Episode Five

Xudum the leopard is hunting again. Now pregnant, she desperately needs a successful kill and makes a risky decision to strike from the treetops. The gamble pays off, and Xudum takes down an impala. But her victory is short-lived when she attracts the attention of the lioness mothers, and they move in and steal her meal.

Xudum has yet to successfully rear cubs, but she’s reaching an age where experience should help her raise at least one to adulthood. Nearly two years after losing her last litter, she gives birth again. Female leopards keep their cubs concealed at this time, but a revolution in low light camera technology offers a glimpse of the den. At around four days old, they’ve rarely been filmed this young.

Matho’s lost lion cub has been alone for 14 hours. As night approaches with no sign of his mother, he starts to wander off into the tall, dense grass. At this age, a young cub has little chance of survival on its own, and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan fears the worst.