The night skies
were once filled with stars.
Today our own lights
eclipse the darkness
and spread steadily each day.
Slowly, the dark places in
Africa become the last refuge
for one of our planet's
most iconic animals.
Fifty years ago
And today there may be
as few as 20,000.
And yet,
in these remote places,
some of the most dramatic
stories on Earth are played out.
They are harsh,
sometimes violent,
never malicious,
and always real.
This is a story
of some of the last
wild lions on Earth.
Here in a small pocket
of this darkness,
our story begins.
It is an old saga of life
lived by tooth and claw.
A lioness
in perfect condition.
It's unusual for a lioness
to be without a pride,
but she's not alone.
She has a mate -
her companion and protector,
and the father of her cubs.
The beginnings
of a new pride
for this unspoiled land
deep in Botswana.
Tonight the bush is uneasy.
The distant calls
they've been hearing
for some time
are getting closer.
It puts them on edge.
Invaders!
And they suddenly materialize.
Lions from the north,
forced here by the relentless
encroachment of man.
They're ready to risk everything
to win new territory.
Her male has
no choice but to fight.
It's a battle that could change
the bloodlines here forever.
The invaders with
a clear determination
to win and to stay.
When she finally
emerges from hiding,
her shoulder almost healed,
she is ready
to pick up her life.
She starts by trying
to find her mate.
Every sound makes her freeze.
Every breath of air
brings unfamiliar scents.
Until she finds him,
she is a fugitive
in her own land.
By now her mate
has had weeks to recover.
He should be
answering her calls.
His wounds are too severe.
His spirit
has gone out of him.
He has become old,
damaged, broken.
His reign is over.
There are new rulers now.
To survive here,
she will have to submit
to these new masters.
But until the newcomers
detect her presence,
she still has a choice.
The swirling air carries a hint
of her unfamiliar scent.
The hunt begins.
She decides to leave...
to leave immediately.
For she has a secret -
all that is left
from her old life...
A secret that
must be protected.
This will be her life now...
To secure
the survival of her cubs.
With the males behind her,
back-tracking is impossible.
The females
of the marauding pride,
blocking her escape
to the west.
The leader will remember
the violent night they last met
as vividly as she does.
The night she was left
battered and bitten,
bleeding to death...
But she, in turn,
left the largest of them
with one eye blinded for life.
It's a wound the silver-eyed
leader of the pride
will never forget.
They can smell her tracks.
The storm ignites the bush
and she is trapped.
Now she must choose:
north towards
the villages and people,
or south along the fireline
to an even more
daunting obstacle for her...
The swollen river.
In this part of Africa,
a mother is named
after her first-born
as its protector.
He was always just a little
smaller than the other two,
slower, prone to getting lost.
Today Ma di Tau,
Mother of lions,
earns her name
as protector of her young.
As the smallest,
he must get used to being
constantly bullied.
It will either build him up,
or wear him out.
Ma di Tau knows the pride
will be coming after her,
but what lies ahead
is terrifying.
Lions detest deep, open water.
It hides things
that seem unnatural to them.
But the options behind
are worse.
If she stays to fight, the male
lions will kill her cubs.
It's their instinct
to wipe the face of the Earth
clean of the old male's genes.
She must make her decision now.
The male cub
doesn't hesitate this time.
He knows to stay close.
His sister wades in
more cautiously.
But the third cub holds back,
scared of the water.
By the time the third cub
plucks up enough courage,
she's become an easy target...
both on the land
and in the water.
The males turn back
into their newly won territory,
satisfied that she and her cubs
have been expelled forever.
The silence is a condemnation.
Ma di Tau, the protector,
has failed for the first time
as a mother.
As she turns away, she is
turning her back on her past,
on the pride that was
so desperate to be rid of her.
And she steps forward
into an uncertain future
with her two surviving cubs:
the little male and his sister.
The battle for the territory
has been decided.
Ma di Tau and her cubs
have escaped
to an almost deserted
island in the swamp,
the only lions on this vast,
isolated wilderness called Duba,
in the middle
of the Okavango delta.
Here the land is plagued
by seasonal floods
and rivers that
weave through it.
If it is a refuge for them,
it will be a wet one.
A few weeks have passed.
Food has been scarce,
but there are still
no signs of other lions,
and they are starting
to feel safe at last.
The smaller cub has gained
a renewed confidence
by being one
of just two cubs now.
In his heart he is a hunter,
always ready to explore
the endless possibilities
that lie in wait for a cub
with a restless spirit.
