The Survival Of A Lion Pride (Wildlife Documentary) | Real Wild

[Music] [Music] lions are the only social cats in the world all others are solitary the Cubs not only have their mothers to look after them but often attentive aunts as well within the pride that are always companions to play with a lion has a great deal to learn including how to kill first attempts often end in failure then there are questions of precedence an adult male receives a lesson from a more powerful companion seniority acknowledge he's allowed to share the kill there are about 500 lines in etosha national park in namibia this is an account of how they live together and of the family affairs of one pride in particular as their cubs struggled to grow up until recently Namibia was known as Southwest Africa it's a huge country lying between Angola and the Republic of South Africa Namibia is Etosha National Park is almost the size of Wales it centers around a 75 mile long occasionally flooded lake bed called the etosha pan the Amba cup ride named after one of the Tosh's water holes is dominated by two immense males each weighing 550 pounds one is gold maned the other black so long as they're present no other males dare to muscle in on on beaker preserves in the early morning the pride moves down to the waterhole the zebra spot their sagging bellies and recognize that they've just said so they're not afraid they know the Lions just want an early morning drink after their feast you could call on beaker this prides own waterhole but they're not necessarily in charge here with six resident lionesses and frequent young additions pride strength varies all the time at the moment they number-19 the protection of two big males plus a year-round supply of game in the area makes the pride an extremely stable one with so much prey available hunting failures aren't so important to protect both it's hunting preserve and its females the prides territory must be constantly staked out by scent marking usually high up on bushes the male's range for miles often at night renewing scent marks as a keep off warning to other lions scraping is a way of making sure the scent lasts for as long as possible from time to time scent marking is reinforced by roaring which can be heard for miles [Music] the resident lion sample scent left by an intruder he cancelled it out by leaving his own mark he's plainly uneasy so maybe there are rival lines in the area there they are two very strong including males these two lines are two miles inside the resident prides territory maybe they're about to make a takeover bid for the pride for some reason they appear extremely confident the resident male continues to trot away in front of them but at last the intruders confidence evaporates the rightful owner turns reinforced by companion the advance becomes a retreat it's typical of the way Lions conduct their affairs they're far too powerful to risk outright conflict territorial disputes are usually settled peaceably the victors relax knowing they're secure behind that invisibly mark frontiers for the moment the female scent mark - when a lioness is in season this has a powerful message for the males the wrinkled groom ace is typical of a lion detecting another lion scent in this case a female who is ready to mate the groom aces sometimes a prelude to an advance or a revolver but it's the lionesses that often take the initiative [Music] the eternal triangle is a frequent occurrence in this one there are two males mating fines are one of the few times when rival males inflict quite severe wounds on each other when the fight is over the female makes the first pass back the victor goes to make sure his rival has got the message the lioness hasn't been won without some slight facial rearrangement to her suitor [Music] [Music] the Cubs are born after a gestation period of between 105 and 112 days there can be any number from one to seven in a litter just like domestic kittens they're born blind they're weaned at around 6 or 7 months these ones are about 6 weeks old there's no telling who their father is in this pride it could be either black Mane or Goldy Cubs in the same litter can have different fathers both big males probably mated with the same lioness [Applause] Oh being born into a stable pride like this one has tremendous advantages for the Cubs big pride is an effective hunting group so the Cubs seldom go hungry and the nursing mothers have plenty of milk with six resident lionesses there is usually a good number of young companions for the Cubs to play with these three all belong to the same mother lionesses are extremely firm with their cubs but they're also very tender another advantage of the pride system is that Cubs of all ages belonging to different mothers play together so the smallest Cubs learn the rough-and-tumble of life at an early age and grow up increasingly able to take care of themselves it's useful to have a lot of ants around 200 Cubs know that they can appeal to almost any of the lionesses for affection and sometimes even for milk if there's another nursing mother in the pride if they're not welcome a politely told to go away the cub finally returns to our own mother or perhaps to a friendly aunt who's also nursing young it's sometimes hard to tell when calling up stray cats females usually give a series of low grunts here she's roaring the effect is the same the cab comes scampering out of hiding to join its mother [Music] Oh oh the advantage of having sisters or half sisters willing to take care of each other's Cubs really comes into its own when a mother is seriously injured as a result of hunting some of these Cubs don't belong to this lioness yet she's leading them down to drink their real mother lies at the bottom of this small water hole mortally injured her jaws are smashed probably by the hooves of a zebra she was trying to bring down she'll no longer be able to feed herself or her cubs but the pride system gives them a very good chance of being fed and reared