Losing Flint: His heartbreaking end

By Lauren Jackson, Field Producer

Following the same animal characters on Kingdom over the course of so many years was a joy. Their home became our home too, and each return visit felt like reuniting with old friends. But with that comes an attachment to your animals that makes it so very painful to lose them.

I first filmed with the wild dogs back in 2021, and with their huge signature dinner plate ears, boundless energy, and undiluted affection for one another, it was impossible not to fall in love with them immediately. Each morning and afternoon, the pack would charge out on their twice-daily hunts, interspersed with time frolicking in the open plains or patrolling their territory boundaries.

They could never resist playfully mobbing hippos out on the beaches or terrorising any group of baboons they ran into, and with each new litter, they had to do all of their usual activities… with the extra burden of keeping a horde of chaotic puppies out of trouble. Not an easy task when they all preferred to run in opposite directions at the same time! They were hilarious and heartwarming to watch and both frustrating and rewarding to film in equal measure. Even our expert drivers, Ason Mwale and Ruben Mbao were tested to their limits trying to find the best routes through the landscape without losing them – it was unbelievable how quickly 14+ dogs could evaporate in the blink of an eye. Their exhilarating displays – and our daily efforts to keep pace with them – became almost ritualistic over the years that followed. But in all our experience, nothing could have prepared us for what happened with Flint.

On and off camera, Flint’s journey was one of epic proportions and heavily stacked odds. Having been instrumental in helping Storm to rear multiple litters of puppies, he then left the group with his two brothers and formed a new pack, becoming an Alpha in his own right. In a tragic turn of events, we discovered that Flint had lost his hind leg after being accidentally trapped in a poacher’s snare, sadly one of the biggest threats to wild dog populations across Africa – an issue currently being tackled in the region by the efforts of the Zambian Carnivore Programme and Conservation South Luangwa.

Astonishingly, Flint overcame this catastrophe, healing and returning to his natal pack for refuge. Over the next few months, we all became incredibly invested in his recovery and, as such, kept a close eye on him. Despite everything, he continued to contribute as part of the pack, trailing in hunts and providing for the newest litter of pups, and we watched as the whole group accepted him back into the fold in his new role. It was moving to see Flint’s comeback, and we were in awe of his resilience.

On that fateful day, we were filming the dogs careening through the plains of the wafwa (a large open grazing area dense with prey species) when the pack darted into a pocket of trees. We followed them inside, revealing a small waterhole where the dogs were grabbing a quick drink. A seemingly routine moment for a morning, until suddenly, sat high in the filming vehicle I glimpsed a horrifying commotion. Two dogs leapt across a small stream, clearing it easily, and I watched as Flint followed suit. His effort landed just shy of the bank - a consequence of his injury - eliciting a small splash at the muddy edge. In a heartbeat, the water exploded, and a huge crocodile revealed itself seemingly from nowhere, jaws stretched wide to seize him.

Closer now, but separated from Flint by a stretch of water, we sat helpless and distraught as he thrashed in the crocodile’s grip, desperately willing him to escape. Valiantly, he struggled against the crocodile's unrelenting jaws, and the other pack members refused to abandon him. They teamed up and attempted to wrestle him away from the death grip. It was gut-wrenching to see, but we stayed, frozen in horror and hearts in mouths, as they risked their own demise in trying to save him. It's the first time this behaviour has been recorded and a phenomenal testament to the bonds of these dogs. He was eventually freed, and astoundingly, his pack mates warded off the crocodile.

But it wasn’t enough. We stayed with him, and so did the other dogs, but the ordeal had inflicted injuries too severe to recover from. He died some hours later. To see such a cruel fate befall a beloved character, one who had already been through so much and whom we’d all been utterly rooting for, was unthinkable. It was traumatic for the whole crew. The sounds alone – Flint’s yelps and cries of terror, the other dogs barking, growling and whining in panic – were agonising to endure. For DoP Mark MacEwen, who had to watch the whole ordeal in great detail through the camera eyepiece, it was the most distressing moment he’d captured in his 30-year career. Personally, it was the most harrowing and emotional filming encounter I’d ever faced.

For me, the crocodiles were the true antagonists of our series. I know deep down that they play an instrumental role in the rhythms of the ecosystem and that their behaviours form part of the natural circle of life, but from antelopes to wild dogs to tiny lion cubs, every death they perpetrated felt brutal. An inevitable repercussion of entering the dangerous waters and an unforgiving lesson to learn in a harsh world.

I spent a whole month filming from a boat on the Luangwa River during the wet season, whilst the river was in full flood. And knowing that one of the highest concentrations of Nile crocodiles in the world lurked beneath us was enough to give me sleepless nights ahead of the shoot. Seeing that fear realised was a shocking and devastating reminder of how life in the Kingdom really does balance on a knife edge and that the fates of our characters, who we've come to care for so much, can all change in the blink of an eye.