Cheetah: Race to Rule

Documentary series uncovering the secret lives of big cats, using the latest technology and scientific research to bring these animal superstars out of the shadows.

On Botswana's Linyanti Plains, a band of brothers reigns amongst the top predators: three cheetahs - partners since birth and one of the most efficient hunting forces on the plains - until tragedy strikes. Achilles, the hunt leader of the brotherhood, is killed by a cobra bite, leaving his brothers Odin and Shiva to fend for themselves. With their coalition diminished they must adapt fast: learning to hunt as a twosome and defend their kills without the help of Achilles. Confounding their efforts is a host of predators: an injured leopard, a cunning hyena and a devious black-backed jackal. Making matters worse, a lone male cheetah begins to trespass on their land. Will these cheetah blood brothers survive the overwhelming odds stacked against them?

Only few big cats have been as intensively studied as lions. We thought we knew everything about them. Yet some parts of their lives kept hidden in the dark. Cameras follow two prides and their respective females by day and by night, revealing astonishing behavioral patterns of Africa's largest lions. Symbols of courage and power, lions have been intensively researched for many decades. While hardly a single facet of their lives has gone unnoticed, certain things have remained hidden. Thanks to thermal imaging cameras, this two-part series reveals the last secrets of Africa's largest wild cats. We follow two prides in Southern Kenya and their respective females by day and by night, discovering astonishing behavioral patterns. Lean times face the animals as the huge wildebeest herds, which, until now have supplied the young families with ample food, are migrating south to the Serengeti. We will watch the daily struggle for survival as these mothers risk everything in order to rear ...

The grasslands of Africa are a banquet spread for feline predators. Explore the hunting and nurturing habits of lions, leopards, and cheetahs of the African savannah, as well as the overlooked grasses that lay the foundation for the amazing array of wildlife flourishing among its leaves.

This documentary examines the threatened habitats and the three great predators: the jaguar, the leopard and the cheetah, of the great South American jungle, the Masai Mara grasslands of Kenya and the bushland of South Africa.

David Attenborough narrates this astonishing story of a wild cheetah family. Known for being fast, captivating and extremely elusive, cameraman Kim Wolhuter offers a new insight into their remarkable lives. For nearly two years, he walked alongside a wild cheetah mother and her young family to unravel in intimate detail what it takes to turn tiny cubs into accomplished predators

The vast east African savannah is the only place in the world where "big cats" -- lions, leopards and cheetahs -- can be seen in a single location. The abundant source of food is the reason why these cats, which reign at the top of the food chain, can survive. The endless grassland gives them life. This is the story of the animals on the savannah, the more than one hundred species of herbivores such as gazelles and buffalos, and the big cats standing at the top of the ecosystem

Trek into the hidden battlefields of northern Botswana where lions and spotted hyenas clash in overlapping territories. With never-before-seen footage, much of it filmed at night, you'll uncover an intense and vicious blood feud that has been waged for millennia. Follow the Southern Clan, led by a powerful hyena matriarch whose firstborn female cub kills her sister at birth to assure her succession as leader of the clan. Lurk in the shadows as a lioness from the Central Pride gives birth to three cubs and then encounters a deadly Egyptian cobra. You'll be stunned by breathtaking chase scenes as the hyena matriarch is brutally killed by a male lion, throwing the clan into chaos. Discover nature's savage conflicts in this ancient rivalry.

The hunters of Africa come out of their hiding places at night. They slept most of the time during the day to avoid the heat. But now their time has come. They are equipped with “super senses” that enable them to find their prey in complete darkness while staying invisible themselves. Lions, leopards and hyenas are the ultimate rulers of the night, but they all have different hunting strategies. Leopards sneak up to their prey like phantoms and attack in the last moment, while lions try to ambush their next meal and take it down as a team. Hyenas are long distance athletes and hunt their victims to exhaustion. All of this would be left in the dark, if not for extremely light sensitive lenses and thermal cameras. Thanks to this modern technique, we are able to get a unique view into the secret world of Africa’s hunters of the night.

From savannas bursting with game to deserts with not a drop to drink, all lion kingdoms are not created equal… so who is the REAL King of the Beasts? This is for kids but a little graphic. It's just a message doc lifting footage from SuperPride, Storm Cats, Desert Lions and a bunch more

National Geographic filmmakers, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, explore how some animals are thrust together by the forces of nature-sometimes through a millennium of evolution or even last year’s drought. In the aftermath of strange elephant deaths, they piece together a visually stunning story that confirms their theory that lions were hunting elephants. Narrated by Jeremy Irons.

