Dynasties (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Lion - full transcript

Subtitles by explosiveskull

Lions are the very image of majesty.

And, indeed, of Africa itself.

Their strength lies
in the power of the pride,

their tight-knit family.

Lions have ruled the savannahs for
millennia.

And yet, within the last 20 years
or so,

their numbers have fallen by almost
half.

Our team has spent two years
following perhaps the most famous

lion family of all, the Marsh pride
of Kenya's Masai Mara.

As we join them, the very survival
of this great dynasty



is under threat.

Their future depends entirely
on the strength and determination

of one extraordinary leader.

Perhaps the most powerful
in the history of the Marsh pride.

A lioness known as Charm.

The Masai Mara.

The pride have always thrived
here through an alliance

between powerful alpha males
to protect the family

and experienced females
to raise the cubs.

But, for the first time
in the pride's history,

this alliance has been shattered.

The family has been abandoned
by all the adult males.

The survival of the pride now rests
upon the shoulders of Charm

and her cousin, Sienna.



The only remaining adults.

If their young are to reach
adulthood and the dynasty return

to full strength, they must now both
protect and feed the whole family.

August.

Following the recent rains,
it's a time of plenty.

The lions are surrounded by
wildebeest

on their annual migration.

A quarter-tonne bull would make
a good meal

for all ten of the pride.

But even though Charm
is an experienced hunter,

most attempts end in failure.

Charm uses her hind legs to knock
the wildebeest off-balance.

The smallest cubs won't be able
to catch food for themselves

for another 12 months.

Their ever-growing appetites mean
that Charm and Sienna

have to hunt around the clock.

The females are often
forced to head out alone.

Tonight, it's Sienna's turn.

Sunrise.

Sienna is seriously injured.

She's too week to move.

A lone lion is always at risk
of attack by buffalo,

hyenas, even other lion prides.

It's evening, and Sienna hasn't
returned to her family.

Now, everything depends on Charm.

As night falls, Charm has no choice
but to head out to hunt,

leaving the vulnerable cubs alone.

She's being trailed.

Hyenas.

They'll attack lone lions
if they get the chance,

to steal any kill they make.

Charm must work fast
before they find her.

They've tracked her down.

On her own, she couldn't hold them
off.

But another of the pride has been
following Charm.

Her three-year-old daughter, Yaya.

The rest of the pride arrive.

To eat.

Yaya has stepped up to help defend
the pride and feed her family.

Daughters stay with their mothers
for life, and may eventually

have cubs of their own.

Yaya is not yet an adult,
but as Charm's eldest daughter,

she's next in line
to lead the pride.

Charm also has a three-year-old son,
Tatu.

The beginnings of an impressive
mane are a sign

of his approaching adulthood.

Like every adolescent,
Tatu can't resist the chance

to test his growing strength.

Even against a two-tonne hippo.

But he's not the only
young male in this pride.

His cousin, Red.

Over the last few months,
the two of them have begun

to forge an alliance.

But even together, they're not
really going to worry

an angry hippo.

Unlike their sisters,
sons always leave their family

when they reach adulthood.

Their growing bond may enable them
to leave as a powerful partnership.

Eventually, they'll fight other
males to try and take over a pride

of their own.

But for the time being,
they still need Charm

to look after them.

It's been four days since
Sienna was attacked.

She's back on her feet.

But she's in urgent need of a meal.

She simply doesn't
have the strength.

As they mature, young males begin
to explore the boundaries

of the pride's territory.

Red has ventured out alone.

And blundered straight
into the middle of the hyena clan.

He's trapped by over 20 of them.

The pack tries to wear him down.

This number of hyenas
could kill him.

It's impossible to fight
them all at once.

He can't keep them at bay for much
longer.

He's tiring fast.

His ally, Tatu,
has heard the commotion.

Now, the odds have changed.

Even for 20 hyenas,
a pair of male lions

is too much to take on.

Red is lucky.

Tatu has saved his cousin's life.

After weeks of feeding on scraps,
Sienna has grown strong enough

to try and rejoin her family.

She greets Charm first.

Even after being apart for so long,
the bond between them

is still strong.

Yaya also welcomes Sienna
back into the pride.

At last, Charm's family
are back together.

Charm not only has her hunting
partner back,

but another hunter is emerging.

Yaya is becoming a powerful lioness.

She's learned how to stalk.

Stay low.

Approach silently.

And from downwind.

But the key to a successful ambush
is not being noticed.

Now it's seen her, the wildebeest,
with its sharp horns,

has the advantage.

But Yaya is learning.

