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Cats.
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One family...
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..40 different faces.
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They captivate us,
like no other animal.
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But surprisingly little is known
about these remarkable predators.
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Right now, across the planet,
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passionate people
are devoting themselves
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to learning more about cats...
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Oh, here we go,
we're downloading collar 7-5-0.
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00:00:53.760 --> 00:00:58.800
..going to extraordinary lengths
to get closer than ever before...
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00:00:58.800 --> 00:00:59.800
Holy mackerel.
YOWLS
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00:00:59.800 --> 00:01:01.000
He's a loose cannon.
13
00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:03.160
..making new discoveries...
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There you go. There we go.
Good job, Ginny.
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00:01:05.520 --> 00:01:10.200
..that reveal the intimate secrets
of their lives.
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There it is, just in front of us.
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Oh, that's very special.
HE LAUGHS
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At a time when all cats face
an uncertain future...
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If we get complacent,
we could see tigers go extinct.
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YOWLS
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..this is an amazing age of
discovery...
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..that's revolutionising...
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There! ..how we view the cats.
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GROWLS
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Cheetahs are the world's
fastest land animal.
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It's said they can accelerate faster
than a Ferrari.
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But no-one knows for sure
what they're really capable of.
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Professor Alan Wilson has spent
the last five years trying to find
out.
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Cheetahs are amazing. They're so
much faster than anything else.
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We've got an animal that has got
four times the acceleration
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of Usain Bolt and more
than twice the top speed.
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How can they not be
fascinating to study?
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Alan wants to find the cheetahs'
top speed when it really counts -
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during a hunt.
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He's developed hi-tech collars
to record the cheetahs' speed,
position
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and G-force while they're hunting.
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The cheetahs soon disappear -
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they cover hundreds of miles
in search of their prey.
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That makes getting any information
back from the collars a real
challenge.
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Alan's solution?
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He's built his own plane...from
scratch...
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..learnt how to fly it
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and then filled it to the brim
with the latest technology.
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We have a tracking antenna
on the wing.
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We have a three-dimensional laser
scanner. We have a video camera on a
gimbal.
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That's a missile guidance system.
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OK, let's go find some cheetah.
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Coming into the air is just such
a revolution for wildlife research.
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OK, cheetahs on the left wing tip.
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The cheetahs' collars record details
of their movements
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300 times a second.
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As the plane flies over, it locks on
to each collar and downloads the
data.
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00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:11.560
There we go, we're downloading
collar 7-5-0.
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Each of those files represents one
hunt.
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After recording over 500 hunts,
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Alan clocked a cheetah's top speed
of 58mph.
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Impressive.
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00:05:32.440 --> 00:05:36.160
But what surprised him was that most
hunts were much slower,
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only half their potential top speed.
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It turns out, for a cheetah,
hunting is not all about the sprint.
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So what are they relying on
to catch their dinner?
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00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:10.120
To investigate,
Alan has enlisted three
volunteers...
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..and a rag on a string.
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These hand-reared cheetah love
chasing a moving lure...
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..replicating how cheetahs behave
when hunting.
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Prey animals don't run
in a straight line for long.
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To follow their prey, cheetahs must
also weave and change direction.
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This manoeuvring inevitably
slows them down...
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..but it's also where
their real strength lies.
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The accelerations and decelerations,
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00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:13.640
the G-forces they're pulling
in the turns, are very high.
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The force going through their legs
would be enough to break a human leg
bone.
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The lure's just taken the corner
and the cheetah's banking,
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00:07:30.320 --> 00:07:32.480
and see how it's using its tail
here,
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which is helping control the roll
of its body
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and helping stabilise it,
and it slowed down to turn,
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then it's accelerating again
out of shot towards the lure.
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Rather than speed,
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the key to the cheetahs'
hunting success...
80
00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:52.480
..is their agility.
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00:07:57.480 --> 00:08:00.720
We started believing that
cheetahs are the elite sprinter
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and that was their main attribute.
83
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What we've seen is that they're
gymnasts -
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they can accelerate, they can
manoeuvre, they can turn. And that
is
85
00:08:09.280 --> 00:08:13.920
what they're good at. Almost the
speed is a by-product of all that
athleticism.
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So they are remarkable athletes
87
00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:19.640
but we shouldn't think of them
as just a speed merchant,
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there's much more to their
repertoire than that.
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Having challenged our idea
of how cheetahs hunt,
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Alan's now turning his attention
to where they hunt.
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It's long been thought that open
grassland is their prime habitat
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but even that may not be true.
93
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What we're seeing is they're
actually even more successful in
trees,
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in dense scrub and even in farmland.
95
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And this makes sense.
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Extraordinary manoeuvrability offers
a huge advantage when twisting and
turning
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00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:06.000
through a maze of trees and shrubs.
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Here, cheetahs can more than match
their prey.
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Even with the most familiar cats...
100
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..there's still so much to
discover.
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Lions.
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00:10:18.800 --> 00:10:19.840
GROWLS
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00:10:21.400 --> 00:10:22.960
Supreme hunters.
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The strongest cat.
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00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:30.920
Could they also be the cleverest big
cat?
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Dr Natalia Borrego certainly thinks
so,
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and is on a mission to prove it...
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..although it's not the easiest
thing to test in any cat,
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let alone a lion.
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Her theory is all down to the fact
that lions live together in prides.
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00:11:02.280 --> 00:11:06.480
So, cats are all solitary and
effectively live on their own,
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00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:08.760
except for lions -
they live in prides
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and are very social. And we think
of other social species -
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elephants, dolphins,
spotted hyenas, chimpanzees -
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they're all very intelligent,
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so, in theory, lions should be
the smartest of the cats.
