Original subtitles

(light music)

- [Narrator] The Great Plains of Mongolia,

home to a surprising feline,

the Pallas' cat.

(inspirational music)

they have adapted to all seasons

in this sparse, treeless wilderness.

And despite challenges, they rear their young,

feeding themselves and their growing family

with remarkable ingenuity.

(inspirational music)

It takes a very special kind of cat to thrive here.

(soft music)

(soft dramatic music)

(lion roars)

(soft music)

(soft dramatic music)

Eastern Mongolia,

a continuous expanse of rolling grassland

and semi-desert.

There are no trees here.

Instead, the landscape is dotted

with domestic herds.

(goats bleating)

For centuries, locals here have followed

their sheep and goats as they graze.

Living in assembled houses called gers,

these people are nomadic and travel

with their animals in search

of good quality pasture.

(soft dramatic music)

There are wild herds here, too,

Mongolian gazelle.

Their seasonal migrations cover a distance

of over 1,000 kilometers.

(gazelle grunting) (soft inspirational music)

Above them, eagles soar,

golden eagles

and steppe eagles.

While golden eagles remain in Mongolia

throughout the year,

steppe eagles migrate here in the spring to breed.

Both hunt the animals that live on these grasslands,

like these Mongolian gerbils,

Brant's voles, and Daurian ground squirrels.

There are more than 30 species

of small mammal living off the Plains,

(soft dramatic music)

rich pickings for a grassland predator

like the Pallas' cat.

(soft dramatic music)

The end of November, winter in Mongolia,

where temperatures frequently plummet

to -30 degrees Celsius.

Sükhbaatar Province is a stronghold

for Pallas' cats in Eastern Mongolia

and nomads have reported several sightings.

There's something moving in the snow field,

(light music)

a red fox making the most of a break in the blizzard.

Red foxes is must hunt, even on the coldest of days.

(light upbeat music)

Pallas' cats travel within a range of 100 square kilometers,

but biologist Otgonbayar Baatargal, or Ogi,

is an expert when it comes to finding Pallas' cats.

(light upbeat music continues)

Ogi and the crew have chosen this boulder field

to begin their search.

(wind rushing)

In winter, Pallas' cats often hide themselves

between rocks or in ground cavities.

Holes dug by by foxes or marmots

provide ideal resting spots.

They are often 10 degrees warmer than outside.

(light suspenseful music)

Footprints in the snow suggest they're in the right area.

(Ogi speaks in foreign language)

- [Narrator] If they were hunting here,

they must still be nearby.

New footprints.

(light suspenseful music continues)

(man speaks in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Nestled deep inside a cavity,

a Pallas' cat

with a fierce stare.

(gentle music)

(man speaks in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Ogi pulls it out carefully

to check its health.

(man speaks in foreign language)

- [Narrator] This is a fully grown adult.

It's aggressive, just like a wild cat should be.

At 48 centimeters from nose to rear,

it's similar in size to domestic cat,

but it stockier with a thick layer of fat,

making it just over a kilo heavier.

Adults with a fierce looking face,

the body is round with long, dense fur.

(wind rushing)

The team then releases the cat.

(frenetic upbeat music)

His little legs aren't designed for distance.

(light upbeat music)

After a short, high-speed dash,

he stops to survey his surroundings.

(light upbeat music continues)

He flattens and becomes motionless

with his back and front leg stretched out

and chin in the snow.

(Ogi speaks in foreign language)

- [Narrator] On an open plain,

there is nowhere to hide.

Lying low and still is the most effective

form of protection.

The Pallas' cat might be fierce, but it has enemies.

eagles are their biggest threat,

but even foxes would hunt a Pallas' cat

given the opportunity.

But the cat has a clever hiding strategy.

An eagle passing overhead would never know

this cat wasn't a rock.

While most cats have triangular ears top of their heads,

the flat ear position of the Pallas' cat

allows them to blend in,

just like a smooth boulder.

It's the ultimate depiction of stealth.

(upbeat dramatic music) (snow pattering)

Its eyes are another special feature.

A Pallas' cat's eyes are placed relatively high up

on a small forehead, allowing them to see better

as snow builds up around them.

Once the Pallas' cat decides to become a rock,

It may not move for a very long time.

