Serengeti (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - Rebirth - full transcript

Many tales have been told of
Africa...

..but this is our story.

A drama set in the heart
of our world...

..experienced as we live
and breathe it.

So far, we've endured
a devastating drought...

..confronted the elements...

..seen epic battles and
acts of heroism...

..and watched fire lay
waste our land.

This is the final chapter

in our story of a place
they call Serengeti.

Fire has ravaged our land...



..as it has since the dawn of time.

But many survived the inferno.

Shani escaped with her foal...

..but a long trek to fresh
pasture lies ahead.

The baboons are refugees...

..but at least Cheka has
her adopted baby.

Bakari saved them from the flames...

..but he's still an outcast.

The wild dogs were the first to run.

But just when their pups must
learn to hunt,

their hunting grounds are gone.

Kali, too, escaped -
but one of her cubs is lost.

As she longs for him,

we long for the one thing that
might save us all.



Lightning lit the flames.

Now, it signals rebirth.

A deluge as powerful as life itself.

Streams swell to rivers.

Soon, floods quench our land.

From the ashes,

water gives life.

And our land is reborn.

It's a moment to relish,
a time for young to learn,

before drought and hunger return.

Nalla's baby is discovering
more each day.

Yet some lessons can never
be planned for.

To reach the lush new growth means
crossing the swollen river.

Her baby's feet can't even
touch the bottom.

In the raging torrent, Nalla
struggles to reach him.

The whole family must work together.

But he slips from their grasp and
is swept downstream.

Even the mighty struggle
to fight this current.

Nalla knows these rapids well.

The only way to save him is
from the land.

His only hope -
the bank of the river...

..and the determination
of his family.

While he recovers his strength,

the whole family will wait.

He will learn from his
brush with death.

Our land's rebirth is also
a chance for learning.

For a short while, there's plenty
of time to practise.

Kike's cubs are now on the
brink of adulthood...

..but they still rely on
their mother...

..and are as playful as ever.

But they're getting bigger
and hungrier.

Kike will soon struggle
to feed them.

She must prepare them for
a life without her.

Her daughter is the keener
student...

..much more focused than her
brothers.

Cheetah mothers are lone parents...

..and lone providers.

One day, her daughter will
be a mother, too.

So, she watches everything
her mother does.

It's her daughter who practises
the stranglehold...

..the one that subdues.

Kike can't provide for
three full-grown cubs much longer...

..but they've yet to prove
themselves.

And they have so little time.

Bakari exiled himself from his troop
after falling out with their leader.

But what has become of Cheka and
the baby he left behind?

In the distance, a troop is calling.

To reach them, he must brave
the swollen river.

But he's not out of danger yet.

He may have survived this encounter,

but soon he must face the troop
he was forced to leave.

In the fire, Kali's family was
attacked by the black-maned males -

intent on taking over her pride.

She lost her sister and one
of her cubs, too.

But in our land,
there are few certainties.

Miraculously, her sister and her
family survived the fire.

Kali won't have to grieve
for her cub alone.

In fact, she won't have
to grieve at all.

He escaped the fire with
Kali's sister.

Against all odds, her family
is reunited once more.

In the fire, all our lives
were disrupted.

Bakari's troop were displaced

and their reckless leader brought
them to leopard territory.

Bakari may have survived
the leopard,

but will his luck desert him just
when he needs it most?

Will his troop accept him back?

Will the leader try to kill him?

It's Cheka.

They became close when they raised
an orphaned baby together.

Their affection is as deep as ever.

For a few stolen moments,
they're family once more.

But what of the leader?

And what of the leopard?

In our land, the powerful deal
retribution to the powerful.

The leader who showed so little
mercy to others

finally had no mercy shown to him.

With the land reborn,

the wild dog pups are honing
their hunting skills.

To survive when the drought returns,
they must learn fast.

Their father, Jasari, must switch
from provider to teacher.

They've cornered a waterbuck.

Now they must work out
what to do with it.

They surround it,
just as their father taught them.

But Jasari would never
hunt in water.

It's the waterbuck's domain.

Here, he has all the advantage.

Knowing when to accept defeat

is as important as knowing
when to pursue.

The lessons of survival
are as old as time.

Teaching our young to learn is the
responsibility of us all.

Some, though, never gain the chance
to nurture their young to adulthood.

A giraffe is facing the unexplained
death of her baby.

She has guarded his body for days.

But all around, life goes on.

Knowledge is being passed down
to the next generation.

Kike brought her cubs to the
brink of adulthood...

..but are they ready to fend
for themselves?

Today, Kike must test them.

Her daughter has learned
to stay back.

The brothers now follow her lead.

Kiki hasn't harmed the fawn.

She has a plan.

Her cubs must master chasing...

..and tripping.

But this lesson has an observer -

the bereft mother.

Here is no place for bloodshed.

The fawn's mother is spared
the grieving...

..and the giraffe returns
to her vigil.

The wild dog pups are learning well.

But in our land, catching
a meal is not enough -

you have to keep it, too.

Jasari teaches them what to do.

He plays the role of a hyena.

The giraffe's vigil is
disturbed once more.

But the wild dogs will not be moved.

THUNDER RUMBLES

LIGHTNING STRIKES

The rains may refresh and renew,

but, soon, the good times will end

and the lean times return.

