Big Cat Week (2012–…): Season 0, Episode 0 - The Way of the Cheetah - full transcript

There's a particular
kind of wind in Africa.

It changes everything
in its path.

It has drops of tears
streaking down its face.

It shape-shifts like an
apparition in a storm,

confusing, disappearing,
causing bewilderment,

until it does materialize.

Tear-streaked hunters create
tension across the plains.

Hunters that strike
apocalyptic figures

with a certain look, a
poise, a certain way.

It is The Way of the Cheetah.

Five male cheetahs stride in.



Their way is the
way of the wind.

Cheetahs are the shadow hunters.

They'll always try
to muffle any cries

in soft but lethal mouths.

It's hard to keep
secrets out here.

While it's not the
way of the cheetah

to fight a fight you cannot win,

just handing over a
kill is always hard.

Hyenas are three
times their weight

and quick to turn
the delicate eland

into a blood spot in time.

Wherever these five
highly efficient males go,

their presence ripples
through the savanna,

to everyone up the food chain.



In the wake of each success,
the danger escalates.

It explains so
much about cheetahs

and how they're different
to the mobbing hyenas,

in their own eternal battles
with robust lionesses.

Cheetahs just aren't
built like that.

But this small band
of brothers is unique.

Their coalition gives
them strength in numbers.

Their synchrony in all things

makes these males
extraordinary killers.

They can kill and
eat fast and move on,

as perpetual wanderers.

They must be careful, though.

Even a short hard rain

can quickly cause
the rivers to swell.

Behind them, the prey
has been hunted hard.

For cheetahs there is
always tension in the water.

They aren't robust
or strong swimmers.

With careful planning

the five males find
rocky stepping-stones

that unlocks a gateway

to the high ground
beyond the rivers.

Out here the possibilities
are boundless

because this is the Maasai Mara

as they look south towards
the Serengeti Plains.

And each of these
new dry plateaus

needs a reminder of which
cheetahs claim ownership.

Cheetah marking posts
are quite obvious,

and they've saved up enough
capacity to make it count.

Also on the higher ground,

a single female cheetah doesn't
have the luxury of a coalition.

Her name is Imani, meaning
"faith" in Swahili.

Her way is different.

She will only ever
be hunting alone.

She's more stealthy.

And a lot more vulnerable.

The complexities
of being a cheetah

vary from one
individual to the next.

The reason for
Imani's risky tactic

lies in the dewy grass at dawn.

Four new cubs are a good
reason for her to be anxious.

Cheetahs are the smallest of
the big cats, the most fragile.

And her cubs trust her
instincts implicitly,

faithfully.

As soon as the cubs
are fed to drowsiness,

Imani makes her move.

The confused cubs, tucked
away in thick grass,

can only hear what she's up to.

The quiet bleat,
the birdlike chirp,

tells them where to locate her,

but from the start one cub
takes a different path.

It's time to start introducing
meat to their diet.

But something's wrong.

A stranger!

An aggressive stranger,
a large pregnant female

expecting her own
cubs very soon.

Now Imani has to make
the impossible choice.

Defend her kill or
protect her cubs,

and get them out of the
focus of those eyes,

filled with fire.

Three of the cubs
stand back in fear.

But then the male cub,

not quite as ready to
be cheated so easily,

steps forward.

The bold little male

is not reading the
stranger's body language.

Now it's clear.

The young male brushes it
off for the next adventure,

pausing only briefly
to harasses Imani.

Next he joins in
at a slippery tuft

to disrupt his siblings' games.

To say he's a troublemaker
may be too much.

They all are!

They're almost identical,

a reminder that all cheetahs
are genetically similar.

This has nearly caused their
extinction twice in the past.

And her instinct is
to keep on the move,

away from the prying eyes,
and the gangs of males.

Especially the five brothers.

The way of the hunt

is to appear from where
they least anticipate,

and to do it fast.

No one expects the wind to come

from three different
directions at once.

Let alone five.

These brothers are not
attacking like cheetah at all,

but more like lions.

They're succeeding
in cooperating

to bring down an animal
more than twice their size,

and that is what lions do.

Usually cheetahs
are gentle killers,

if there are such things,

and normally feed
peacefully, sharing.

But more and more,

the five males are abandoning
their cheetah ways.

This infighting will
not serve them well.

Cheetah coalitions must
stay well bonded to succeed.

Imani has to be careful now
and keep her cubs well hidden

from the ever more
emboldened males

as they patrol, even
through the night.

These thermal
night-vision images

reveal just how at ease
they are in the dark,

while she is tense, moving
and hiding constantly.

Daylight is her
realm, her niche,

and Imani has a short window
in which to work it hard.

Today she has a
Thompson's gazelle

fixed in her sights.

Imani, in full flight, is
the very picture of elegance.

An animal doing exactly
what it is born to do.

Floating, defying gravity,
as she cuts through the air,

half animal, half magical being.

Hunting Thompson's
gazelle is a real risk,

not just because of
the sharp little horns,

but because of the attention
the hunt might attract.