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The idea that social animals are
more intelligent is well established
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00:11:26.280 --> 00:11:29.560
but has never been proved for lions.
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00:11:37.920 --> 00:11:39.960
Cats are notoriously uncooperative.
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00:11:41.560 --> 00:11:44.360
What possible IQ test
could you set a lion?
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Natalia's travelled to South Africa
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for the chance to test
a slightly unusual pride.
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00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:22.240
Kevin Richardson has an
unconventional approach to working
with lions.
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For ten years, he's lived alongside
these rescued animals...
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..becoming part of the pride.
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00:12:44.680 --> 00:12:47.320
Kevin can act as a go-between
to the lions...
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..giving Natalia a unique chance
to run her experiments.
128
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So here looks good.
129
00:12:58.520 --> 00:13:02.160
Natalia has designed a puzzle
for the cats to solve.
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Mind your fingers. Yeah.
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The lion must work out
how to open a door,
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then reach its head inside
to get a reward.
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Good.
134
00:13:10.760 --> 00:13:12.960
There's nothing like this in
nature...
135
00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:18.400
..so to Ginny, the lion,
it's a Rubik's cube.
136
00:13:18.400 --> 00:13:19.600
And... Yeah.
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00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:22.920
If the lions come, you just pop it
down. I just pop it back down.
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Ginny.
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HE WHISTLES
Here.
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Looka.
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First, she must figure out how
to pull the door with her paw.
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Clever!
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Aw, you're so clever.
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You are so clever, my silly.
Oh, but it slams, eh?
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What did it do?
I think she's more interested
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in the box now than the food.
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Here. Here.
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Next, she needs to learn to stand
back...
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There you go. ..and allow
the door to swing open...
150
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Get your head out the way.
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Get your head out the way.
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There we go. ..before, finally,
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00:14:02.560 --> 00:14:04.360
she can reach her head
inside. Well done.
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That's not bad. I mean,
that's... No, that's good.
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Clever. One more time?
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Yeah. Two more times?
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I think a couple more times.
Couple more times.
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There, see, she got it. Ah.
159
00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:20.400
It's taken Ginny 20 minutes
to figure out...
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Good job, Ginny. ..but now she's
cracked it. There we go.
161
00:14:22.640 --> 00:14:24.560
Yeah, she's getting her
head out of the way now.
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There we go. One more time.
OK, OK, cool.
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There you go. Easy now she's got it.
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Well done.
That deserves a round of applause.
165
00:14:36.800 --> 00:14:38.560
Next comes the crucial part of the
test.
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Kevin has brought the lions
into an enclosure
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to allow pride mate Libby
to watch Ginny's efforts.
168
00:14:48.400 --> 00:14:51.400
The ability to learn by
watching others
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is considered a real sign of
intelligence.
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It would put lions in the company
of the brainboxes of the natural
world.
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Good. Yeah, you slam that door.
That's it, stay open. Good girl.
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No, there she goes.
She can see what she's doing.
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Yeah. Yeah, I think she's got it
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00:15:10.760 --> 00:15:12.800
and it's time to let Libby out.
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If lions can learn from each other,
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Libby should solve the puzzle in
seconds.
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00:15:17.880 --> 00:15:19.840
If not... Let's see what she does.
178
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..it's going to take her
another 20 minutes.
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Now she goes to the right side.
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THEY BOTH LAUGH
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00:15:30.760 --> 00:15:32.720
Oh, wow!
There, I think... I don't think
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00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:35.400
you can get any clearer than that.
No, that was very good.
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00:15:35.400 --> 00:15:36.840
That was amazing.
Yeah, here we go, my girl.
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00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:39.800
Here, here, here, here.
Good job, Libby.
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It's the very first time anyone has
shown that lions can learn from each
other.
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She knows that that's the one there.
187
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Yeah. Yeah.
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00:15:50.800 --> 00:15:54.440
Natalia has tested leopards and
tigers.
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Lions outperform them both.
190
00:16:00.800 --> 00:16:02.840
It looks like Natalia's right...
Now she doesn't even bother.
191
00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:05.400
..lions are the smartest big cat.
192
00:16:05.400 --> 00:16:08.520
So the experiments
went really well, much better
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00:16:08.520 --> 00:16:13.760
than expected, and it really did
show that lions can learn socially
from each other.
194
00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:19.920
Their intelligence
and ability to learn from each other
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00:16:19.920 --> 00:16:24.560
allows lions to hunt like no other
cat.
196
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No cat is easy to study.
197
00:16:59.800 --> 00:17:01.400
GROWLS
198
00:17:01.400 --> 00:17:04.400
At least lions are relatively easy
to find.
199
00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:12.800
But most cats are so elusive...
200
00:17:15.600 --> 00:17:16.640
..secretive...
201
00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:22.400
..and well camouflaged...
202
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:28.360
..that they're rarely seen,
let alone studied.
203
00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:36.320
Learning more about these cats takes
people whose dedication knows no
bounds.
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00:17:43.600 --> 00:17:46.600
Someone like Dr Andrew Hearn.
205
00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:55.760
Deep in the forests of Borneo,
206
00:17:55.760 --> 00:17:59.800
a chance encounter set him off
on his life's mission.
207
00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:08.360
I was part of an expedition team to
an uncharted area of Indonesian
Borneo.
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00:18:08.360 --> 00:18:12.880
One morning, I went along a trail
just to go and sit down and relax
209
00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:14.800
and see what wildlife I could see.