Lessons must resume quickly.

A hare would be perfect.

This is not for Kike.

It's for her cubs to show
what they've learned.

Success.

A landmark on their path
to independence.

Their reward - the fruits
of their own labour.

Tembo has also had a triumph
of his own.

Despite struggling since leaving
his mother's care,

he survived the fire.

The friend he made at the water
hole is with him.

When males have to leave
their family,

they only have each other
for company.

Tembo's friend is from a
gang of males

who also outgrew their families.

But will they accept a newcomer?

Tembo was forced from his family

when his boisterous nature
was getting out of hand.

Here, it's just what's required.

A chance to test his strength

and find his place in this
bachelor herd.

For now, he's right at the bottom.

There's always a bigger elephant.

Fights between old tuskers
are fierce.

The winning boar has seen
the new arrival.

Tembo isn't so confident now.

The tusker will decide if
Tembo belongs.

He could be crushed with
just one blow.

But there's no real aggression here.

Tembo has been accepted.

He may be the lowest in
the pecking order...

..but he's a step closer to
fulfilling his destiny.

For Kike's cubs, the time to leave
is long overdue...

..but they still have more
practising to do.

This time, it will all
be up to them.

Kike will watch

as they put the skills she's taught
them into practice.

Where her daughter leads,
her sons follow.

They all have stalking
down to an art.

Her daughter selects a target.

Freezing when the gazelle's alert...

..advancing when it relaxes.

Every move is timed to perfection.

Her son takes over just
when he's needed.

Kike's work is done.

They're ready.

Sometimes, the hardest thing
to do is the right thing.

For her cubs' sake,
Kike must leave them now.

She won't be coming back.

For Bakari, his dreams of being
back with his family

appear to have come true.

He's finally allowing himself to
believe

the leader is not coming back.

But it's never wise to get
too comfortable.

A rival troop, also displaced since
the fire, wants the same land.

But Bakari is worn down
by conflict.

This time, he holds back.

But the battle isn't going their
way...

..and the onslaught is relentless.

With his troop in trouble,
Bakari must do something.

He steps up and takes charge.

True leaders arise when duty calls.

Even Bakari's youngster is inspired
by his courage.

Bakari targets the rival leader.

Defeat him and the troop are safe.

Bakari has triumphed.

With the troop secure,
Bakari can relax.

But something's changed.

A male comes to show his respect.

And, in time, so do the others.

Then it's the turn of the females.

The new leader is crowned.

It's a role he never coveted.

How will he embrace the power
bestowed upon him?

The pups are now a vital part of
the wild dogs' hunting team.

Chases rarely fail.

But there's one test in which
they've yet to prove themselves.

Zalika has won and lost battles
with the wild dogs before,

but now she has support behind her.

Jasari's showed his pups how
to deal with hyenas.

He's taught them well.

How better to finish the day
than a team celebration?

But success sometimes brings
its own problems.

Every meal the cubs catch
attracts thieves.

Their mother taught them
about jackals.

Fending them off is as exhausting
as hunting prey.

But while they waste their energy,
they make a beginner's mistake.

Zalika steals their meal.

Cheetahs must be masters of stealth.

But, together,
they're too easily seen...

..especially when a warthog

is revealing their presence
to everyone.

Being discovered is one thing.

But when their rivals decide to
move in to join them,

things have to change.

All Zalika and her cub need to do is
wait for them to go hunting again.

This can't go on.

Just as her mother did,

it's time for Kike's daughter
to go it alone.

Solitude is her destiny.

We all take different paths in life,

but, in the end,
there's only one certainty.

This elephant died after
a life well-lived.

Now, Kali won't have to hunt
for a while.

They aren't the only lions
drawn to the remains.

The pride she thought she'd lost
in the flames is here, too.

In the chaos of the fire,
the black-maned males failed

in their bid to take over her pride.

The pride males won the battle,
but some laid down their lives.

Sefu fought to the last
and survived.

Sometimes, change takes
you full circle.

Kali was once cast out from
the great pride -

now she'll defend it with her life.

The sight of the circling vultures
brought the lions together.

In death, the mighty elephant
completes life's circle.

He now sustains the life of others.

Zalika would know better than to
take on the great pride.

But, today, something's different.

The hyenas are allowed to share.

There's enough for all.

Even the vultures are welcome.

In death, the great elephant
has given birth

to an extraordinary truce.

The cycle of life,
captured in a moment of harmony.

And there's more to come.

Another old male arrives.

And all defer to him.

He pays homage to one who
was once a rival.

And, now, Nalla's family appear.

Here, we all accept the
fragility of life.

Just as our land dies and is
reborn each year,

what is learned by one generation is
reborn as wisdom in the next.

It was here,
on the baboons' great rock,

that the story of our incredible
year began.

But the lowliest is now the
leader...

..and Cheka and the baby are safe.

And that's not the only change.

At this time of year,
their fig tree comes into fruit.

Last year, the figs were
for a privileged few.

Now, all are welcome.

In our land, where all
our lives connect...

..it took the will of one to change
the lives of others.

Here, the actions of one
can affect us all.

So, although each year the seasons
beat to the same rhythm,

their song is never the same.