TOP CATS

Catching up with Botswana's magnificent lions, leopards and cheetahs

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Just six months after capturing the dramatic lives of big cats in Botswana's Okavango Delta for a spectacular BBC2 wildlife series, the Big Cats 24/7 crew, including cameraman Gordon Buchanan, return to Africa for more round-the-clock filming of these magnificent beasts.

As we rejoin the animal action, the Xudum pride of lions has grown even larger, but with so many older cubs to feed, the pressure on the lionesses to provide enough food has intensified.

'In a way, the pride's a victim of its own success, explains big-cat specialist Buchanan, adding that, when the dominant males Big Toe and Madumo go missing and some intruder males arrive in the pride's territory, it seems trouble is looming.