Episode Six

Tsebe’s large and very rare litter of five cubs indicates a healthy pride. But survival isn’t guaranteed. A young cub must consume more than 20 fluid ounces of milk each day, and a nursing mother needs food to supply it and remain healthy. In reality, Xudum Pride’s growth is outpacing its food supply. As prey becomes less available, Tsebe and her five cubs will be the first to go hungry.

Shortly after Xudum returns to her young cub, she detects another leopard at the den site. It’s Musweo, nearly double her size and believed to be the dominant male in the area. She confronts him head-on to protect her baby, but in the harrowing encounter, Musweo manages to grab the cub and carries it off into the night.

Food is running low for Tsebe, and she’s always on the lookout for a meal. As a nursing mother, producing enough milk for her large litter of five cubs leaves her constantly hungry. When the female lion hears a lechwe struggling in the water nearby, her hunger leads to a desperate and dangerous battle against a crocodile to steal its prey.