(wind rushing)

After a time and when it is deemed safe,

he begins a low, slow crawl.

(gentle music)

When spring arrives on the Mongolian Plains,

the snow melts, but the grass remains yellow.

There will be no rain here

until the end of the summer.

(soft dramatic music)

By July, the ground is dry and dusty.

The temperature reaches nearly 40 degrees Celsius.

Since mid-winter, the temperature has risen by 70 degrees.

(sheep bleating)

Demoiselle cranes have migrated

across the Himalayas from India

and Nepal to breed here.

They gather around the now scarce pools of water

to avoid overheating.

(light upbeat music)

Golden eagles must protect their chicks from the sun.

(light upbeat music continues)

But the Mongolian gazelle

do not have the luxury of shade.

They must continue that journey.

And some won't make it.

The research team has been following the Pallas' cats

using radio telemetry,

and they picked up a signal.

Even in the distance,

the aerial on the collar gives it away.

(soft dramatic music)

Having shed almost half of its weight since the winter,

it now has a distinctly different shape.

The dense layers of fur and fat are gone,

enabling it to survive the extreme heat of the summer.

But it still uses the same slow stalking movements

as it did in winter,

staying close to the ground to avoid detection.

(soft dramatic music continues)

(soft dramatic music)

Ogi and the team continue their search for Pallas' cats

and they make an exciting discovery.

(man speaks in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Nestled between the boulders are four kittens.

(gentle music)

Pallas' kittens are usually born in late spring

and raised in the boulder fields

of the Mongolian Plains.

The rocks provide much needed shade,

as well as keeping them hidden from predators.

There are more kittens in dens nearby.

Each litter has between three and five.

They seem to know that they must stay still and quiet,

but at least there's no worry

of being spotted by eagles in here.

The day is long during the Mongolian summer.

The sun doesn't set until 9:00 PM.

The team decides to stay

and watch the boulders for signs of life.

(soft upbeat music)

This kitten is around two months old.

As the evening air cools,

more kittens cautiously emerge,

(soft upbeat music continues)

staying close to the rocks at first,

then getting a little more adventurous.

Once they're accustomed to their surroundings,

they can't stay quiet for long.

This is kitten playtime.

They are already showing traits of wild cat behavior.

The tip of this kitten's tail waves with excitement.

(kitten meows)

It's something the tails of adult Pallas' cats do

when targeting prey.

For his sibling, however, it's an irresistible lure.

(soft upbeat music continues)

As the light fades, the kittens tire.

(crickets chirping)

But hours later, they are awake again.

(soft music)

Their mother has returned,

giving them a welcome feed.

They will suckle for three to four months in total.

By the end of the summer, they will be weaned.

From their regular observations,

the team have been able to gather valuable information

of the kittens growth pattern.

(soft dramatic music)

(kitten cries)

At one month old, they're able to leave the den

to explore their surroundings,

watched by their attentive mother.

(Pallas' cat meows)

She's mid-molt, with her short summer coat coming through.

(kittens meowing)

(Pallas' cat growling)

She growls, sensing a potential threat.

She won't take any chances.

She reacts by carrying a kitten back to the den.

(soft dramatic music) (thunder rumbling)

By mid-July a transformation is beginning

to take place on the plains.

The eagerly anticipated rains have arrived.

And day by day, the grass gets greener

and flowers bloom.

(soft dramatic music continues)

For Mongolia's nomadic people

who are spread out over the plains,

summer is a time to come together and socialize.

This is the festival of Naadam.

(people chattering)

(toys clattering) (boy laughs)

(children speaking in foreign language)

- [Narrator] The children race their horses

over 20 kilometers.

Horses are a way of life here,

so it's fitting that they play a big part in the festival.

(horse hooves clomping)

It's the greatest honor to win with a horse

your family has raised.

(soft dramatic music continues)

Voles are making the most of the season's growth.

They pop out from holes in the ground

and scurry about, scanning for danger.

But they are never far from a vole hole.

(light whimsical music)

(voles squeaking)

Small mammals are always on the lookout,

and for good reason.

Pallas' cats are ready to seize on a hunting opportunity.

(soft dramatic music)

And the crew are on hand to capture the action.