Mother and daughter are starting
to develop their partnership.

It's October.

The great wildebeest
migration never stops.

And now, they're leaving
the Masai Mara.

For Charm and her family,
food is about to become

much more difficult to find.

The plains are now empty.

And, in search of food,

Charm leads the pride to the edge of
their range.

Here, she finds another kind of
prey.

Cattle, illegally brought into the
lions' territory to graze.

An opportunity to feed her hungry
family.

But hunting cattle
can lead to disaster.

To protect their livestock,

herdsmen sometimes put out poisoned
bait.

Lions can't tell
when a meal is toxic.

A week later, Charm's one-year-old
son is so ill he can hardly stand.

The whole pride are showing
the signs of poisoning.

And Sienna is missing once again.

As the temperature climbs,
the pride heads off to find shade.

But the struggling cub
is too weak to follow.

Charm needs to stay
with the rest of the pride.

Hours later, the cub still hasn't
caught up with his mother.

And there's no sign
of Sienna, either.

The next day, Charm
returns to her son's side.

He's still very unsteady.

But his mother can't abandon
the rest of the pride.

For the sake of the pride,
Charm abandons her young cub.

The others are waiting for her.

They need her now more than ever.

She will never see her son,
or Sienna, alive again.

Despite her losses,
there may still be a future

for Charm and her dynasty.

Her eldest cubs, Yaya and Tatu,
have survived the poisoning.

Charm keeps the pride moving
in a constant search for prey.

Catching enough food is hard,
even with Yaya's help.

But Charm is relentless.

The younger members of the pride
try to follow her example.

Even with little to hunt
and the constant harassment

of hyenas, Charm's skill
and experience as a leader

is keeping the pride alive.

A few weeks later,
her efforts begin to be rewarded.

Tatu and Red are now
over four years old,

ready to take the final
step to adulthood.

It's time for them
to leave the pride.

For Charm, this is success.

They head out as a partnership,
to battle other males,

to win a pride of their own,

and continue the family's bloodline
elsewhere.

But Charm still needs to get
the remaining four female cubs

safely to adulthood.

One early morning in May...

...the roar of adult male lions.

Two new males, outsiders,
are searching for a pride

to take over as their own.

New males could bring the
possibility

of a new generation of cubs.

But they could just as
easily bring disaster.

Soon, the new males begin
to impose their authority

on the Marsh pride.

Charm's youngest daughter
is still too young to breed.

To the males, she's nothing
more than another mouth

to share food with.

They don't want her in their pride.

Try as she might, Charm struggles
to defend her daughter.

Even she is no match
for an adult male.

Charm tries distracting them,

putting herself between them and her
cub.

But it's no good.

If her daughter stays,
the males will eventually kill her.

The cub has no choice but to leave.

And the males don't stop there.

Every young cub is driven out.

Their future is uncertain.

There's nothing Charm can do.

Eight months ago, Charm's
pride numbered ten lions.

Of them, only she and
Yaya now remain.

The return of the wildebeest
signals the end, at last,

of the hard times.

Time for a new beginning.

Charm is starting the process
of rebuilding the Marsh pride.

She and one of the males
have separated themselves

from the rest of the group.

Females are only able to conceive
once every few months.

For those crucial days,
the male won't leave her side.

Charm stays close to him
to strengthen their bond.

If the male isn't certain
any future cubs are his,

he will probably kill them.

Four months later.

Charm is alone, away from the pride.

Over the last 14 months,
her dynasty has faced ruin.

But now, there is new hope.

Just two weeks old.

Charm gave birth away
from the others.

Inquisitive and clumsy lions
could be a threat to the newborns.

But her two cubs are still
extremely vulnerable.

Buffaloes seek out lion
cubs and will kill them

if they get the chance.

She shields them with her body.

Without her to protect them,
the buffalo will trample

them to death.

Charm has forced the entire
herd to back down.

Life is always dangerous
for lion cubs.

But these two have an experienced
mother to look after them.

At last, Charm's pride is increasing
again.

One male and one female.

And these cubs may soon
be joined by more.

Yaya has paired off with
the other adult male.

Soon, she too will have cubs.

Charm's grandchildren.

Charm is taking her cubs to meet
the rest of the Marsh pride

for the first time.

Once their father has accepted
the cubs, he'll defend them

as fiercely as their mother.

They are the future
of his dynasty, too.

Charm has been away from the pride
since giving birth,

and hasn't seen Yaya for weeks.

Their bond has held through perhaps
the hardest times

in the pride's history.

