Successful lions need to be brutal and use any means to quash would-be kings. These are not random acts of violence, but vital behaviour to secure their own genetic future.
Successful lions need to be brutal and use any means to quash would-be kings. These are not random acts of violence, but vital behaviour to secure their own genetic future.
2011-04-01
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Africa's big cats lead a predictable life, they are masters of the dry terrain. However, for eight intense weeks, violent storms transform their world. Storm Cats follows the lives of two generations of big cats during the fleeting wet season in arid Botswana. It is an intimate portrayal of lion and cheetah families pushed to the edge by nature's raw power. Only those that can adapt will survive
An intimate view of the panorama of African wildlife, giving a sense of what it is really like to be there, and in a dramatic climax makes a poignant plea for conservation. Filmed in Zaire, Kenya and Tanzania, the film takes the viewer from deep inside an anthill, to the majestic giraffes suckling their young. African storms, dung beetle ritual dances, duels for supremacy, feeding time, and playtime all end as the animals disappear one by one while the sound of a rifle shatters the existing magic of life. Winner of the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject, 1976.
A story told through the eyes of a predator of the Liuwa plain, the last remaining lioness of Liuwa. She is the sole survivor of a senseless massacre that took the rest of her pride. A symbol of the Liuwa, a place that challenges all who live here
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
Errol Morris’s Fast, Cheap & Out of Control interweaves the stories of four men, each driven to create eccentric worlds from their unique obsessions, all of which involve animals. There’s a lion tamer who shares his theories on the mental processes of wild animals; a topiary gardener who has devoted a lifetime to shaping bears and giraffes out of hedges and trees; a man fascinated with hairless mole rats; and an MIT scientist who has designed complex, autonomous robots that can crawl like bugs.
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.
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 ...
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
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.
Exclusive two-disc film documenting the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in the summer of 1997. The unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the team shows the preparations, the training, the fun, the team selection, the 'earthy' language, the bonding, the awesome task of playing and some shocking footage of injuries. Despite securing the series with wins in the first two tests, the Lions remained motivated by the prospect of a 3-0 whitewash, a feat never achieved against the Springboks throughout the century.
For generations lions have ruled over the Londolozi region of Mpumalanga but one brotherhood reigns supreme: a coalition of two brothers descendent from a long dynasty. To get to the top they have hunted, fought and won many battles. This film follows this Brotherhood as they conquer prides, kill rivals and continue their bloodline guaranteeing their genes are firmly entrenched in future generations to come.
The equation of life on the Serengeti is simple: carnivores eat plants, herbivores eat carnivores. Africa: The Serengeti takes you on an extraordinary journey to view a spectacle few humans have ever witnessed. The Great Migration. Journey with more than two million wildebeests, zebras and antelopes in their annual 500 mile trek across the Serengeti plains
A documentary which follows two lion brothers as they become rulers of a pride in Botswana after a battle for dominance.
Set in the vast expanse of South Africa's Mala Mala game reserve, a host of Africa's biggest and fiercest wildlife species compete for food, mates and territory against the backdrop of a harsh dry season.
A documentary that focuses on how animals born with unusual colours have a much harder struggle than normal. Follow white lions, a white baboon and a yellow crocodile.
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
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"
For carnivores a few bites of nutrient-rich meat can last you for days, so it's worth putting in a lot of effort and taking a certain amount of risk. All predators are therefore inherently in competition. With this in mind, it's no surprise that lions and spotted hyenas aren't exactly "best friends"! Lions and hyenas have a fundamental problem with each other that goes far beyond “normal competition”: both hunt the same prey in the same habitat and are therefore each other's fiercest evolutionary rivals. And because both are very powerful in combat - each in their own way - this competition is always latently deadly. The stuff that dramas are made of...
Enter the harsh and unforgiving Kalahari and follow a lion pride attempt to save their threatened bloodline.
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.