Swimming Lions

The End of the Game

November 1976 •

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.

Lions Unleashed

November 2017 •English

In Rwanda, Africa, a new era is dawning after a brutal civil war ripped through the country, killing close to two million people and wiping out its most iconic wildlife: the regal lion. Now, 25 years later, the big cats are being reintroduced to the region to reclaim their throne. Follow this magnificent seven, a collection of five females and two males, as they travel thousands of miles from South Africa to Akagera National Park and attempt to figure out their new land, form relationships, and restore the pride of a nation.

Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas

January 1992 •English

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.

Puma!

October 2015 •English

It is a powerful predator, one of the most elusive animals in Patagonia and rarely filmed. In the very South of Chile the Pumas' hunting grounds lie in the awe-inspiring Torres del Paine National Park, follow a mother Puma as she rears her cubs in the wild, teaching them to survive and thrive.

Lioness in Exile

April 2012 •English

Soon after we meet Manyari, the queen of her pride, she does something both unusual and bold: She leaves the sanctuary of the clan with her young cubs and takes them on a dangerous odyssey. She makes a bid to escape because two young bloods are sniffing around, and if they take over the pride, they will kill her cubs

Tiermythen - Im Auge des Löwen

Invalid date •German

Africa: The Serengeti

March 1994 •English

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 as in their annual 500 mile trek across the Serengeti plains.

Living With Lions

November 1999 •English

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.

Tiger: The Elusive Princess

April 1999 •English

After 25 years of the Project Tiger Scheme operating in the Madhya Pradesh, these magnificent animals have become more trusting, permitting an extraordinary intimate film which follows them from sunrise to sunset, in monsoon rains and in shimmering heat

Africa's Giant Killers

April 2014 •English

Africa's largest herd of elephants and a fearless pride of young lions come face to face in an epic fight for survival. Rarely do their worlds collide, until now. This is no chance conflict; nature has played its part. Drought has weakened the elephants and the lions are desperately hungry. The dawn of the giant killers has arrived

The White Lions

May 2012 •English

White lions are among the rarest and most treasured animals in the world. Rarer still is their survival in the wild. Their white color stands out in Africa’s wild bush country, increasing their risk of being targeted and killed by rival predators and marauding adult male lions. Only three white cubs have reached adulthood in the wilds of South Africa since white lions were first documented there in 1975. Now, two white cubs, sisters, have beaten the odds, surviving all the challenges of their youth with the help of two remarkable lionesses—their mother, Matimba, and their aunt, Khanya. Without an adult male lion to protect their small pride, Matimba and Khanya must rely solely on their own knowledge, strength and courage to protect their family.

Africa's Fishing Leopards

February 2015 •English

David Attenborough narrates the intimate story of a leopard mother and her two cubs. This very special family must survive in the wilds of Botswana alongside some less-than-friendly neighbours: lions, wild dogs and hyenas. The competition for food is tough, and if they are going to make it they must learn a new skill - they must learn to fish. This is an epic family drama. With them every step of the way is local cameraman Brad Bestelink. Brad's 18-month journey following the lives of these secretive big cats offers a rare glimpse into an otherwise hidden world

Chasing Big Cats

November 2004 •English

As little as 15 years ago, no one had captured the unforgettable image of a leopard in its ghostly nocturnal stalk. Viewers had never seen intimate portrayals of the sleek and elusive serval, or witnessed the nighttime romps of the beautiful black-eared caracal. The team of Owen Newman and Amanda Barrett filled those gaps with a series of spectacular breakthrough films in the 1990s. Among the first to apply infrared light and night vision goggles to wildlife studies, they combined technology with intrepid determination and a strong dose of luck, illuminating the cats we hardly knew, and giving us fresh insights into those we only thought we knew, such as lions and cheetahs

Walking with Lions

April 2004 •English

Husband and wife team Phil and Lynne Richardson live at a water hole with lions, elephants, and baboons in the African bush of northern Zimbabwe's Zambezi Valley. Video technologies like miniature infrared cameras and lenses for nighttime vision help them capture natural behavior without interfering with the wildlife

The Leopardess

December 2020 •German

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.

Lions Rule

June 2020 •English

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

Cougar: On the Trail of the Ghost Cat

May 2019 •French

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?

Lions of Namibia: The Kings of the Desert

May 2015 •English

On the edge of the Namibian desert, cattle farmers are looking for new land to graze their animals. The lions, who occupied these previously wild spaces, are hunted by herd guards, or even slaughtered when they attack cows. Will and Lianne Steenkamp lived for two years in a territory occupied by a 17-year-old lioness - a "queen" -, her two daughters and their five lion cubs. This film traces the process of empowering the young: after learning to hunt alone, they will have to leave the family pack and find young females to reproduce. A necessity all the greater as their species seems threatened.

National Geographic: Lion Warriors

December 2010 •English

On the Great Plains below Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya, lions are attacking Maasai cattle, as they have for hundreds of years. And the proud Maasai warriors have hunted them ruthlessly in return so that now only about 2,000 remain in the country. If their numbers drop any lower, their populations will not be sustainable. Now the Maasai elders and chiefs are recognizing that the threat to their lions is also a threat to their way of life, and have forbidden the warriors from hunting them. Wildlife filmmaker Kire Godal, with the support of executive producers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, captures firsthand the struggle of these modern-day warriors who are reinventing their traditions to help save the lions they once prided themselves on killing.

In a Lion

January 2018 •Polish

On a particular day at a Danish zoo, a remarkable, mystic and unique attraction involving the body of a young lion awaits its spectator.