With her daughter pregnant
and her son looking for a pride

of his own, Charm's dynasty
and the Marsh pride will live on.

This extraordinary
lioness has succeeded.

To follow the story
of Charm and her family,

the Dynasties team travelled
to the Masai Mara,

one of these big cats'
last strongholds.

The crew's aim is to immerse
themselves in the lives

of these powerful predators,
following them closely

for over 400 days.

But first, they need to master
the tricky task of identifying

each individual lion.

Every lion has its own unique set
of whisker spots,

and put that together with coat
colour, ear notches, nose colour,

you can pretty much identify that
lion.

It would be really great if we could
stick moustaches on them and glasses

and hats, because that would make it
a lot easier for everybody

to understand who they were!

After weeks of following the family
for 12 hours a day,

they're getting to know the lions.

And the lions, it seems, are getting
to know them, too.

Well done.

It was the closest I've ever been.

She had her chin over the door.
Yeah!

I mean, my feet are
within two feet of her.

She's big when she's that close.

Before long, it becomes
clear that each lion

has its own particular character.

On a long project like this,
there's a real luxury,

and the luxury is you get
to know the individuals.

They are different to each other.

Some sit and follow, others watch.

Some are into everything,
some are funny,

some are really stupid, in a way.

I mean, you can see the rest
of the pride kind of rolling

their eyes as yet another male comes
in and blows another hunt.

You begin to care for them.

You can't help it.

Charm, she is what a lion should be.

She's a provider, she's a mother,
she looks after cubs

that aren't her own,
she's the matriarch.

She's the... She's the dame.

The crew's attachment
to the lions is what makes

what happens next
so hard to deal with.

Poisoning is one of the biggest
threats lions face

across Africa today.

It can...

It becomes very close to home
when it's animals that you know

so well, individuals.

We know them really well now.

It's, um, much more...

Erm, you feel it much more.

Soon after the pride leave him,
emergency wildlife vets arrive

to try and save Charm's youngest
son.

But the poison has no
simple antidote.

The vets try to ease the symptoms.

All they and the crew can do now
is wait in the hope he can recover

and return to the pride.

Eventually, it becomes clear nothing
more can be done for him.

This animal is in a very bad
condition, a critical condition,

and we think it's not
going to make it.

Across Africa, the need for teams
like these is on the rise,

treating wildlife after
encounters with man.

It's just entirely wrong, isn't it?

Lions are so endangered.

There are hardly
any of them, really.

This is one of the best
places in the world.

They're disappearing so quickly,
and then this happens to them.

Because of pressure
on the land, of people.

Conflict between humans
and lions is increasing

throughout the continent.

Dr Shivani Bhalla is a Kenyan
conservationist who has been working

with lions and local
communities for over a decade.

So many people are surprised to hear
that there's only about 20,000 lions

left in Africa.

There's less than 2,000
lions left in Kenya.

They are disappearing so quickly.

Lions don't have enough food
and they don't have enough space,

but communities also
don't have enough grazing

for their livestock.

They also don't have enough space.

We've got to try and understand both
sides of the picture.

Coexistence between people
and lions is possible.

Our strategy has been
working with warriors,

women, children, to really bring
them on board and engage them

in lion conservation,
because they're the ones herding

livestock every day,
they're the ones coming into contact

with wildlife every day.

Community programmes have shown
that lions can actually recover

in areas where they used
to be once, but then their numbers

declined because they were being
killed.

And Sophie and John witness
that power of recovery

first-hand, here with Charm.

Oh, wow!

Well, that's that, I think.

Today's the day.

She's gone in there
now to have her cubs,

which is quite exciting, really.

We're kind of living it with her,
really, aren't we?

It's about sharing that experience.

That's the whole point.
That's why we're making the film.

Over a year ago, the team
set out to find a lion

and to tell its story.

And here we are, over a year later,
and just there,

where the camera's pointing, we've
got Charm and two little cubs.

She's had such a hard, hard year.

I don't think any of us could've
predicted a happier, better way.

She's the most amazing lion.

She's just incredible.

And... It's the perfect ending,
really.

Lions are incredibly resilient.

Given space, enough food
and security, they can bounce back.

The challenges facing lion
conservationists are formidable.

Indeed, unbelievable
though it may sound,

there is a real possibility
that, before long, lions in the wild

could disappear entirely.

But if conservationists
and the people who have to live

alongside these great beasts
of prey can work together,

there is still a chance
to save them.

Next time... one of the last
great families of painted wolves.

An intense rivalry.

Mother against daughter,
each striving to rule.

Who will triumph, and can they bring
peace to these lands?

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