Episode 3

For 60 years, prides of lions have ruled over the park, often with powerful matriarchs at their heart, keeping everyone in order. But with the loss of one of the pride’s oldest females last year, that balance is beginning to shift. When a pride loses its queen, another must step up. Now the keepers have a challenge on their hands: finding out who will replace her. Will an overnight camera trap capture any evidence of succession? Or could rival leaders reveal themselves when a pride’s territory is challenged with bedding from a neighbouring group?

As part of the anniversary celebrations, Ben and Kate revisit the story of Newt the wallaby. Rejected by his mother as a joey and struggling to survive, he faced an uncertain future until the keepers stepped in to hand-rear him.

Elsewhere, Ben treats Anne the elephant to one of her favourite snacks, while Megan McCubbin checks on the koalas during breeding season and discovers more about one of the park's lesser-known forest dwellers, the binturong.