For the young male,
it was a close call...
He may have thought he so nearly
notched up his first kill,
but that little hunter's heart
did skip a small beat today.
The cowardly withdrawal
by the elephant
confirms that there
will be another chance,
perhaps when he's a bit older.
Until today, she had only time
to focus on escape and survival,
but now she must
find a way to get her cubs
safely through their
first critical year,
until they can
fend for themselves.
And as a single mother,
this will take every ounce
of her energy and intelligence.
The fire and
march of human settlements
to the north have driven
other animal refugees
towards the island.
Duba is about to change.
These are some of Africa's
most aggressive animals.
Their sharp horns
and bone-crushing bodies
are perfect weapons,
and their massive numbers
give them confidence.
At the head of the herd is one
of the most fearsome of them:
a scar-faced bull
weighing almost a ton.
For the past few weeks
this has been her island.
The arrival of the buffalo
brings hope as possible prey...
but also fear.
These will be her
new enemies on the island.
Buffalo are not easy prey.
They dislike
the scent of lions,
and they don't
hesitate to attack.
For the cubs,
life so far has been
a litany of narrow escapes,
one long line of enemies
out to get them -
a strange way to start life
as king of the beasts.
With more and more
of the newcomers
flowing onto her island,
Ma di Tau and her cubs are
destined to run into them again.
The herd's pathfinder
is now aware
that this island has lions,
and from now on
he'll always be on the alert.
It will be an
almost daily conflict,
unavoidable in this open,
yet confined space.
If she is not going
to be at their mercy,
she will have to learn more
about this new presence.
She will have to
test them for weaknesses
and she must look beyond
the strong outer wall
of their heavy armaments.
In time she must become expert
at finding those weak points...
small, hidden chinks
in the armor
that will stumble
out into view
and excite her instincts
as a huntress.
Night is an advantage for her.
She can hide in the shadows
of a crescent moon
and let her eyes brighten
to take in her quarry.
Now she has to become invisible.
It is what
a solitary hunter does best.
The damp grass helps her perform
like a silent ghost,
flitting in and out of reality.
Two mothers now battle
for the survival of their young:
buffalo desperate
to deflect an attack;
lioness eager to double back
and strike quick, fatal blows
to earn a meal for her cubs.
It's the eternal dance
of Africa.
The young lions
will go hungry a little longer.
When the buffalo calf escapes,
it carries a chilling message
of a near-miss written in blood
back to the scar-faced bull.
It's a race against time.
The cubs are demanding
more from Ma di Tau
as they grow
and her milk dries up.
The small male
doesn't seem to want to compete.
But while he bonds
with his mother,
his sister grows
stronger all the time.
Her cubs survival
is a hard taskmaster for her,
and despite the searing
heat and humidity,
she forces herself up again,
back onto the path
of the buffalo.
She seems to understand
that the herd will provide,
if she can just
crack that code.
She has a fresh tactic in mind.
Having taken up her position,
she tries something
very sophisticated...
a full on, out in the open,
rather desperate charge.
It panics the herd.
A lion hunt
is as much a mind game
as it is a physical
explosion of violence.
What she doesn't know is that
the commotion of the hunt
has drawn interest
from across the river...
Silver Eye.
Only a thin strip
of water divides them
at this point in the river.
The intensity keeps
Ma di Tau focused -
perhaps too focused.
The night hides many
a bold and sinister thing.
Signs of change often come
in the slight shift
of grass in the breeze,
or a hint of a scent that brings
disturbing news to Ma di Tau.
She and her cubs once again
stand directly in the path
of an aggressive, half-blind
lioness and her followers.
Ma di Tau's hostile warning
buys her time
against these huge lions,
who present a united force
though lack the confidence
of her local knowledge.
The cubs understand
her body language;
they know what to do.
This territory
is her last option.
There is nowhere else
for her to go.
If she flees from the island,
she'll immediately
have to face
the males
patrolling the far bank.
And if she were to avoid them,
at the horizon there are people,
villages, guns.
The river is her defense
and her confinement...
Her last stand.
This island lives and breathes
by a different set of rules
to the rest of Africa.
The pride has some
lessons to learn
before they can
call it their own.
The first is that
it's a mistake
to sleep too deeply
on Duba island,
especially when
a scar-faced bull
has smelled the spilled blood
of his young.
Ma di Tau hears
the buffalo attack.
She pictures the chaos
from bitter experience.
One sound -
the crash of water
as the buffalo retreat -
takes on a new
significance to her.
Water!