210
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And I was sat there quietly
211
00:18:19.800 --> 00:18:21.960
and a small little red cat
walked out of the side
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00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:24.480
of the forest, walked across the
trail,
213
00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:27.160
paused about 20 metres in front of
me.
214
00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:32.240
I grabbed my notebook, started to
sketch it, but I had no idea what it
was.
215
00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:35.240
It was only when I returned back
to the camp later that day,
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00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:36.840
spoke to some of the Indonesian
staff
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00:18:36.840 --> 00:18:39.680
and said, "Do you know this...
Do you know this cat?"
218
00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:43.280
So it was only then that I learned
that this was this, um, the Borneo
bay cat,
219
00:18:43.280 --> 00:18:47.640
and it quickly became apparent that
nothing was known about this animal.
220
00:18:49.280 --> 00:18:52.960
The bay cat is one of the world's
least known cats...
221
00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:02.280
..and Andrew has devoted every year
since to finding out anything about
them.
222
00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:10.960
But the chance of him seeing another
one would be like winning the
lottery, twice!
223
00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:28.920
So how do you study something
you can't see?
224
00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:35.520
Camera traps.
225
00:19:35.520 --> 00:19:40.680
Combining a sensitive motion sensor
with a high-resolution camera,
226
00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:44.320
Andrew and his team deploy dozens of
these through the forest...
227
00:19:48.840 --> 00:19:53.400
..and spend months trekking
through the jungle checking them.
228
00:19:57.360 --> 00:20:02.160
Back at base, there are thousands
of hours of footage to plough
through.
229
00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:09.920
Most contain no cats whatsoever...
230
00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:17.480
..and, when cats do show up,
they may not be a bay cat...
231
00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:19.120
but still.
232
00:20:19.120 --> 00:20:22.400
Oh, clouded leopard. Fantastic.
233
00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:26.800
Oh, look at that, having a little
yawn, and you can see
234
00:20:26.800 --> 00:20:30.720
how exceptionally long canines
these cats have.
235
00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:35.960
In proportion to their skull size,
they're the largest of any other
cat.
236
00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:40.640
Ooh, so that is a marbled cat.
237
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:43.720
Now, these guys, I mean, we know
nothing about these cats,
238
00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:48.480
other than they probably spend much
of their time up in the trees.
239
00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:51.120
So as they walk along, they hold
this exceptionally long tail
240
00:20:51.120 --> 00:20:53.360
almost horizontally
241
00:20:53.360 --> 00:20:56.960
and that probably gives them balance
while moving through the canopy.
242
00:20:58.120 --> 00:21:01.240
Ah, the leopard cat.
243
00:21:02.280 --> 00:21:05.400
So this is really quite rare for us
to record this guy.
244
00:21:08.320 --> 00:21:12.880
After scrolling through countless
videos, Andrew finally filmed a bay
cat...
245
00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:20.400
..almost.
246
00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:24.000
So this is the first-ever video
of the bay cat in the world.
247
00:21:27.840 --> 00:21:30.960
It's not the finest video, it's not
the, er, the most exciting
248
00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:33.280
but to us that was just spectacular.
249
00:21:33.280 --> 00:21:36.480
We were absolutely blown away
when this thing
250
00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:38.600
appeared on the camera traps
in front of us.
251
00:21:38.600 --> 00:21:41.720
This is the fruit of 12 years'
labour...
252
00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:47.760
..yet to this day only two videos
of wild bay cats exist...
253
00:21:49.760 --> 00:21:51.160
..Andrew's,
254
00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:53.600
and this one, more recently
captured.
255
00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:02.360
No wonder we know
so little about these cats...
256
00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:07.960
..and now it's a race against time.
257
00:22:09.360 --> 00:22:13.200
Borneo has one of the highest rates
of deforestation in the world.
258
00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:18.920
To protect some space for the bay
cat,
259
00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:22.360
Andrew wants to find out
what kind of forest they need.
260
00:22:25.320 --> 00:22:30.960
He has managed to capture
photographs which help shed some
light.
261
00:22:37.320 --> 00:22:41.920
In - what is it? - 12-odd years,
we've only got something like 60
photos.
262
00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:45.800
They're so rare, they're so hard
to come by.
263
00:22:45.800 --> 00:22:50.800
Each photograph of the bay cat
is worth its weight in gold.
264
00:22:50.800 --> 00:22:54.280
It helps to piece together the
ecology and the conservation needs
of these cats.
265
00:22:57.160 --> 00:23:02.360
Much of the forest clearance in
Borneo is to make space for palm oil
plantations.
266
00:23:02.360 --> 00:23:08.640
While some cats can survive in these
plantations, bay cats disappear.
267
00:23:09.840 --> 00:23:12.800
When the forest changes to palm oil,
268
00:23:12.800 --> 00:23:15.160
they no longer seem to use those
areas,
269
00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:18.560
so this shows us that palm oil
really is one of the greatest
threats
270
00:23:18.560 --> 00:23:20.120
to these cats on Borneo.
271
00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:26.880
For the bay cat to survive,
some forest must be protected.
272
00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:33.640
Andrew's determined to uncover
whatever else he can
273
00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:35.520
about the mysterious bay cat...
274
00:23:36.840 --> 00:23:39.160
..even if it takes another 12 years.
275
00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:45.320
Camera traps are revolutionising
276
00:23:45.320 --> 00:23:48.480
our understanding
of the entire cat family.
277
00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:59.480
Deploying them in the remotest
corners of the planet for months at
a time
278
00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:05.360
allows a unique insight
into the private life of cats.