Especially from the
large male olive baboons

at the head of enormous troops.

Each male is not much smaller
than the cheetah itself,

but collectively
there's no contest.

But the reason
for their boldness

is because these baboons
are after her kill.

These East African
plains dance a dance

that unveils many
colors and faces

in the land of the cheetahs.

An ever-changing world

that keeps flooding new
innocent prey her way.

It keeps Imani on her toes.

The scent of zebras
arriving in the area

is a dazzling intoxication.

With her cubs tucked away

she takes the hunt to
the arriving zebras.

Zebras have evolved
to be a visual chaos.

And in that chaos Imani
is suddenly not alone;

the brothers are alongside her.

It's time for her
to quietly bow out

while the males are focused

on the taste of blood.

A kill is never
secure for cheetahs.

Even vultures can
drive them off.

But the males adopt the
art of attacking first.

The way of physical display.

It buys them some time to
gobble up as much as possible.

This tactic, a stand
against many opponents,

is an ancient one.

When the sun fades,

the vultures will have to stay
in the treetops for safety.

But if the males stay too long,

other larger scavengers will
emerge from the darkness.

Cheetahs are the only big cats
in Africa that can't roar.

So for the five brothers

to maintain their
boundary markers,

they need healthy bladders
and some creativity

to spray paint their ownership.

At one of these marking posts

they smell the
fresh sign of Imani.

It's probably the
first indication

of who the extra
cheetah in the hunt was.

And that alone requires

some significant group
urination therapy.

You'd think, with all this,

that they'd need to get
to a waterhole to top up,

but no, they're on
a quest to find her

somewhere in their 30
square miles of territory.

The dawn sharpens the
scent of a female at last.

They can smell a female's
marking from weeks ago,

but today, this is fresh.

Their problem is that her
scent trail has some obstacles.

This tactic is a shadow dance,

where you appear to attack with
just enough leeway to escape

as you watch what your
opponent is capable of.

With the confidence of a matador

he knows his flight
distance and the terrain,

vital knowledge for any warrior.

This butterfly-like lightness

allows all cheetahs
that air of superiority.

Hidden across the valley,
Imani leaves the resting cubs,

because somehow, she seems
to know what'll happen next.

There's a perfect
climbing tree up ahead,

and she needs to check it out.

The shape and height make
it irresistible to the cubs.

And of course, she's right!

It's an absolute scramble,
but that cheetah elegance

seems to be limited to
the plains, not up a tree.

Now the young male starts
to distinguish himself

in other ways.

It's not because of his balance,

which he happens
to be quite bad at.

But somehow he always seems
to land on his feet. Just.

After each embarrassing episode

he seeks comfort
at Imani's side.

But today that may
be a big mistake.

She's right next to the
path being cut by the siafu:

ants that can deliver
fierce, stinging bites.

And he is right in their path.

His paws are on fire.

But there's a new
danger on the horizon.

The five males.

When Imani bolts with her cub,

it may be as a decoy
to draw the males away

from the much more
vulnerable cubs in the trees.

It sparks a cat-and-mouse
game, and the chase is on.

They have her cornered
against a stream.

Then, suddenly the cub turns

to face the attackers.

The male's aggressive slap is
met with unexpected defiance.

And when Imani submits, it is
only to give her cub an escape.

But at the spindly tree, he
and the others are witness

to a very different side to
their mother's character.

She's a ball of fury, with
fangs and razor-sharp claws.

She's amped up the tension,

and suddenly the males
start turning on each other.

The coalition of five
brothers collapses,

each one now only for himself,

and it all erupts into a brawl.

Their courtship is in chaos.

And that gives Imani the one
desperate hope she needs.

With the romance of the
moment completely ruined,

the bruised suitors agree

that this was never going to
be a match made in heaven.

And they leave for distant
pursuits, all together again.

The young male is at it again.

He's struggling with
some rear end issues

that started off as
a backwards descent.

Her example is clear
to all the others,

and the small family
is on the move again.

But he still has his own
particular nuanced approach

to getting out of trees.

Imani must keep on the move

in the opposite
direction to the males.

Her only safe zone now
will be in the hills.

The cubs' lives are filled

with explosive and
energetic play,

on and around their
loving mother.

After a day like he's had,

the adventurous little male is
more in need of rest than play.

For him, a more sedate day,
or two, is just want he wants.

But every time he drops
off for a just moment,

his ever-alert mother takes
the chance to scan the horizon.

Her way is to be
still and yet alert.

To be at rest without resting.

Every mirrored look is
all about Imani's way,

transferring to them to
eventually become their way.

His nap disturbed, he's
attuned to her movements now,

not distracted by his siblings.

The hunt is on!

And he is determined to keep up.

She is successful!

And now is their long-awaited
first taste of meat.

The cubs can smell blood,
but when they hold back,

it's because someone
else can smell it, too.

And that threat confuses
them, scares them.

At first, the cubs are unsure
what this is all about,

what to do with it.

And then, instinct kicks in.

