Please, please, please, please, please.

♪ Come on.

It's Big Toe.

Yes!

What?

♪ I can see those eyebrows.

♪ The mighty Big Toe, he's back in the game.

Narrator: Greg has finally found Big Toe, but he's a long way from the usual pride territory.

Hartman: This is an area where I've, in fact, never seen any of the Xudum pride before, and it begs the question, you know, where has Big Toe been this whole time that he's been missing?

But he's definitely on some sort of mission here.

It looks like he's about to cross the water.

Haven't seen him for-- [Engine starts] for weeks, and it seems like I'm only gonna have him for a few minutes.

Come on, Big Toe.

Don't do this to me now, please.

I'm just not sure how I'm follow him because I don't want to get stuck.

♪ All right.

We're gonna have to do a big water crossing here.

♪ Oh, that's not ideal.

Ooh, hoo hoo!

Ooh.

Hoo hoo.

Oh.

Oh, dear.

Ha ha!

It's flowing.

♪ Not too bad.

We're through.

This is wild.

Trying to keep up with Big Toe through the fresh flood is not for the faint-hearted.

♪ He's just picked up a scent and is following it very intently.

He's [sniffs] sniffing, sniffing, sniffing.

He's trying to find another lion.

♪ [Grunts] ♪ OK. We've just got visual of other lions now.

♪ Who are these lions?

What's going on there?

♪ It's very, very strange.

♪ I can't believe this.

This is not Xudum pride.

♪ This is a whole different pride.

Narrator: It appears that Big Toe has another pride.

Well, that was unexpected.

At a time when the Xudum pride, you know, needs him the most, that is a problem.

That is a big problem.

Gordon.

Gordon for Greg.

Go, Greg.

Gordon, you are not gonna believe this, but I finally found Big Toe.

He's busy fooling around with other lionesses.

You are kidding me.

It's not good, not good at all.

[Beep] ♪ Hartman: Wait a minute.

♪ Looks like there's actually another male here, as well.

♪ Oh, no.

This is, in fact... ♪ Madumo.

♪ That is unbelievable.

♪ Narrator: The dominant males have been dividing their time between the Xudum pride and this new pride.

[Growling] Hartman: What's happening is, our big males are mating with other lions, and that's why we don't see them very often.

Narrator: While Madumo has been coming and going, Big Toe has been here.

Hartman: What's potentially at play here is the fact that amongst the Xudum pride lionesses, all the older lionesses have cubs at the moment, and there's a fair chance that all the younger lionesses are related to Madumo and Big Toe.

In fact, they could be their daughters, so the mating opportunities within the pride are limited.

That might explain why the boys have gone outside to look for the chance of siring more cubs.

Hmm.

Problem is, if they're paying so much attention to other lionesses, they're neglecting the Xudum pride, and that's why we've had so much drama and chaos, and that is gonna be a very serious risk to those cubs.

♪ Narrator: The Xudum pride mums have been left to defend their cubs alone from the advancing Rogue Boys.

♪ [Beep] ♪ [Grunts] Narrator: Lediba the leopard has been searching for her missing cub... [Sawing] for almost two days, but there's no sign of it.

[Lediba saws] Well, she's led us back to one cub.

[Bird peeping] ♪ She is entirely that one's world.

[Huffs] ♪ ♪ Just one... and I think she's moving it to a new space.

♪ Bestelink, on radio: There's no daughter cub.

♪ Bestelink: I just hope now, with all her attention focused on a single individual, that cub stands a better chance of staying alive.

Woodward: It's still a miracle in itself that she has one healthy, surviving, and thriving, really.

That's a testament to her abilities as a mother.

Narrator: Lediba's surviving cub will soon pass this most vulnerable age and leave the nursery with her when she hunts.

♪ [Birds chirping] Pobe the cheetah is looking for her next meal.

Dimitriadis: Wow.

I think she's gonna go.

♪ [Pobe hissing] ♪ Go on.

Go on.

Go on.

Go, go, go, go, go.

[Brays] ♪ Yep.

She's done it again.

Schulte to Brinke, on radio: Pobe, Pobe, Pobe.

Those two cubs are insanely lucky that they've got Pobe as their mum.

♪ Narrator: Cheetah mum Pobe has secured her cubs another meal... ♪ as long as she can keep it through another night.

♪ [Munching] ♪ I'm really, really chuffed for Pobe and the cubs.

She's doing an incredible job at feeding them.

Wait a second.

What's she seeing?

Pobe looks like she's getting into, like, a weird stalk mode.

She's seen something.

♪ There is something... ♪ sat... about 100 meters from her.