279
00:24:13.760 --> 00:24:18.640
In China, two cats that wouldn't
normally cross paths -
280
00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:24.760
a leopard and a snow leopard - are
filmed on the same camera just days
apart.
281
00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:36.160
In Costa Rica,
a margay fights an angry possum.
282
00:24:49.160 --> 00:24:51.640
And in the dunes
of the Western Sahara...
283
00:24:52.920 --> 00:24:58.680
..camera traps record the first-ever
shots of wild sand cat kittens.
284
00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:13.880
One pioneering study has taken the
use of camera traps to another
level.
285
00:25:21.320 --> 00:25:26.160
Mountain lions,
also known as cougars or pumas,
286
00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:30.400
famed for leading lonely, solitary
lives.
287
00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:41.800
Camera traps are now challenging
what we know about this American
icon.
288
00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:48.240
She's here.
289
00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:54.840
It all started with Dr Mark
Elbroch's passion for these
charismatic cats.
290
00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:01.440
Here she is, running across.
Look at the size of the footprint.
291
00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:06.880
I live mountain lions.
292
00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:10.200
I track them, I watch videos of
them,
293
00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:13.640
I go to sleep at night
and I dream about mountain lions.
294
00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:16.800
This guy's a... He's a loose cannon.
295
00:26:16.800 --> 00:26:20.160
This is the part where you try
not to get bit.
296
00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:25.800
In the Teton mountains of Wyoming,
297
00:26:25.800 --> 00:26:28.440
Mark and his team want to learn more
about mountain lion hunting
298
00:26:28.440 --> 00:26:29.920
and feeding behaviour.
299
00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:37.480
Using GPS collars to track the
animals, they identify cat hot
spots.
300
00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:39.280
..Quite a bit, which is good. Yeah.
301
00:26:39.280 --> 00:26:41.640
So we should get in there
and set some cameras.
302
00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:42.680
Sounds good.
303
00:27:03.240 --> 00:27:07.200
Mark expected an insight
into the solitary life of lone
cats...
304
00:27:13.800 --> 00:27:15.120
..but the more he watched,
305
00:27:15.120 --> 00:27:18.840
the more he began to realise
something else was going on.
306
00:27:24.360 --> 00:27:29.360
Here comes a nine-year-old
resident female,
307
00:27:29.360 --> 00:27:32.160
and she comes round and she turns
308
00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:34.760
and here comes a six-year-old
female.
309
00:27:34.760 --> 00:27:38.560
She's doing mild hissing
and, in the beginning we thought,
310
00:27:38.560 --> 00:27:42.280
"Gosh, all that hissing, it's the...
the pre-runner to violence,
311
00:27:42.280 --> 00:27:45.000
"it's super aggressive."
312
00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:46.720
No, hissing seems pretty normal,
313
00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:52.560
now that we've seen it over and over
and over again. So what happened
next?
314
00:27:52.560 --> 00:27:55.800
They spent two days together
and this is what they did.
315
00:27:57.720 --> 00:27:58.840
They shared a meal.
316
00:28:00.200 --> 00:28:01.240
It blew me away.
317
00:28:05.320 --> 00:28:07.960
That wasn't his only surprising
discovery.
318
00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:19.200
It's thought that males are normally
aggressive towards females,
319
00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:25.360
even capable of killing them, but
the cameras show that's not true
either.
320
00:28:30.800 --> 00:28:35.120
Every time we've seen a male
approach a female, outside
courtship,
321
00:28:35.120 --> 00:28:38.800
this is exactly what they do -
they slink in.
322
00:28:38.800 --> 00:28:41.880
Notice how low he's holding his body
to the ground,
323
00:28:41.880 --> 00:28:45.160
his ears are to the side
and almost sagging.
324
00:28:45.160 --> 00:28:48.920
They minimise their profile,
they try to look smaller.
325
00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:51.000
It is completely non-aggressive.
326
00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:53.720
He clearly just wants to share a
meal
327
00:28:53.720 --> 00:28:57.520
and you can see, as he comes in,
there's no hissing, there's nothing.
328
00:28:57.520 --> 00:29:01.680
She just watches and it's the kitten
that does all the hissing.
329
00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:02.720
HISSES
330
00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:09.680
There they are, massive resident
adult male feeding on the carcass...
331
00:29:10.760 --> 00:29:15.400
..three-month-old kitten and mother
falling asleep in the background.
332
00:29:19.320 --> 00:29:21.320
Rather than always being aggressive,
333
00:29:21.320 --> 00:29:24.880
males become positively meek
when they want to share a meal.
334
00:29:29.560 --> 00:29:34.760
After analysing 13 years of data
and thousands of videos,
335
00:29:34.760 --> 00:29:39.800
Mark has discovered these social
interactions follow a pattern.
336
00:29:41.280 --> 00:29:45.800
Mountain lions remember each other
337
00:29:45.800 --> 00:29:48.200
and they're much more likely
to share their dinner
338
00:29:48.200 --> 00:29:51.520
with a cat that has been generous
with them in the past.
339
00:29:54.840 --> 00:30:00.240
We're beginning to describe a
species that has some sort of social
system,
340
00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:04.280
that is interacting with a frequency
that challenges this idea
341
00:30:04.280 --> 00:30:05.880
that they are solitary animals,
342
00:30:05.880 --> 00:30:08.400
and it's just opening our eyes
343
00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:10.760
and completely turning everything
on its head
344
00:30:10.760 --> 00:30:13.520
on what we thought were
the social lives of mountain lions.
345
00:30:13.520 --> 00:30:15.360
GROWLS
346
00:30:15.360 --> 00:30:16.440
SNARLS SHARPLY
347
00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:30.960
Cats never fail to surprise us.
