Leader of the pack
Get up close and personal with the cub who defied the odds to become king of the jungle
National Geographic/Simon Blakeney
- Katelyn Mensah
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Beginning last week on National Geographic and Disney+, the documentary series Lion tells the saga of Maasai Mara’s real lion kings and queens, focusing in particular on a newborn cub called Kio. The crew discovered this unlikely hero when their driver, Sammy Munene, had a gut instinct to follow a lioness named Summer – only to discover she had a cub alongside her.
“We kept following him because he was born out of sync, so all his brothers were a year older than him – and yet he survived,” says the series’ director of photography Sophie Darlington.
RT’s Katelyn Mensah at Makalia Falls Viewpoint in Kenya.
Of course, it’s no easy feat finding lions of any size. When RT headed out to the Maasai Mara wildlife reserve in Kenya, we woke at 6am every morning to be on a game drive by 7am, driving for hours hoping for a glimpse of the mane man himself – Kio.
But for the programme-makers, finding the lions is only half the battle as they have no control over the big cats. “Every shot required us to wait and see,” Darlington explains. “Our script is dictated by the lions and so you have to use all you’ve got to take advantage of that moment.
I want you, as the audience, to feel as if you’re in that pride
“When we found Kio that first day, Sammy knew that he had to get 100 metres ahead of Summer. We got the gear out and I got the camera down low because I want you, as the audience, to feel as if you’re in that pride.”
Kio as a cub being guarded by his mother, Summer.
We didn’t find Kio and his pride, but we still struck gold. One afternoon we stumbled on a group of seven lions and lionesses who were napping in the sun, completely unbothered by the land cruisers encircling them. In person, there’s something incredibly moving about observing an animal in its natural habitat and being close enough to watch them yawn, twitch and sleep.
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“That’s what we’re trying to do with this film,” says Darlington. “We want to make people care – and make them fall in love with Kio.”
Authors
Katelyn MensahSenior Entertainment Writer
Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
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