Premieres Wednesdays, Jan. 22 and 29, 2025 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV + Encores Sundays, Jan. 26 and Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. on KPBS 2 and Thursdays, Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. on KPBS 2 / PBS app
On the shores of Botswana’s Gomoti River, Africa’s three Big Cat families have made themselves at home. Each has carved out a space to raise their young, while trying to avoid the others. Witness how winter floods bring both opportunity and hardship, testing their survival abilities in NATURE: BIG CATS, SMALL WORLD.
Learn more about lions, cheetahs, and leopards, as well as the other players in the field such as impala, baboons, warthogs, wildebeests, zebras and more. The two-part series explores how all these cats must use their unique skills to avoid lethal encounters, outsmart rivals, and thrive in a crowded neighborhood. Witness the rare and breathtaking moment when two cheetah brothers defy danger by swimming across a crocodile-infested river to mark their territory, showcasing the extraordinary lengths big cats go to secure their domain.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Episode 1 “Landlords” Premieres Wednesday, January 22 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV + PBS app - An aging lion has his hands full with newborn cubs, and rivals that could come for his territory and pride. Four lionesses struggle to turn their dozen busy cubs into useful pride-members. Meanwhile a cheetah mother is racing to prepare her cubs for life without her; and a leopard is trying to start a family of his own. In this crowded world, trouble comes when the cats least expect it.
Episode 2 “Outlanders” Premieres Wednesday, January 29 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV + PBS app - Winter brings floods and outsiders into the world, upending the lives of the lions and young cheetahs; while a mother leopard is forced to choose between her older daughter, and her newborn cubs. When the river that sustains the small world turns on the Big Cats, it brings disruption and turmoil into their lives.
Watch On Your Schedule: Both episodes of BIG CATS, SMALL WORLD will be available to stream with the PBS app.
Credits: A production of Camel Thorn Films Limited and The WNET Group in co-production with Blue Ant Media for Love Nature and Terra Mater Studios. The miniseries is written and directed by Robyn Keene-Young and produced and filmed by Adrian Bailey. For NATURE, Fred Kaufman is Executive Producer. Bill Murphy is series producer. Janet Hess is Series Editor. Danielle Broza is Digital Content & Strategy Lead. NATURE is a production of The WNET Group.