348
00:30:33.520 --> 00:30:36.800
Covering 8,000 hectares...
349
00:30:38.520 --> 00:30:41.160
..and employing 20,000 people...
350
00:30:43.720 --> 00:30:48.160
..Secunda CTL is the biggest
industrial complex in Africa.
351
00:30:55.440 --> 00:30:58.280
An unlikely place for a cat...
352
00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:14.680
..but ecologist Daan Loock made
an amazing discovery here.
353
00:31:16.800 --> 00:31:22.600
It all started with reports of
strange creatures prowling the site
after dark.
354
00:31:25.640 --> 00:31:28.360
There's...there's some eyes there.
355
00:31:30.560 --> 00:31:32.600
I just can't make out what it is.
356
00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:34.880
Hopefully, it crosses here
357
00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:36.680
but I don't think so.
358
00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:40.960
There's a lot of thickets
just to our left-hand side.
359
00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:42.880
I think it will... There it is!
360
00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:44.880
Just in front of us! There it is!
361
00:31:46.320 --> 00:31:48.200
Oh, that's very special.
HE LAUGHS
362
00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:53.880
The strange creature is a serval.
363
00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:57.200
That's something you won't see every
day.
364
00:31:58.200 --> 00:32:01.160
You know, these elusive cats
are so difficult to see
365
00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:04.200
and we're so privileged to see this.
366
00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:07.960
There it goes.
I'm very excited, I must say.
367
00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:15.920
Having covered the site
in camera traps,
368
00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:20.400
to Daan's surprise, these cats
were popping up everywhere.
369
00:32:30.360 --> 00:32:36.600
The average serval population is 10
to 15 animals per 100 square
kilometres.
370
00:32:36.600 --> 00:32:40.960
Our serval population is 76 animals
per 100 square kilometres.
371
00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:44.440
That's phenomenal. It's very, very
high.
372
00:32:48.320 --> 00:32:51.640
That's six times more
than the most pristine wilderness.
373
00:32:56.480 --> 00:33:02.480
Servals are not merely surviving
here - this is the densest
population known.
374
00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:07.800
Well, the next step after
discovering this population
375
00:33:07.800 --> 00:33:11.360
was the need to understand
what's so special about this place.
376
00:33:11.360 --> 00:33:13.800
Why are there so many serval here?
377
00:33:17.240 --> 00:33:19.720
Servals are found across Africa
378
00:33:19.720 --> 00:33:22.680
and specialise in hunting rodents
and small birds.
379
00:33:27.480 --> 00:33:33.600
They have the biggest ears of any
cat to help pinpoint their prey.
380
00:33:33.600 --> 00:33:35.360
RUSTLES, BUZZING
381
00:33:40.360 --> 00:33:45.800
And with spring-like legs,
they pounce over three metres.
382
00:33:50.480 --> 00:33:55.520
They're normally found in much lower
numbers and need large territories.
383
00:33:56.800 --> 00:34:00.280
Daan set out to discover
why there are so many here.
384
00:34:02.840 --> 00:34:07.760
A specialist team of vets carefully
capture and anaesthetise a male.
385
00:34:09.400 --> 00:34:15.800
Ya, I must say it's very nice. You
know, we've captured about 30, 30 to
40 animals
386
00:34:15.800 --> 00:34:19.400
and it's every time
very exciting to see them up close.
387
00:34:19.400 --> 00:34:24.920
It's a unique opportunity to learn
as much as possible about such a
rarely seen cat.
388
00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:29.600
What's the weight here, Mike?
389
00:34:29.600 --> 00:34:31.320
13.88, so he's... Spot-on.
390
00:34:31.320 --> 00:34:34.000
..he's about spot-on, yeah,
for a big male.
391
00:34:35.400 --> 00:34:39.880
Each serval is fitted with a collar,
allowing Daan to track their
movements.
392
00:34:43.560 --> 00:34:46.560
It's helping him build up a picture
of the cats' lives.
393
00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:54.160
This map is a map of the total study
area
394
00:34:54.160 --> 00:34:56.960
and each of these dots indicates
a GPS position
395
00:34:56.960 --> 00:34:59.680
of some of the serval
that's been collared in the past.
396
00:34:59.680 --> 00:35:03.640
This just goes to show how many
serval are on site.
397
00:35:05.520 --> 00:35:10.320
Most importantly, Daan's map reveals
the servals are concentrated
398
00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:13.280
in particular areas around water.
399
00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:19.960
Ponds and streams
used to cool the heavy industry
400
00:35:19.960 --> 00:35:22.560
create the perfect habitat for
rodents...
401
00:35:27.600 --> 00:35:30.480
..abundant food for the servals.
402
00:35:34.280 --> 00:35:37.800
Another reason for their success
is the lack of other big predators
here.
403
00:35:39.160 --> 00:35:42.600
You know, normally, the main causes
of death of serval
404
00:35:42.600 --> 00:35:47.600
would be other predators like lion
and hyena, perhaps some leopard
also.
405
00:35:47.600 --> 00:35:52.800
On this site, there is no
competition, they are the apex
predators.
406
00:36:05.160 --> 00:36:11.680
As apex predators with no
competition, the servals have run
riot.
407
00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:32.360
All across the planet,
cats are adapting to urban habitats.
408
00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:45.120
In response, people often need to
learn how to live alongside cats.
409
00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:54.400
Mumbai, India...
410
00:36:56.600 --> 00:37:01.560
..one of the world's largest
cities, home to over 20 million
people.
