A stretch of grey punctuates the endless plains of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. About 50 elephants are gathering, a reunion of three or four female-led families. The group’s impressive size is enough to take anyone’s breath away. But as I observe these majestic creatures, it isn’t their number that impresses me most.

As our van nears the herd, a number of older female elephants form a circle around the smallest calf, evidently sheltering it from the unfamiliar noise. Protecting the most vulnerable is their top priority, and every mother, sister and aunt is prepared to do their part.

In matriarchal societies like these, survival hangs on sisterhood. This powerful bond permeates the African Savanna, as National Geographic’s new wildlife documentary, Queens, makes abundantly clear.

“I felt it was time to shift the storytelling voice,” says Vanessa Berlowitz, the co-founder of Wildstar Films and Queens′ executive producer.

“Having made a film following elephants for around two and a half years, I came back thinking, ‘matriarchs are amazing’ … There was a whole fresh, new content area that hadn’t really been pulled together in one series, but also an opportunity to evolve the storytelling as a result.”

Over the course of four years, Queens′ creators followed a number of matriarchal societies around the globe, including elephants, hyenas, lionesses, bonobos and orcas, becoming one of the first films of its kind to showcase the natural world through a female lens.

“My passion is to get natural history stories out to as broad an audience as possible. It’s vital we do that now, particularly as we’re in the middle of a sixth extinction and the climate is a major issue for all of us,” Berlowitz says.

From the ancient wisdom used by elephant matriarchs to guide the herd between waterholes to lionesses warding off male intruders to protect their sisters’ pups, family is everything to Queens′ stars. But not every matriarchal society is warm and fuzzy. Some demonstrate extreme sacrifice to make their family as strong as possible, as we see in the third episode African Queens, when a hyena kills her sister’s youngest female pup – the heir to the clan’s throne – to supersede the reigning queen and strengthen the family.

The nuances of sisterhood are also vital behind the screen. Narrated by Angela Bassett (Black Panther) and helmed by a female-led production team, the series champions female talent – pushing back against norms that have seen nearly 70 per cent of the documentary space dominated by male directors. While there are about 150 male premium wildlife cinematographers worldwide, Berlowitz says there are only about 10 who are women. Those involved in Queens are actively trying to increase this number by mentoring prospective filmmakers.

Mentorship and collaboration are at the heart of the documentary series, creating space for those who have long been a rarity in projects like these, such as working mothers. For example, wildlife filmmaker Victoria Bromley became a first-time mother while working on the series, but was welcomed back after maternity leave to finish her episode.

“A lot of first-time mums drop out [of the industry],” Berlowitz says. “What we made an effort to do with Queens was keep all those women working. They might go away for maternity, but they stayed connected if they wanted to. It forced a really collaborative atmosphere.”

Berlowitz says collaboration with local talent was also paramount to ensure the show remained authentic and true to its surrounds. Tanzanian filmmaker Erica Rugabandana says she had never seen such professional equipment before working on Queens, noting that the opportunity meant she could continue producing content that Tanzanian locals could directly access.

For Faith Musembi – a Kenyan filmmaker who filmed, produced and directed parts of Queens – the relationships formed with the women behind the show were equally important as the bonds formed with the animals – something that is evident as she holds back tears while explaining the everlasting sisterhood she feels with her fellow documentarians.

“I was given [the final] episode to make about my friends and their work … It was just that mind-blowing ‘wow, how did we get here’ moment,” Musembi says. “Even sitting next to [Rugabandana] now, I call her my sister in Swahili because we’ve gone through this thing together.”

Our game drive guide, Aziza is a mother of three and something of a legend in Tanzania for her knowledge of all things wildlife and ecology. “Mama Simba”, is a Swedish lion researcher in Ngorongoro crater who alerts Maasai tribes of lion whereabouts.

The “animal kingdom” has had its moment, but this series makes way for the animal queendom – groups of resilient, fierce, nurturing and intelligent creatures, human and wildlife alike. And these stories will hopefully continue to be told, Berlowitz says, as Queens prepares for a second season.

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As we drive away from the elephant reunion, I wonder where that small calf will be in a decade. With intense droughts, and humans increasingly encroaching on their space, her journey probably won’t be easy. But she can depend on one thing: her grandmother, mother and sisters will be with her every step of the way. All hail the queens.

Queens will be available on Disney+ on March 5.

The reporter travelled to Tanzania as a guest of National Geographic.

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