01x02 - A Band of Brothers

[bunniefuu]

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[Narrator]
This is the true story

of a lion cub called Kio.

[meow]

His destiny,

to one day rise as king

like his father before him.

But his path to the throne

has not been easy.

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His family caught off guard.

Under attack!

Kio flees for his life.

[meow]

[growling]

[calling]

And now...

[calling]

...he is missing.

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[calling]

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[calling]

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[calling]

[calling]

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Kio's mother, Summer,

desperately calls for him.

[calling]

She should be swiftly answered.

[calling]

[calling]

But nothing.

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Separated from his mother,

a 12-week-old cub
won't last long.

[meowing]

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[meow]

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[meow]

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In the chaos, Kio found
a safe place to hide.

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Happily reunited
with his mother.

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[meow]

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[meowing]

[meow]

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Lucky to have survived
the buffalo attack,

Kio is safely back
within the protection

of his family.

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[meow]

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Kio might be home,

but he is lonely.

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Like any cub, he wants
someone to play with.

[growling]

It's hard not to feel a bit
nervous when you're so small.

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Kio does have brothers,

but they're all
at least a year older.

[growling]

A rowdy g*ng of adolescents.

[growling]

[growling]

With a little nudge
from Summer,

he does his best to be brave.

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[growling]

It's still all a bit too much.

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Is there someone else
to play with?

Someone his own size.

Like... a jackal.

Time to play Kio the Hunter.

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Maybe he can
take him by surprise...

...with a deadly pounce.

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Ah, not this time.

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At three months old,

Kio should be building bonds
with other males.

But for now, the only true bond
is still with his mother.

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[roaring]

[roaring]

First light.

[roaring]

[roaring]

A mighty chorus rings out
across the plains.

[roaring]

[roaring]

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A call for the pride to gather.

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Summer's sister, Autumn,
has been hunting.

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Breakfast for all.

But the pride are not the only
hunters on these plains.

[whooping]

[whooping]

[whooping]

Hyenas.

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Kio has never come face-to-face
with them before.

And where there's one,
there's always more.

[meow]

[whooping]

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Their strength is in numbers.

Big numbers!

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This was supposed to be
a feast, not a fight!

[hyenas screaming]

[growling]

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The pride tries
to force back the clan,

but there are just too many.

[screaming]

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The kings have arrived.

Maybe they can turn the tables.

[screaming]

[growling]

[screaming]

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Hyenas won't dare to stand up
to this band of brothers.

The fight is over.

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But it leaves its mark on Kio.

He has seen the strength
of male lions

when they work together.

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How can Kio ever follow
in their footsteps?

There's only one way
to become a king here.

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Kio must join forces
with his older brothers...

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...if they'll accept him.

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In his young life,

Kio has learned
by following his mother.

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And as he continues to grow,

so does his curiosity.

[animal snorts]

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Soon he will no longer
see the world...

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...through a cub's eyes.

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Young lions must grow up fast.

[thunder]

As the seasons pass,

a transformation takes place.

Kio, now almost a year old,

is nearly as tall
as his mother.

And his attitude
has changed, too.

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It's only a lizard,

but for Kio,
it's a rite of passage.

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And his older brothers
have noticed.

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One by one, they see
that he's bolder.

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Braver.

No longer
the timid little brother.

He'll even wrestle
with Ukingo and Djodjo,

his biggest brothers.

Maybe Kio will become
one of the boys.

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[birds chirping]

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This young brotherhood
could one day

set out to find
their own kingdom.

But they must stay together.

To rule,

they will need to learn
to hunt together,

fight together,

and protect each other.

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Just like their fathers.

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Kio seems to have found
his path to the throne.

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But here, on these plains,

the story is never that simple.

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The herds are always
on the move.

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And the buffalo are heading off
to fresh pastures.

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The plains are emptying.

And with that,
the pride's food is gone.

What's worse,

it's getting hotter
and drier every day.

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Carried on the wind,

a hopeful sign.

Starlings often travel
with migrating herds.

[chirping]

The arrival of the flock
could be a promise

that the great wildebeest
migration is on the move.

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All the food the pride
could ever need.

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And they should be here
at any moment.

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But the migration
can be unpredictable.

And this year,

the wildebeest have found
fresh grass somewhere else.

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Without the wildebeest herds,

the pride will struggle
to find enough food.

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There's no choice.

Summer and her sister, Autumn,

must lead the pride in search

of new hunting grounds...

...into lands Kio
has never seen before.

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Their search goes on for days.

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But there is no sign of
the wildebeest herds anywhere.

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Kio's never gone
without food this long.

[insects buzzing]

[insects buzzing]

[animal grunts]

[buzzing]

Warthogs.

They may be small,

but the pride are desperate
for anything to eat.

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Warthogs are fast.

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The only way to catch them...

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...is to work together...

...and set a trap.

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[grunt]

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A meal, at last.

But one warthog is
hardly enough to go around.

[growling]

Kio will be lucky
to claim a scrap.

[growling]

[growling]

[growling]

And worse, when food
is this scarce...

...the kings
demand to feed first.

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They can take
anything they want.

And they don't like to share.

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There's one simple rule.

Don't go near the kings
when they're feeding.

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But Kio dares to approach.

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The kings allow it.

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They might tolerate Kio,

the youngest of the pride.

But not his older brothers.

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[roar]

Especially when
they cross the line.

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The brothers have shown they
are getting more confident,

more powerful.

They could challenge
the kings' rule.

[growl]

They must be driven out.

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[roar]

Even Ukingo,
Kio's biggest brother,

cannot stand up to them.

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Kio can only watch
as his brothers are banished.

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His closest allies are gone,

and the kings will
never allow them back.

Kio is alone, again.

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His future now rests on the
decision his mother must make.

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If Summer keeps him here,

within the protection
of the pride,

Kio will be safe, for now.

But in these lands,

without brothers
to support him,

a lion can never become a king.

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Should Summer and Kio
take a gamble

and leave to try
to rejoin the brothers?

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Summer makes the choice.

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She and Kio turn
their back on the pride...

...the only family either
of them have ever known.

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All for the sake
of Kio's future.

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It's a huge risk.

But they're taking it together.

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After days of searching...

...nothing.

[calling]

His brothers could be
miles away by now.

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[calling]

Has Summer made a mistake?

Will Kio ever see
his brothers again?

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