411
00:37:25.760 --> 00:37:28.800
Mumbai is also home...
412
00:37:29.480 --> 00:37:33.240
..to the world's highest density
of leopards.
413
00:37:36.360 --> 00:37:40.120
In the dead of night, they creep
into the city from the surrounding
forests.
414
00:37:47.640 --> 00:37:49.560
Krishna Tiwari grew up in Mumbai.
415
00:37:56.200 --> 00:38:01.160
He's now dedicated his life to
studying the city's urban leopards.
416
00:38:01.160 --> 00:38:03.840
CONVERSATION IN OWN LANGUAGE
417
00:38:03.840 --> 00:38:06.800
He saw a leopard the day before
yesterday
418
00:38:06.800 --> 00:38:11.560
and, when the leopard saw him, he
just ran away to the other side of
the wall.
419
00:38:16.800 --> 00:38:18.840
The story is the same all across the
city.
420
00:38:20.320 --> 00:38:22.720
CONVERSATION IN OWN LANGUAGE
421
00:38:22.720 --> 00:38:25.480
People encounter leopards
on a regular basis.
422
00:38:28.200 --> 00:38:33.160
She came out at around 8.30 to wash
clothes here and, when she put up a
torch,
423
00:38:33.160 --> 00:38:36.600
she saw a leopard sitting on the
rocks and as soon as, you know,
424
00:38:36.600 --> 00:38:39.880
there was light on the leopard,
he just got up, and she was so
afraid
425
00:38:39.880 --> 00:38:42.720
that, you know, she came back
to the house and called her husband.
426
00:38:42.720 --> 00:38:47.920
The outcome of these encounters
isn't always so peaceful.
427
00:38:50.360 --> 00:38:54.800
After all, the leopards
are coming into the city to hunt.
428
00:39:04.160 --> 00:39:07.800
Livestock are abundant and
unprotected.
429
00:39:27.360 --> 00:39:30.640
Stealth is the leopard's
most effective weapon.
430
00:39:37.400 --> 00:39:38.240
SQUEALING
431
00:39:39.760 --> 00:39:40.960
BARKING
432
00:39:42.440 --> 00:39:45.360
Dogs often provide an early
warning...
433
00:39:45.360 --> 00:39:47.560
BARKING CONTINUES
434
00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:56.440
..but drawing attention from a
leopard isn't a good idea.
435
00:40:03.520 --> 00:40:06.920
Dogs are also on the menu.
436
00:40:06.920 --> 00:40:07.960
BARKING
437
00:40:09.200 --> 00:40:10.320
SQUEALING
438
00:40:28.280 --> 00:40:29.480
GRUNTS
439
00:40:32.600 --> 00:40:36.800
And, sadly, it doesn't stop there.
440
00:40:41.680 --> 00:40:48.200
From 1990 to 2013, 176 people were
attacked by leopards in Mumbai.
441
00:40:56.800 --> 00:40:57.960
GROWLING, BARKING
442
00:41:00.680 --> 00:41:05.320
In just one month during 2004,
ten people were killed.
443
00:41:12.440 --> 00:41:14.160
Something had to be done.
444
00:41:16.480 --> 00:41:19.640
Krishna and the authorities
took a bold approach.
445
00:41:26.400 --> 00:41:28.120
Pioneering an education programme,
446
00:41:28.120 --> 00:41:32.800
Krishna wanted to teach people how
to live safely alongside leopards.
447
00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:34.120
HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
448
00:41:40.360 --> 00:41:46.840
Simple measures like staying in
groups at night, locking up
livestock
449
00:41:46.840 --> 00:41:48.960
and not running from leopards
450
00:41:48.960 --> 00:41:51.200
made a huge difference.
451
00:41:51.200 --> 00:41:55.480
20,000 people have attended the
meetings.
452
00:41:58.240 --> 00:42:00.520
The awareness programme
has been a great success
453
00:42:00.520 --> 00:42:03.640
as the last four years
have seen no leopard attacks
454
00:42:03.640 --> 00:42:06.160
and I think it's a good
and long-term solution
455
00:42:06.160 --> 00:42:08.640
to reduce the human-leopard
conflicts in Mumbai.
456
00:42:13.480 --> 00:42:18.960
Unfortunately, educating the local
dogs has proved trickier.
457
00:42:21.320 --> 00:42:26.400
They provide a vital early warning
but are still being taken.
458
00:42:29.440 --> 00:42:31.680
HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
459
00:42:31.680 --> 00:42:34.320
Raj has lost three dogs
to leopard attacks.
460
00:42:36.440 --> 00:42:40.840
He then hit on an idea
which might help protect his current
pet.
461
00:42:53.000 --> 00:42:56.840
He thinks that the dog, the leopard
will think that it is also a
leopard...
462
00:42:58.800 --> 00:43:02.960
..even, you know, it's being
protected by other dogs, so I think
it's a good idea.
463
00:43:04.320 --> 00:43:07.600
The jury's still out
on whether this even works...
464
00:43:09.120 --> 00:43:15.760
..and, anyway, what self-respecting
dog wants to be dressed up as a cat?
465
00:43:18.600 --> 00:43:20.920
WHIMPERS
He's certainly not convinced.
466
00:43:26.600 --> 00:43:30.120
Krishna's mission to spread
tolerance is working...
467
00:43:37.920 --> 00:43:41.360
..and Mumbai's leopard population
is thriving...
468
00:43:43.960 --> 00:43:47.560
..but it's a rare example of people
accepting their presence
469
00:43:47.560 --> 00:43:50.240
and making space for cats.