(men speaking in foreign language)

(soft dramatic music continues)

(man singing in foreign language)

- [Narrator] First, an adult female.

(man singing in foreign language)

She's moving carefully, looking for prey.

But she has company,

a kitten in tow.

Ignoring her kitten, she moves ahead,

fully focused on her prize.

She appears to have spotted something in the distance.

She adopts the familiar low stance

as she approaches her target.

(soft dramatic music)

The vole is now just meters ahead of her,

and she still has the element of surprise.

Success.

With kittens to feed as well as herself,

hunting is a never-ending task.

(dramatic music)

Then, the team capture something extraordinary.

A Brandt's vole.

The cat notices it, and it notices her.

This time, there is no element of surprise.

But she shakes the tip of her tail,

and as if by magic, the vole is mesmerized.

The vole has time to run,

but it doesn't move.

She looked certain to make a kill.

But at the crucial moment, her kitten bounds in.

(Pallas' cat screeches)

She clearly voices her disapproval.

(soft dramatic music)

Inspired by the discovery, the film crew experiment

with their own dummy Pallas' cat tail.

Just by waving the dummy tail,

they have the attention of this vole.

Not just one, but three.

They are fixated on the swaying object.

Ogi has an explanation.

(Ogi speaks in foreign language)

- [Narrator] When a vole sees something unfamiliar,

it stops moving to check if it's safe or not.

A Pallas' cat uses this opportunity

to close in on it's praying.

The tail also has another use.

(Ogi speaks in foreign language)

(soft music)

- [Narrator] A vole's nest has several entrances

and the Pallas' cat can't always know

which entrance holds rainfall.

By shaking its tail,

the cat stops the vole in its tracks for short while

to find out which entrance is used most often.

(soft music continues)

Success.

This mother, with her kitten,

has caught four voles in 20 minutes,

and she will pass on this technique to her young.

(soft dramatic music)

One evening, the crew witness another cat

and her five kittens traveling together.

The family must move to a different location

every few days.

If they stay in the same spot,

they could eventually run out of food.

She repeatedly looks back

to check she hasn't left them behind.

The family may travel anything from 500 meters

to two kilometers at a time.

(soft music)

But with only so much rocky terrain to choose from,

it's easy to unexpectedly bump into neighbors.

Two families appear to have chosen the same spot.

There are now nine kittens in total.

One of the kittens has decided

to make a move straight towards the camera crew.

(soft music continues)

Bravely, the kitten gets as close

as three meters from the camera.

Then, perhaps after sensing the crew's presence,

it thinks better of it and turns to run.

(soft music continues)

It's litter mates and newfound friends

are eager to greet the kitten on return.

The two families appear happy

in each other's company for a while.

(wind rushing)

It's the end of July.

Five kittens survey their surroundings.

This litter is around three months old,

and still very much reliant on their mother's catches.

So a short distance away,

she spends all of her time catching voles.

(soft dramatic music)

She waits by a hole in the ground

By rotating sideways,

she momentarily disappears from sight

with just enough time to grab her prey.

(frenetic music)

Her kittens are practicing their own hunting skills.

(frenetic music continues)

They've mastered the crawl

and the shake of the tail.

(dramatic music)

Not quite,

(gentle music)

but it's not giving up.

The side roll, just like mum.

(light music)

Another miss.

(soft music continues)

These two appear to be targeting the same prey.

Moving off in front,

(vole squeaks)

the first kitten blows their cover

and the vole bolts to safety.

But the one behind has a stroke of luck.

Watching mum has paid off,

and the kitten is rewarded with a catch.

The siblings are becoming rivals

when it comes to survival on the plains.

(soft music)

But the kittens must learn

to look out for danger themselves.

(soft dramatic music) (eagle cries)

A steppe eagle.

The kittens swiftly take cover.

(soft dramatic music continues)

But luckily for them, this eagle opts

for the easier task of catching rodents.

They will have to be cautious

if they are to make it to adulthood.

The kittens are becoming more independent by the day,

but mum's return still offers them comfort.

(gentle music)

They'll need to suckle a little while longer

despite becoming proficient hunters themselves.

While the kittens turned their attention to milk,

she remains alert.

