If you’d like to see this grown-up film critic cry, take me to a film that involves animals. Want to see me sob uncontrollably? Make it a true story involving animals. In February, National Geographic Films will bring us something that fits that bill perfectly – THE LAST LIONS.

A true life epic, THE LAST LIONS follows mama lioness Ma di Tau and her two cubs as they endure unbelievable peril to survive after being cast out of their pride. Life for a lion is hard enough with the security of a pride, but without, Ma di Tau has to face obstacle after obstacle to keep her, and her cubs, safe and flourishing. What will become of the three of them? After the break, check out the trailer, along with the film’s official synopsis. Try not to get choked up, I dare you.

From the lush wetlands of Botswana’s Okavango Delta comes the suspense-filled tale of a determined lioness ready to try anything—and willing to risk everything—to keep her family alive. In the new wildlife adventure, The Last Lions, filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert follow the epic journey of a lioness named Ma di Tau (“Mother of Lions”) as she battles to protect her cubs against a daunting onslaught of enemies in order to ensure their survival.

Fleeing a raging fire and a rival pride headed by the dangerous cub-killing lioness Silver Eye, Ma di Tau and her fragile cubs must make their perilous escape by swimming a crocodile-infested river. Remote Duba Island is both a refuge and a strange new world for Ma di Tau and her cubs to conquer. On Duba, Ma di Tau must face off with the island’s herd of fierce buffalo whose huge, slashing horns are among the most dangerous weapons in Africa. Although the buffalo are one of her biggest threats, they are also one of her best hopes for survival if she can prevail over them. Yet, even as Ma di Tau faces devastating loss and escalating perils, she becomes part of a stunning turning point in the power dynamics on Duba Island, bringing together a competitive rival pride in a titanic primal bid to preserve the thing that matters most: the future of their bloodlines.

The gripping real-life saga of Ma di Tau, her cubs, the buffalo, and the rival pride unfolds inside a stark reality: Lions are vanishing from the wild. In the last 50 years, lion populations have plummeted from 450,000 to as few as 20,000. Dereck and Beverly Joubert weave their dramatic storytelling and breathtaking, up-close footage around a resonating question: Are Ma di Tau and her young to be among the last lions? Or will we as humans, having seen how tough, courageous and poignant their lives in the wild are, be moved to make a difference?

Source National Geographic