by another lioness despite the support given them by the pride small Cubs are quite vulnerable hyenas are a constant menace all lines dislike hyenas and none more than a temporarily isolated female with Cubs these hyenas are sizing the Cubs up the lioness knows it and moves closer even so the hyenas might still have tried to steal a cub and they're not spotted some vultures landing a little distance away they realized there were easier pickings elsewhere it's not unknown for adult males to ill-treat and even kill Cubs particularly when males have just moved into a pride but the situation inside the on bigger pride is secure and black mane and goalie are quite tolerant first Goldie's tale next it's the turn of black Mane's black mane perhaps the most difficult thing when making a film about lines is that they spend over 20 hours out of every 24 just resting and sleeping the four hours of activity usually occur around dawn and dusk with the on Becca pride dawn is the time for hunting dusk is often when the pride moves down to the water hole for its evening drink this pride unlike many others never kills here nevertheless the giraffes preferred to keep them well within view the giraffes have got young with them and they're taking no chances as the Sun Goes Down only the big and powerful who have nothing to fear are left at the waterhole the king of beasts backs down when an elephant once his drinking place the Cubs recognize no such system of rank all they know is that it's cool and the cool of the evening is a fine time to play these zebra are taking a chance by drinking so late a large pride often gets scattered over a wide area dusk is the time for letting any missing members know that everyone else has gathered beside the waterhole [Music] [Music] on moonless nights line activity sometimes ceases after sundown but on the night of the full moon there'll be plenty of action beside the waterhole a Tom beaker a full moon rises over the water hole where the 19 strong on beaker pride of lions is spending the night even in bright moonlight it would be impossible for an observer to see exactly what happens to the pride during the hours of darkness but the camera is equipped with an image intensifier this seizes upon and brightens the merest glimmer of light [Music] the arrival of some elephants makes a lioness uneasy for her cubs she calls them to her just as in daylight it's the lions who move out of the elephants way as so often it's the young elephants who throw their weight about as if trying their strength some more adults with young arrived etosha is one of the very few places left in africa where black rhinos live during the daytime they're secretive and seldom seen at night they come to drink they're not too keen on sharing the waterhole with lions either even the big male like black mane begins to feel uncomfortable a threat from a quite young rhino and he's off an uneasy truce follows both sides keeping their distance it's highly unlikely that anything serious will develop between the rival groups although both rhinos and lions do have young with them after time it's the lion cubs who turn the encounter into a game the cub plays grandmother's footsteps with a one-ton youngster now a rather larger rhino moves in to support the youngster but the Cubs aren't impressed eventually when three rhinos get together the lines decide the game is over they retired to do what they've really been meaning to do all the time sleep the rest of the night away they won't stir now until dawn and it's time to go hunting the Ambika pride is consistent in its hunting habits it never killed at its own water hole and it prefers to go after its prey around dawn zebra are the main quarry this morning the two big males Goldie and black mane joined the pride as it stands out in open order through the Mopani scrub the big zebra herds are wearing single animals are more easily surprised in the thick cover the pride is in no hurry a steady walk is all that's required until the victim is singled out the scattered formation will add to the quarry's confusion the victim is a youngster not so quick in its getaway as its more experienced companions [Music] the very small Cubs aren't able to keep up with a hunt they'd be a handicap anyway so the mother has left them hidden in the grass now she walks back two miles to collect them and lead them to the kill [Music] in many prides very small Cubs arriving late on a kill would have to go without or even get driven off the on beak of prides territory is usually so well stocked with game that they're seldom a food shortage so the lioness is quite happy to leave her infants to fend for themselves but this one will have to be quick the kill is fast disappearing at last it finds a way in and gets its share small Cubs have a lot to learn and one important lesson is not to be a hindrance in a hunting situation a coudl bull approaches unaware of an ambush not knowing that their mother is lining up their next meal the Cubs continue to play the kudu is alert but not yet scared he wants to get to the water a call of alarm something's given the game away and here it is a third cub comes strolling in at the crucial moment [Music] the mother resigns herself to failure though very young Cubs are tolerated by all Pride members the mothers often get set up and have to discipline their children they gently grip and custom she wants to pick it up but the cub won't cooperate [Music] when they get bigger the Cubs sometimes turn the tables on their parents this probably also serves as a lesson in how to trip up prey the large cub on the ground is about to receive an unusually severe reprimand a second lioness with youngster in tow arrives to assist with the disciplinary action there's no way of knowing what the young lion has done to deserve such a telling-off if they're to survive cubs have to find out what's good or at least possible to eat first the mother inspects this exceptionally well armored meals then she retires