Armed with curiosity and instruction from their elders, these cubs go on a journey of danger, discovery and adventure.
The complete pride has twelve members, dominated by a huge dark-maned lion called Nkosi. These lions require a consistent source of prey species with so many mouths to feed. Up until now, the adult females carried out the bulk of the hunting but how long will it take before these four cubs can successfully play their role as providers for the whole pride?
We follow the little male cub Amadi and his three sisters, Anopa, Khanyisa and Kora from the age of just six weeks and reveal the development of their lives over a two year period. Life in the African bush is harsh and the cubs will have to endure man trials and tribulations during their development, not least how to avoid becoming victims themselves from other predators.
The story documents their first taste of meat as their elder pride members take down zebra and wildebeest. The cubs are able to learn several important lessons during these hunting missions – what tactics to use, how to stalk unseen and how to actually kill prey through strangulation.
As their confidence increases, the cubs eventually leave the confines and protection of the pride and investigate their immediate environment more thoroughly. In the beginning they focus on impala and later find ways of taking on small wildebeest and zebra calves. But the zebra are difficult and strong opponents, and the dust never settles as long-standing battles between zebra stallions and the cubs become an almost daily occurrence.
With each failed hunting attempt the cubs learn something new and hone their skills as they become stronger and more experienced. They become experts at working as a group, imitating the often complex hunting tactics of their elders. Finally, at the age of 30 months, the film crew record two of the cubs making an early evening kill on a zebra. This is a momentous occasion and evidence of their shift into their sub-adult hunting stage.