Each crystal clear splash
clarifies an idea:
buffalo flee to water to escape.
They use it as
a protective barrier
between themselves
and the lions.
And yet, they still panic,
bunch together
and make mistakes.
If she can make
water her strength,
it will be their weakness.
Silver Eye has noticed
the silent hunter on the move...
and what she has
left behind in the grass.
The casual awakening
is deceptive.
She is giving
the huntress time to leave,
enough time to get
involved in the hunt.
Something bothers Ma di Tau
for a moment, some instinct.
But there seems nothing amiss.
Beaten, or just deterred
for the time being?
It's a question
that would haunt
any mother
with vulnerable young,
driven by
conflicting imperatives -
to hunt and feed her young,
or to stay and protect them?
With the pride
safely in retreat,
the young male cub
turns his attention
to a much greater challenge...
like being king of the hill.
Even just for a moment.
For a young lion,
being lord of all you survey
is almost your birthright.
If only one's sister
would accept it.
Winning the high ground
is something to fight hard for,
but then when one's opponent
unexpectedly gives up,
then the triumph of victory
feels a little hollow.
With each day
she hesitates or fails,
her cubs
get closer to starving.
The disturbance
is another indication
of the sheer power
of the scar-faced bull
and the aggression
of all buffalo.
And then she seems to see
the solution to her problem.
This violent fighting
will keep the pride away.
If she can move her cubs
up close to the herd
but keep them hidden,
they will be safe
from Silver Eye,
and Ma di Tau will be able
to leave them to hunt again.
As the herd moves,
she tracks them silently.
Keeping close,
the cubs follow her every move.
It's a risk.
If the buffalo hear them,
they could turn back and attack.
They're surrounded by demons.
It takes nerves of steel.
But any thoughts of
a single-handed defense
are short-lived.
By dawn she's in a position
to attempt the unknown...
a water hunt.
With the cubs nearby but safe,
it's time to concentrate
on her new tactic.
Now she has the advantage.
She has already overcome
most of her fear of water,
but the buffalo won't know that.
And they have hit
the deep channel
where they bunch together.
The angry bull pathfinders
horn each other out of the way
in the confusion.
Confusion is exactly
what she is looking for.
They don't expect her
to come out of the water;
they don't understand
that shape, that wet smell,
that calculated approach
designed to cause
stragglers to panic.
This is a chance
she can't let go -
a lone cow
isolated without help.
The distress calls
enrage the herd.
They rally
to the cow's defense.
The one thing she will not
confront is a large crocodile.
But she still has the advantage
of almost total concealment.
Her first attempt
has given her hope.
The confused herd
is just too enticing,
and the deep water
is now her speciality.
Now is her time.
Her success is celebrated...
by anyone else
who can take advantage.
Africa is as dispassionate
about great victory
as it is about loss.
It drives all to learn
and accept fate
and step forward
towards the next day.
At least Ma di Tau has eaten,
and in a few hours
she will produce milk.
And later she will go
boldly into the water
and hunt the herd again.
But that is for tomorrow;
now she is exhausted.
But that old lesson
of never sleeping soundly
is not to be ignored.
There are risks attached
to leaving the cubs
in the path of the buffalo,
stirred to panic.
There are a thousand reasons
to enjoy the dawn,
especially after
a successful hunt.
There is only one reason
that she quickens her pace.
Her calls
are not being answered.
Every time she leaves
them alone they wander off.
The little male has been
going farther and farther,
but both always return
to the same spot.
But not today.
Although there is
a strong scent of buffalo,
there is no sign of the pride,
so she carefully follows
the cubs' trail
away from the hiding place
and out into the open.
A call!
It's the female cub,
way across the open terrain
in the distance,
clearly upset, but alive!
Ma di Tau the protector
has not failed completely;
she has found one of the cubs.
Her kill has brought
a loyal following of scavengers,
and they can sense
some weakness about her.
With no sign of the little male,
she'll defend her last cub
against the mob of hyenas
at all costs.
In this final hopeless moment
she seems to understand the
risks of following the buffalo,
and what happened
here last night.
She hesitates
just long enough to give hope...
But she can't mend
a broken back.
No amount of care, licking,
defending, will fix this.
When she steps away, finally,
Ma di Tau
leaves behind her legacy -
the last
of her male's bloodline,
and her name.
She is Ma di Tau,
mother and protector
of lions, no more.
We don't know
about animal grief,
or even the effect
of any broken heart.
But something happens
to the lone lioness
when the storm of emotion
brews up in her eyes
and she leaves her cub behind
for the last time.