As the first tint of
red colors their lips,

they transform into
innocent killers.

The young male stares
down possible prey,

feeling he can take
on anything now.

Learning how to eat meat is
just a part of today's study.

It's Imani's response
to the jackals

that provides the real lesson.

On the very next
return of the jackals,

the bold little male cub tries
the technique out for size.

It seems to work.

So effectively that he
gives it another try,

with even more enthusiasm.

His ground-slapping technique

is barely noticed by his family,

but at this moment
he's starting to show

the same defiance that might be
expected of an adult cheetah.

When Imani leads them
away, he's reluctant.

His blood is up, but ultimately,

it's not the jackals who are
the worst enemy of cheetahs.

When he begrudgingly
gives up his spoils,

it's because the real threat
is steadily advancing on them,

as it does each day.

A dark force. The twilight.

It's that bewitching
hour for cheetahs.

Where lions and their prides
emerge from the hills here

and seek excitement,
opportunity and challenges.

These hellish nights
just serve to highlight

how difficult it
is to be a cheetah,

with lions to the left,

male cheetahs never
far behind her,

and unknown threats ahead.

All with growing
cubs at her feet.

And yet, it is paradise.

Imani senses something
about to change.

Something from
beyond the horizon.

The five males sense it, too.

And when they
finally materialize,

they arrive in huge numbers.

The problem for
wildebeest on the move

is that they are always heading
forward, into the unknown.

But those who are first
to the battlefield

and await their opponents

are at ease and
have the advantage.

They are artists of deception,
pretending to be benign,

walking casually as if what
lurks under their skins

is not important.

And that, more than
anything, is the cheetah way.

Unleashed at 70 miles an hour,

this incredible speed
leaves no room for mistakes.

The quick turn, the
size of the prey,

makes it almost
an impossibility.

But for this moment in time,

nothing else matters for the
predator or for the prey.

And now the brothers
are working in unison,

collaborating to win
this immense battle.

It's hard to know which god
selected this wildebeest.

Was it random, or is it his
almost imperceptible limp

from last year's water crossing?

It is a moment in time,
and yet it is timeless.

These epic battles for survival

are the result of wave after
wave of millions of wildebeest

that pour into the waiting teeth

of the just 7,000 cheetahs
left on the planet.

Victory is short lived.

Now each takes turns
in defending their meal

while the other four feed up,

before the hyenas can
get the true measure

of their strengths or weakness.

The one constant in
their lives, however,

is the darkness at
the end of each day.

The cheetahs' way is usually
to yield to that good night

and walk towards tomorrow.

The question is whether
they can keep on

outrunning these
obstacles day after day.

By the next season Imani
is still surviving,

and success for her

means bringing up at
least some of her cubs.

But she's lost one.

One of the survivors is
the curious young male.

As he grows, he becomes
even more intrigued

by everything that moves.

The secretary birds' display
of an early summer courtship

grabs his interest.

To those engaged, it's a
subtle and complex dance,

but for the cubs it's an
irresistible curiosity.

Still timid, they're as
inquisitive as all young cats.

As we'd expect, he's the
first to give it a go.

And they're pleased
that he's the one

willing to make mistakes.

It seems the birds
and the cheetahs

have traded places.

He's the first to summit

and to see Imani about
to spring a hunt.

He and the other cubs
have watched her do this

dozens of times in
the last few months.

It's an enviable ability she has

that they are yet to learn.

Imani is like liquid amber.

Perfection they can learn from,

but watching can only
take them so far.

Today they're eager to
take the next steps.

It's time to graduate
from obedient pupils

to participants,

and her selection is
designed for this perfectly.

Live but small prey.

And right here, right now,

the young male and his
siblings learn their own way...

The real way of the
cheetahs they will become.

Imani watches but
doesn't interfere.

This is the single
most important thing

in the cubs' lives
at this stage.

If they can't kill to eat,
they will simply starve.

In time as they grow, they
will face a thousand obstacles.

Genetic bottlenecks aside,

where they do
thrive, so do lions.

And it's those half-grown
teenagers with playful energy

that Imani must steer
her cubs away from.

But today she does
just the opposite.

She leads them to
the lions for a look,

but stays just outside
of their range.

They're playing with fire.

The odds of cheetah cubs
surviving are less than 10%,

and lions play a very
large part in that.

It's a vital lesson for
Imani's adventurous male cub,

because he won't always
have her at his side.

For him, the biggest
threat in the future

will not be lions, though.

As the cubs grow and
form new coalitions,

they'll need prey to
hunt on gracile legs.

Tactics that make
best use of claws,

ready to jab into the ground,

or propel them at
the fastest speeds

of any animal on Earth.

And to fly like the wind

with a delicacy unrivaled
on these plains.

But most of all
they'll need space.

Space to live on their
own terms without fear.

To co-exist, with us.

Without that, the
young male's future,

after he finally leaves his
mother to find his own way,

will be uncertain.

And those dark tears on his face

would be our collective tragedy.

But that, let us hope,
will not be our way.