to watch the Cubs try to find an answer to the problem the Cubs can undoubtedly smell meat inside the shell they don't yet understand that claws and teeth aren't very good for extracting it a pied crow has spotted the situation they're great opportunists though this tortoise won't provide a meal lions do eat a surprising variety of things including carrion small mammals such as rabbits and hares and even occasionally fruit the lion cub gives up but not the crow crows never give up not so long as there's the slimmest chance of a meal but tortoises have evolved their defenses over many millions of years they know that all they have to do is to wait until lions or crows get set up and go away if there are some apparently impregnable animal defense systems which lions can penetrate some lion specialize in killing and eating porcupines in the neighboring Kalahari Desert porcupines are high on the list of their prey this particular Tata lion also seems to be a porcupine expert extracting the quills and even crunching them up calls for a special technique the quills are the sharpest needles many a line has been left with a bad septic wound as the result of getting a quill deeply embedded in its mouth or Paul the attraction of a porcupine as prey is probably that it's slow and easy to catch an adult can waive forty pounds so there's a worthwhile amount of meat on it for a single lion when it comes to hunting larger prey camouflage plays a big part if you've ever wondered why Lions are golden yellow these scenes provide the answer the color of a lion might be described as the color of Africa you'd never know they were there unless you walk right into one this of course is what they're hoping that animals like the zebra will do in tall yellow grass the Zebras best defense is to move in lioness turn it's a more open country that hunting at pride strength really pays some of the pride weights in full view the zebra knows perfectly well that they're there it also knows that the lines will never make it across the open ground in time to kill a prudent withdrawal seems the best policy it's the other liens the ones that the zebra can't see which are the ones to worry about another party approaches with them a single wildebeest tossing of the head is often a sign of nervousness when their suspect lines are around the trap is about to be sprung this time the zebra - wearing but the lone wildebeest looks a better proposition it's amazing how many failures lions have even when hunting as a pride the ambush is laid beside a waterhole at the edge of the etosha pan a steady stream of animals can be expected as they come to drink this time the target is well within range and nicely bunched a lioness coming from the other direction made the kill in the cloud of dust a victim once again is a yearling zebra not so fleet-footed or experienced as the rest the whole pride of ten lions converges to claim its share [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] five minutes after the kill that is only a stain on the ground to show where the zebra had been after the feast a drink anyone who owns a cat knows how it uses the rough at the surface of its tongue to laugh at milk a lion drinks in exactly the same way it often drinks about a gallon at a time and takes as much as ten minutes to lap it all up in slow motion you can see the upper surface of the tongue at work with their robust sense of play young males soon become a nuisance to the pride and are forced out they then become at least for a time lone hunters to learn his trade this outcast established himself by a waterhole outside his former prides territory among etosha lions he proved a complete exception his behavior remained consistent every day during the three weeks Dez and Jen Bartlett stayed with him to film his first attempts at making a kill for three weeks he was dramatically unsuccessful for the record with some of his more spectacular failures it wasn't that he lacked targets he loses them in the dust not a hope he left himself too much ground together that time he didn't pick his target early enough charging in the midday Sun is thirsty work especially when you miss a knock down at last to the zebra now he's learning his witches target it is hard to understand how this young lion survived for three weeks until he made his first kill but he was almost certainly scavenging at night off carcasses he was also hunting small mammals his instinctive reaction is to drag his kill away where it will be safe from scavengers and even rival lands he's had plenty of time to choose a spot it's an isolated Bush which he believes will be safe his caution is fully justified these two lionesses have come for a drink and will soon smell the kill inside the bush the successful hunter is unaware of any threat the young male has finally grown up he can not only kill he can also defend his spoils this is only a fraction of the Tosh's lines there are at least 500 of them in the Midwest national park their future should be secure but Aslan Libya approaches independence conditions are bound to be uncertain etosha lies only 75 miles from the Angola border and there is always the chance that guerilla warfare will erupt in this part of Africa as so often the future of the Lions as well as that of all the other animals of etosha depends on the territorial ambitions of the human species [Music]

Channel: Real Wild

Views: 4,924,794

Rating: 4.4801421 out of 5

Keywords: nature documentary, full documentary, documentary movie, cute animals, baby animals, animals attack, big cats, wildlife documentary, deadly lions, english, hd, deep sea, discovery channel, national geographic, bbc, natgeo wild, Nature documentaries - topic, Animals - topic, lions - topic, lion pride, lion family, lion cubs playing, baby lion, survival one hours, rare animal documentaries, david attenborough, planet earth, ombika pride

Id: KJjIXnJ1xpU

Length: 50min 21sec (3021 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 31 2017