The lion cubs who were born on BBC's Dynasties have died, according to the filmmakers behind the landmark series.
Sunday night's episode saw single mother Charm give birth to two baby lions in the Marsh Pride in Kenya's Masai Mara.
But, when the film crew behind the episode returned to Kenya after filming had finished, they discovered the two cubs had died and it's thought they'd been killed by predators.
The Marsh Pride consists of 14-year-old Charm and her cousin, Sienna, who both have four cubs each. The eldest of the cubs in three-years-old, which David Attenborough revealed is the equivalent of a lion teenager.
Advert
After being abandoned by the males of the pride, Charm and Sienna fought tirelessly to protect and feed their cubs, which we saw on Sunday when the film crew captured the moment Charm fought off a herd of buffalo on her own.
Buffalo tactically kill cubs in order to weaken their predators and viewers were left fearing for two cubs' lives as they cowered under a fallen tree while Charm shielded them with her body.
Despite valiant efforts to protect her young ones, the crew, who followed the pride for 18 months, recently discovered that the cubs had sadly not survived.
Advert
"The most likely explanation is that they were taken by hyenas or another predator or even trampled by buffaloes," a crew member told The Mirror.
"No one can be sure, but what became clear was they were no longer with Charm, and there was no way they could have survived alone at a few weeks old."
However, the insider also revealed that since the deaths of the baby lions, Charm had given birth to two more cubs.
Advert
In the heart-wrenching hour-long episode, viewers saw another one of Charm's cubs being poisoned.
Farmers in Kenya sometimes use toxic meat where lions graze to kill them off in a bid to protect their livestock.
In the programme, Charm's one-year-old cub was poisoned after eating some of the meat, forcing Charm to leave him to die.
Dynasties continues on BBC One on Sunday at 8.30pm.
Topics: TV News, TV Entertainment