Brotherhood of Lions

A series chronicling the events which shaped the continent of Europe as we now know it.

Spotted hyenas are known to not have the best reputation. Sociobiologically, spotted hyenas are extremely interesting animals. They live in tightly organized packs, clans of related females with their young and immigrant males. The rules of their hierarchy seem brutal to us, but hyenas have good reasons to submit to these harsh rules

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 ...

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.

A documentary about a young cheetah mother trying to keep her offspring alive on the African Savannah.

Main subject of Serengeti is the mass migration of wildebeest , which in search of nutritious grass hundreds of kilometers annually by the savannah draw. At the end of the rainy season, they break into a huge herd of over a million animals on the north. The wildebeest and other animals are joining the migration, as zebras and gazelles , continuously exposed to hazards, particularly by predators such as lions and cheetahs . A highlight of the great migration, the crossing of the Mara is: There, the wildebeest have to overcome not only meter high cliffs, they are also crocodiles delivered. With the onset of the rainy season, however, leave the wildebeest north again what had long been a mystery. The reason for this is that the grass in the north a phosphorus deficiency , and said thus wildebeest forces to retreat to the south.

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...

The lens of Reinhard Radke follows a group of lionesses in southern Kenya that risk it all to save their young as a food shortage threatens the pride.

The documentary shows new, unique pictures of crocodiles in Tansania, portraying the beauty of the wild reptiles.

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

Cheetahs may be the world's fastest land predators, but their existence is precarious, especially for females giving birth for the first time. Will she ensure the survival of her offspring?

An exploration of the feline motherhood world. The lion is king, but the lioness holds the true power behind the scenes.

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.

The endless plains of East Africa is lion country. An abundance of food and water make this a paradise for lions. The most social of all cats, lions form prides that are unlike any other animals. Together, they’ll hunt, raise their young and defend their territory. Life on the plains is never easy, but lions can always count on the power of the pride