470
00:43:59.160 --> 00:44:01.920
Elsewhere, it's a very different
story.
471
00:44:06.480 --> 00:44:10.400
Nearly half of all wild cats
are threatened with extinction.
472
00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:16.800
As top predators,
they need a lot of food and space...
473
00:44:21.840 --> 00:44:24.640
..and, with an ever-growing
human population,
474
00:44:24.640 --> 00:44:26.960
competition for that space is
rising.
475
00:44:33.280 --> 00:44:38.960
In the last 20 years, leopards have
been wiped out from 40% of their
range.
476
00:44:52.920 --> 00:44:57.800
Cheetahs have become extinct
in 25 countries.
477
00:45:02.480 --> 00:45:08.280
Not even lions are spared. Numbers
have fallen by nearly half in two
decades.
478
00:45:09.360 --> 00:45:12.800
The king of beasts could go extinct
in the wild.
479
00:45:32.440 --> 00:45:38.840
The driving passion people feel for
cats is now their greatest hope for
survival...
480
00:45:41.320 --> 00:45:42.520
Holy mackerel.
YOWLS
481
00:45:50.640 --> 00:45:54.800
..especially for the animal that's
long been the face of cat
conservation.
482
00:46:07.240 --> 00:46:12.920
Dr Krithi Karanth's love of tigers
started at a very young age.
483
00:46:14.960 --> 00:46:17.400
I first saw a tiger
when I was two years old
484
00:46:17.400 --> 00:46:21.000
with my father and my grandfather
in Nagarhole National Park.
485
00:46:21.000 --> 00:46:24.360
I was amazed and in awe.
486
00:46:24.360 --> 00:46:28.680
There is nothing like seeing a tiger
in the wild.
487
00:46:30.120 --> 00:46:34.800
Years on, and now a world-renowned
tiger conservationist,
488
00:46:34.800 --> 00:46:36.200
Krithi's just as enthralled.
489
00:46:46.720 --> 00:46:52.120
There are no words that can really
capture the emotion of seeing a
tiger.
490
00:46:52.120 --> 00:46:55.280
Every single time I've seen a tiger
in the wild,
491
00:46:55.280 --> 00:47:00.400
I've been either left speechless
or giggling silly or crying.
492
00:47:00.400 --> 00:47:04.400
I mean, it's a range of emotions,
but you never forget.
493
00:47:04.400 --> 00:47:09.800
To me, tigers are truly one of the
most spectacular cats on the planet.
494
00:47:13.560 --> 00:47:18.800
But like so many of the cats,
survival of the tiger is on a knife
edge.
495
00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:23.720
We see images and stories
about tigers all the time -
496
00:47:23.720 --> 00:47:29.760
could give us the impression that
they're not endangered but they
absolutely are.
497
00:47:29.760 --> 00:47:33.320
They're one of the most threatened
big cats in the world today.
498
00:47:35.520 --> 00:47:40.960
Over the last century,
95% of wild tigers have vanished.
499
00:47:43.640 --> 00:47:49.800
There are now more tigers in
captivity in the United States alone
than in the wild.
500
00:48:00.200 --> 00:48:04.640
It is impossible for me to imagine
a world without wild tigers...
501
00:48:07.200 --> 00:48:11.560
..but, if we get complacent,
we could see tigers go extinct.
502
00:48:28.160 --> 00:48:29.640
WHISPERS: Sorry.
503
00:48:31.200 --> 00:48:35.160
I couldn't...
I couldn't imagine a world without
tigers.
504
00:48:47.440 --> 00:48:52.480
Krithi's spent her life raising
awareness and funding to save the
tiger.
505
00:49:00.280 --> 00:49:03.440
She's set up a project that helps
villagers get compensation
506
00:49:03.440 --> 00:49:06.640
when tigers attack their livestock.
507
00:49:06.640 --> 00:49:10.440
It's helping ease some of the
conflict with local people.
508
00:49:15.960 --> 00:49:18.640
Here in India, the greatest
challenge
509
00:49:18.640 --> 00:49:21.880
is giving tigers the space
they so desperately need.
510
00:49:26.360 --> 00:49:29.880
One solution is to help villagers
who currently live within the
national parks
511
00:49:29.880 --> 00:49:31.400
to relocate.
512
00:49:39.920 --> 00:49:41.400
Krithi is part of a team
513
00:49:41.400 --> 00:49:46.240
that assist those who choose to make
a new home beyond the park
boundaries.
514
00:49:49.560 --> 00:49:52.800
Once you move people out,
the vegetation comes back,
515
00:49:52.800 --> 00:49:56.680
the prey numbers rebound
and then tiger numbers come back,
516
00:49:56.680 --> 00:50:01.720
so ecological recovery takes time
but I think nature knows how to heal
itself.
517
00:50:04.320 --> 00:50:09.640
There's been a lot of time, money
and effort but the tide may be
turning.
518
00:50:11.920 --> 00:50:14.640
After a long time,
we're seeing wild tigers come back,
519
00:50:14.640 --> 00:50:18.720
populations stabilise
and recover in many tiger reserves.
520
00:50:18.720 --> 00:50:22.800
It shows that we can change
the future for cats
521
00:50:22.800 --> 00:50:25.400
if there is the will to protect
them.
522
00:50:40.520 --> 00:50:45.320
Maasai warriors now study
and conserve the lions they once
hunted.
523
00:50:55.800 --> 00:51:00.200
Huge safe havens are being created
for Scottish wildcats,
524
00:51:00.200 --> 00:51:02.640
the UK's only native cat.
525
00:51:06.320 --> 00:51:10.440
Scientists brave freezing
conditions...