♪ That is big.

♪ Oh, God, I think that's a leopard.

That's a male leopard.

♪ It's running in.

It's running in.

♪ I think she's trying to lure this leopard away from the cubs.

♪ This feels like a mad move from Pobe.

♪ Narrator: This hungry male leopard is 1 1/2 times Pobe's weight and could easily overpower her.

♪ Pobe can't save her food, but she can protect her cubs.

♪ [Huffs] Dimitriadis: She just jumped at it.

She just jumped on the floor to try and make a sound to lure it away.

She's so, so clever.

♪ Narrator: Pobe might be smaller than the leopard... ♪ but she has one clear advantage.

Dimitriadis: Pobe is not at her max.

effort in terms of speed, but that leopard is really struggling to keep up with her.

This is crazy.

♪ [Bird chirps] ♪ Narrator: Pobe has diverted the leopard's attention from the cubs... ♪ OK.

This leopard is going to a kill, Narrator: but their meal is lost.

♪ Dimitriadis: Off he goes.

That's so annoying.

[Exhales] That must have been terrifying for those cubs... but we've seen tonight Pobe is capable of essentially fighting off a male leopard to protect her cubs.

These are the lengths that a mother cheetah will go to.

♪ What an incredible cat she is.

♪ ♪ Buchanan: OK. Up ahead, we have a cluster of lions.

♪ Narrator: Gordon is also on the night shift.

♪ We can put the drone up, hopefully spot it from the air.

[Whirring] Narrator: The Rogue Boys are closing in on the Xudum pride mums and cubs.

♪ Buchanan: Madumo and Big Toe, they're out of the equation, hanging out with a second pride, and at some point, these Rogue Boys, they are gonna push towards these cubs, and that could be tonight... so whenever a Dimo goes, I'm just gonna keep up with him as best I can.

♪ [Roaring] He's on the trail.

Narrator: The Rogue Boys are now close enough to be picking up the females' scent.

[Bellows] Buchanan: Now things are serious.

Dimo is making his presence known in sound and in scent.

[Bellows] [Bellows] Yeah.

He's belting it out with all his might.

[Roars] [Roars] Whoa.

[Roars] [Grunts] A roar like that just gets you in the belly.

[Roars] Things are gonna escalate.

♪ [Engine starts] They're running.

♪ I--I--I-- I don't want to lose them.

♪ Where are we going, pal?

Dimo just ran off into this forest... ♪ so at the moment, I've lost them.

♪ Narrator: The Rogue Boys have vanished just 500 meters from the mums and young cubs.

♪ Buchanan: I think they've disappeared into the forest.

This is really bad.

♪ [Birds chirping] [Growling] Narrator: After losing the Rogue Boys in the night, the whole team is out at dawn searching for lions.

Dimitriadis: Oh, my gosh, mums.

What a relief.

Narrator: Anna has found the mums and young cubs.

Dimitriadis: OK. We're all safe.

I can't believe it.

What incredible mums.

[Dimitriadis exhales] OK. "I'm just coming to say hi."

Morning, Tsebe.

Hi, gorgeous girl.

You are beautiful, aren't you?

♪ Well done for keeping your cub safe.

♪ [Whispers] Oh, my God.

Look.

♪ [Bird peeping] ♪ What an amazing morning.

♪ Schulte to Brinke, on radio: Anna, Anna, are you reading me?

This is such just, like, a dreamy, tranquil scene.

Anna, Anna, do you copy?

Anna... Amazing.

The Rogue Boys are coming towards the mums.

♪ Oh, my God.

Rea, yeah, it's Anna.

Yeah.

Anna, Dimo is right here, and the 3 subadult males looking super keen in your direction.

♪ Dimitriadis: The Rogue Boys are heading straight towards the mums and cubs, and this is exactly what we don't want to happen.

This is really, really dangerous.

♪ Schulte to Brinke: They're trying to pick up scent.

You can see them right now with their noses, their mouth, and then they put their head up and go... [Growls] Dimitriadis: There's absolutely no chance that these lionesses, with this amount of cubs, are gonna be able to outrun the Rogue Boys.

There's no way.

♪ Rea, Rea, do you have an update?

♪ Like 100 meters.

They're super close.

I see them.

I see them.

♪ OK. Tsebe has seen them.

She's seen them.

Oh, they're coming in.

They're coming in.

♪ [Snarls] ♪ [All roaring] ♪ [Roaring continues] [Roaring continues] [Roaring continues] I've never heard a noise like that ever.

Where are the cubs?

[Roaring continues] Please don't be dead.

♪