When she roars,
she calls to no one.
Her voice just adds
to the turbulent day.
On this day when
she has lost everything,
she seems to draw
on a deeply held instinct
and transforms herself
once again into a lone huntress.
For a single lioness
to run directly
into the buffalo
is virtually unheard of.
To take on the largest male
in that herd -
a fit, fighting bull -
is almost suicide.
Too much for her.
Too much hardship for one day.
Is it a lament to the gods?
A cry for help?
Or a last
battlecry of frustration?
The pride again...
Their arrival is always
sparked by any disturbance.
But this time
she will not retreat.
And now the past
strengthens her.
The submission
extracted from Silver Eye
is enough for the lone lioness.
She has something left to do.
And in this moment of strength
something fundamental changes -
something the pride recognizes.
They sense it in
the determination in her step
and the look in her eye...
Something unseen...
She is transformed
into a leader.
It's more than Silver Eye
can do to follow her old enemy,
especially across water,
especially as
a lower ranking huntress.
Lions hunt with coordination,
and when the stakes are high
they depend on
being well rehearsed.
Now, hunting together
for the first time,
every instinct drives them
to find that rhythm.
All they can rely on
is the leadership of a lioness
who has never led before.
When she makes her move,
it is clinical and precise.
But the bull has led this herd
for ten years or longer.
He has won the herd's
allegiance with blood.
They won't abandon him now.
She is used to standing alone.
Suddenly the scales tip
in the bull's favor.
The loyal horde fights back,
winning the advantage and
forcing the lions into disarray,
destroying their confidence
and scattering them to the wind.
With her pride divided and weak,
she can't push forward again.
They're exhausted.
But something beyond the buffalo
catches her eye,
a disturbance in the herd.
A lion cub...
Her lion cub.
Her reaction is a violent
explosion of motherhood
that drives the buffalo back,
away from her defenseless cub.
At last, she has hope.
She might still be able
to fulfill that ambition
to raise at least one cub.
A mother who has lost
and then found her offspring
must be overwhelmed
with emotions.
The lone lioness
has her name again...
Ma di Tau, the huntress,
has purpose once more.
The transition
from fierce tormentor
to compassionate mother
attracts the buffalos' interest.
A slow, determined
march of aggression.
And then, out of nowhere,
a lioness arrives.
The light in this
lioness' one eye
should still stir terror
in Ma di Tau.
But it doesn't.
The two lionesses
share a look that in an instant
sends a message
in some silent language.
With a wall of buffalo ahead
and a vulnerable cub behind,
somehow Silver Eye conveys
that she is not here
to take advantage;
she is here to help.
There are moments
before every conflict
when the fighters
have a choice:
to back away
and let the moment pass,
or to unite and step forward
behind their leader into battle.
Silver Eye knows
what she must do.
She must follow
Ma di Tau's lead.
And in this moment
a pride of lions is born.
And now they
seem to understand
that their future will be
determined right here,
as a pride.
With just one less of them,
the scales would tip
in favor of the big bulls
and shatter their hopes...
And the future of this
new pride's one remaining cub.
It is now or never.
Ma di Tau splits the herd
and routes the front rank.
She seems to understand
that behind her
Silver Eye will lead the attack.
It's a moment of trust...
The trust is well placed.
And it is over.
It is his first experience
of seeing lions
do what they do best.
It's his introduction into
a world of hunting and killing,
a necessary part of his legacy.
With the bull destroyed,
Ma di Tau has created
a safer world for her cub.
She has unified
a hunting coalition.
But one last thing
remains to be done.
To raise her cub successfully,
she needs to accept
this pride as her own.
When she and Silver Eye
finally make peace,
they mend themselves
and bind their pride,
their future, together.
And will this unlikely survivor,
a straggler with
the heart of a lion,
be one of the last?
Will he get to grow a mane
and strengthen
through adolescence?
Will he have a chance
to wear the battle scars
of a mature male,
each one a badge of honor
that started here today.
Will he be one of
the last wild lions on Earth?
Will he wander alone in the
last of these wild places,
as our world fills up
with lights, clutter,
noise and people?
In 15 years there will be
How long these last
will depend entirely on us.
We are losing cats
at an alarming rate.
It's time for an
emergency effort by all of us.
At this rate,
these beautiful animals
are heading for extinction.
Can you imagine our world
without any of
these iconic animals?
It's not too late.
We can take action now.
We all have the power
to turn it around.
To find out more go to
CauseAnUproar. org