526
00:51:10.440 --> 00:51:13.280
STATIC CRACKLES
It's working.
527
00:51:13.280 --> 00:51:16.400
..to help the endangered Siberian
tiger.
528
00:51:26.440 --> 00:51:28.960
And one pioneering project
529
00:51:28.960 --> 00:51:33.800
is attempting to rescue a cat
from the very edge of extinction.
530
00:51:44.320 --> 00:51:48.520
Just a century ago,
thousands of Iberian lynx
531
00:51:48.520 --> 00:51:52.400
roamed the ancient woodlands of
Spain and Portugal.
532
00:51:59.000 --> 00:52:03.720
A combination of habitat loss,
hunting and lack of prey
533
00:52:03.720 --> 00:52:05.800
caused their numbers to collapse.
534
00:52:11.000 --> 00:52:14.480
By 2002, fewer than 100 were left.
535
00:52:19.520 --> 00:52:23.920
The Iberian lynx was declared
the rarest cat on the planet.
536
00:52:33.800 --> 00:52:37.440
Today, an international team of
scientists and conservationists
537
00:52:37.440 --> 00:52:40.920
are working to bring these cats
back from the brink.
538
00:52:47.960 --> 00:52:51.960
The team began an intensive
breeding programme
539
00:52:51.960 --> 00:52:55.320
on a scale never attempted before.
540
00:52:58.520 --> 00:53:02.880
Vicky Ascensio is a vet
dedicated to the project.
541
00:53:04.680 --> 00:53:07.760
She works at the newest
of the breeding centres.
542
00:53:11.440 --> 00:53:16.000
Spread across Spain and Portugal,
these multimillion-pound facilities
543
00:53:16.000 --> 00:53:18.880
are built to meet a lynx's every
need...
544
00:53:22.800 --> 00:53:26.360
..to ensure they can produce as
many cubs as possible
545
00:53:26.360 --> 00:53:29.680
for release back into the wild.
546
00:53:32.720 --> 00:53:36.960
It's also designed
so Vicky can keep a close eye
547
00:53:36.960 --> 00:53:39.600
on each and every precious cub.
548
00:53:40.880 --> 00:53:44.680
In total, we have 116 cameras.
549
00:53:46.760 --> 00:53:50.360
We try to see the animals 24 hours.
550
00:53:50.360 --> 00:53:55.880
This hands-off approach is vital
so the cubs never meet a human.
551
00:53:57.320 --> 00:54:00.800
They are all day very quiet, very
calm
552
00:54:00.800 --> 00:54:04.800
and they don't see that we are
always looking at them.
553
00:54:04.800 --> 00:54:07.840
It's very important for us,
especially when we have cubs.
554
00:54:09.360 --> 00:54:14.720
The Iberian lynx has become
a species in intensive care.
555
00:54:19.120 --> 00:54:22.600
The breeding centres are just one
piece of the jigsaw.
556
00:54:23.920 --> 00:54:27.360
The team are also working hard
to improve the natural habitat
557
00:54:27.360 --> 00:54:32.800
so young lynx can be released
into ideal conditions.
558
00:54:39.360 --> 00:54:42.800
Today, Vicky is running
some crucial health checks.
559
00:54:46.400 --> 00:54:50.880
One-year-old cubs Navio and Noa
are scheduled for release.
560
00:54:55.200 --> 00:55:00.200
We are checking
that all the animal is healthy
561
00:55:00.200 --> 00:55:02.600
and also we take some samples
562
00:55:02.600 --> 00:55:07.160
to see that he has not any
infectious diseases or something
like that.
563
00:55:07.160 --> 00:55:12.200
Our goal always is to release the
animals.
564
00:55:12.200 --> 00:55:14.400
It's our most important goal.
565
00:55:16.600 --> 00:55:18.680
CONVERSATION IN SPANISH
566
00:55:22.640 --> 00:55:24.440
The cubs are ready.
567
00:55:28.240 --> 00:55:31.880
A release is big news around here.
568
00:55:31.880 --> 00:55:35.480
Crowds gather to catch a glimpse
of this iconic Spanish cat.
569
00:55:40.200 --> 00:55:44.880
This is a very special moment for me
because it's an animal
570
00:55:44.880 --> 00:55:49.960
that was born in the centre and
now you are giving him the freedom.
571
00:55:49.960 --> 00:55:53.760
It's very emotional for us.
572
00:56:02.000 --> 00:56:08.560
Navio and Noa are given their
freedom, running wild for the first
time.
573
00:56:44.360 --> 00:56:45.800
INAUDIBLE
574
00:56:49.520 --> 00:56:53.680
This ambitious project has become
one of the most successful
reintroductions
575
00:56:53.680 --> 00:56:59.520
on the planet - nearly 500 cats once
again roam these ancient woodlands.
576
00:57:11.320 --> 00:57:17.760
The more we learn about cats,
the more they surprise and amaze us.
577
00:57:23.440 --> 00:57:28.640
Only by understanding their needs
can we help safeguard their future.
578
00:57:28.640 --> 00:57:29.680
YOWLS
579
00:57:33.160 --> 00:57:38.120
There's a lot of work to do
but across the globe
580
00:57:38.120 --> 00:57:43.000
people are putting their heart and
soul into finding answers
581
00:57:43.000 --> 00:57:47.720
and making sure the future
always has a place...
582
00:57:47.720 --> 00:57:50.120
MEWS
..for the cats...
583
00:57:51.200 --> 00:57:52.480
..big...
584
00:57:52.480 --> 00:57:54.480
..and small.
50601
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