The film reveals the story of conflict between lions and hyenas, relatively unknown or even suspected in the scientific world before this. The intense relationship and enduring rivalry between the two species play out in a battle of survival.

In the heart of southern France there is a fog-prone area where, according to legend, a bloodthirsty creature wreaked havoc 250 years ago. A rumor is spreading again in this legendary place, as eyewitnesses report an animal with large paws and a long tail that crosses roads in a single leap - powerful enough to tear down a horse and leave it mutilated in the pasture. Is the Beast of Gévaudan back? The animal photographer Bruno Loisel has a supposedly more rational explanation. The animal that fits the descriptions could be a cougar, but this species of big cat is only native to America. In order to learn the proper techniques for tracking down the puma, he travels to Canada, where he accompanies a team of researchers dedicated to studying the shy, almost invisible predator. Will Bruno be able to use his findings to solve the mystery of the new beast of Gévaudan?

Leopards are considered to be extremely shy big cats. Only a few animals can match the elegance of these feline predators. The cautious hunters are rarely seen in the wild for more than a few seconds. The cats can be observed more extensively when they rest asleep in a tree and recover from the mostly nocturnal hunt. But a leopardess has switched to hunting in broad daylight. Its home along the brook bed of the Olare Orok offers everything a mother needs to protect and nourish its offspring: picturesque rocks and dense bush, a landscape in which the big cat can disappear in seconds to sneak up on potential prey, which includes warthogs and antelopes. But hyenas and lions are always ready to contest for its territory and nourishment. The renowned wildlife filmmaker Reinhard Radke managed to capture astonishing insights into the social life and hunting tactics of the ambush hunters in the Maasai Mara.

The Lion, Africa’s ultimate predator. They’re known as the kings of the jungle yet their homeland is an open grassland rather than rainforest. In the African plains prey-rich real estate can be hard to come by, and lions work together to ensure no one claims their territory and usurps their crown

Africa is a land of giants. Its mighty rivers sculpt the earth and form impressive valleys and waterways home to many imposing and powerful inhabitants. These are the rivers where massive elephants and hippos live, feed and drink and where ancient crocodiles hunt and breed. They share the rivers with other creatures of their kind, such as porcupines - the giant rodents in Africa, the martial eagle - the biggest of its kind on the continent, and the leopard - a giant among the spotted cats

Witness a remarkable coming-of-age story as we track a young leopard's journey from rookie to royalty in South Africa's lethal Big Five landscape. When we first meet Jack, he's clumsy, fearful, and weak, but he's a fast learner - and he'll need to be. He's destined for a showdown with the area's current leopard monarch, an alpha male with a real mean streak. We follow Jack as he hones his skills and builds up muscle for the ultimate catfight. It's a battle where only the winner will walk out alive.

A haunting call echoes across the Liuwa Plain. There is no answer, there hasn't been for years. She has no pride, no support - she alone must safeguard her own survival. Her name is Lady Liuwa, and she is the Last Lioness. Isolated by a scourge of illegal trophy hunting that wiped out the rest of her species in the region, Lady Liuwa is the only known resident lion surviving on Zambia's Liuwa Plain. For four years, cameraman Herbert Brauer watched her lonely life unfold, until, in her solitude, she reached out to him for companionship. But Herbert knows he is not the companion this lonely lioness needs - she should be amongst her own kind. Now, in May of 2009, plans for a male lion translocation have come through, and there is hope for ending her isolation. For the first time in more than five years, Lady Liuwa will no longer be the Last Lioness This is just a re-titled version of "The Last Lioness"

Four top predators are compared, each champion in a type of environment, with key adaptations. On the ground, the cheetah outruns prey (approached in masterly stealth) and enemies. In the air, the peregrine falcon is a flight and diving machine. In sweet water, the Nile crocodile survives since the Dino age, without natural enemies, with several amazing metabolism stunts. Lurking under water, it snaps blindly at migrating wildebeest, then waits underground. In the oceans, the equally ancient shark, notably the great white, migrates seasonally to find abundant prey, such as young seals around South Africa.

JV and Gillian are given the task of reintroducing three magnificent cheetahs- two of which are the rare King Cheetah- back into their natural surroundings. JV and Gillian document and share their story as they follow the lives of the three cub's journey from cub to adulthood in the Tswalu reserve. We follow all the trials and tribulations as the young cubs navigate their new world and learn to survive in their desert home. Filled with hope and heartbreak it's a gripping tale in which we witness the extraordinary return of the Kings.