(gentle music continues)

(wind rushing)

A month later and there's a change in the family.

(soft dramatic music)

When the kittens ask for milk,

the mother ignores them.

One of them begs for it,

but again and again, she shakes them off.

But it's not only the mother's behavior that has changed.

This kitten is so focused on hunting practice,

it doesn't notice when its mother moves away.

Only two of the five kittens

follow their mother that day.

She doesn't wait for the others.

The kittens are three and a half months old.

When they feel ready to leave, one by one,

they'll get left behind.

(soft dramatic music)

It's the end of August.

A cold wind blows over the Mongolian Plains.

The grass has grown long and green,

but summer is at its end.

(soft dramatic music) (woman vocalizes)

(truck engine rumbles)

Ogi and the team have picked up

the radio telemetry signal from a young Pallas' cat.

It's one of five siblings

that Ogi's team had been monitoring.

They left their mother very recently.

(Ogi speaks in foreign language)

- [Narrator] The team have radio collared one female

and one male from the litter.

Ogi wants to check on their progress

since leaving their mother.

(soft music)

The young male is in this patch of grass.

He's completely hidden.

(men speaking in foreign language)

(bright music)

- [Narrator] They catch up with him again,

hiding between some boulders.

Then, they spot the female.

She takes the first opportunity she can to run.

She's no longer a carefree kitten.

She's cautious, just like her mother was.

The team examine the area carefully

to look for the remaining siblings.

(soft music continues)

They find another within a two kilometer radius,

a young female between the rocks,

and another young male.

All four appear healthy.

(soft ominous music)

But there's one missing.

The team couldn't find the last young female that day.

(static hissing)

They turn their attention to finding the mother

and discover something unexpected.

(dramatic music)

they find her in the hills,

20 kilometers away from her kittens

hidden in a patch of grass.

(man speaks in foreign language)

(soft music)

- [Narrator] And there's something different

about this terrain.

There are no rock crevices to hide in.

(Ogi speaks in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Once separated, family members become rivals,

so the mother has sacrificed her territory

to make it easier for her young to survive.

It has been almost three weeks

since the kittens left their mother

and Ogi and the team catch up with a young cat

who seems to have mastered the art of survival alone.

A young, healthy looking male

appears from between the rocks.

(wind rushing)

After scanning his surroundings, he begins to stalk.

(soft dramatic music)

did he sense danger?

He ducks down.

After a pause, he begins again.

(dramatic music)

In the blink of an eye,

he pounces using the rotation technique

his mother taught him.

Now, on to the next.

(soft dramatic music)

Success again.

The next one takes a little longer.

But he's persistent.

He senses something from behind.

(dramatic music)

(soft music)

And he's rewarded.

He makes three catches in 40 minutes.

They will be consumed and stored as fat

in preparation for winter.

Using hunting skills passed down from his mother,

this young male is thriving all on his own.

(soft music)

He has shown Ogi that he is a skilled hunter.

Ogi decides to remove his radio collar

before winter arrives.

(men speaking in foreign language)

(soft music continues)

But there is something bothering Ogi,

he hasn't been able to find the fifth young female.

(soft dramatic music)

Then, one day, they unexpectedly come across her.

(Ogi speaks in foreign language)

- [Narrator] Ogi thinks the young female

was attacked by a step eagle.

Only 30% of young cats reach a year old.

And there is no guarantee

that the others will survive the winter.

(gentle music)

By the end of November,

the plains are covered in snow once more.

Ogi and the team continue with their research.

They find a hole in the ground,

and a young male is nearby.

(soft upbeat music)

his fur is long and dense.

He has a thick layer of fat,

and he is aggressive.

He has everything he needs to make it through to spring.

Through four seasons,

the Pallas' cats have demonstrated hunting skills

like no other.

It takes a special kind of cat

to survive the extremes

of the Mongolian wilderness.

The Pallas' cat is nothing if not resilient,

but it takes more than hardiness to thrive here.

As aggressive predators,

these cats have passed down skills

from mother to kitten

seen in no other species of feline.

Yet, they must be cautious enough

to avoid becoming prey themselves

They are the true masters of the Mongolian Plains.

(soft upbeat music continues)

(soft dramatic music)

(light music)