All language subtitles for BBC.Lost.Land.of.the.Tiger.1of3.PDTV.Xvid.AC3.MVGroup.org.eng

The tiger.

Feared, revered and hunted

to the very brink of extinction.

Within 20 years,
wild tigers may be gone for ever,

but there could be
a last chance to save them.

Now an international
team of scientists... Wow.

..explorers and film-makers

have come to the Himalayas
to search for a hidden population.

Our job is to find out
if there are tigers here

and if there are, how they're doing,

because tiger conservation worldwide
is in a critical condition.

This mission
will push the team to the limit.

They'll take on the world's
most challenging mountains...

My lungs are burning.

My legs are burning.

..face the planet's
most extreme weather...

Jeez!

..and explore the mightiest rivers.

What they find here will be crucial.

For the tiger,
it's a matter of survival.

For the team,

it could be
the discovery of a lifetime.

The team has travelled
to the Himalayas,

to the remote mountain kingdom
of Bhutan.

It's been closed to outsiders
for decades.

Almost nothing is known
about tigers here.

The team must find out
whether there's just a handful,

or a thriving population.

In charge of the expedition

is one of the world's leading
tiger experts, Dr Alan Rabinowitz.

This expedition is one of the first,
if not the first, outside attempt

to figure out what is happening
in here with the tiger,

with other wildlife
that the tiger needs to survive,

and perhaps, just perhaps,

this vast land,
this lost land of the tiger

could be the tiger's last hope.

Joining Alan
are biologist Dr George McGavin

and explorer and naturalist
Steve Backshall.

It's just perfect,
absolutely perfect tiger habitat.

Probably could do with
a little bit more open kind of areas

to stand any chance of seeing them.

They're fantastically difficult
to actually get a sighting of.

I love that feeling you get in a
country for the first time,

and you get that smell,
you can smell it.

This riverbank
will be the expedition headquarters

for the next three weeks.

The rugged terrain

will make wildlife
exceptionally difficult to find.

They've brought
the latest technology

for filming and surveillance.

That's about half of it.

Alan... Hello.
..in charge of the camp.

Steve is optimistic.

Tigers need three things.

They need an abundant source
of large prey,

they need dense vegetation
and they need water,

and here you've got
all three of them.

It may look good,
but tigers are now so rare,

there's no guarantee
they'll find them.

The team has its work cut out.

Even expert tracker Steve Backshall
has called in specialist help.

For the first time, he'll be working
with a highly trained sniffer dog

all the way from the States.

Hi, Bruiser!

This guy here is our best chance
of finding tigers.

Justine Evans is a leading
BBC Wildlife camerawoman.

She has 20 years' experience
and eyes like a hawk.

If tigers are here,
she'll spot them.

We're going to throw some
time at it.

We've got all the cameras -
day, night, thermal, everything.

We're just going to
see what we can get.

Oh!

Look at that. Oxford University
biologist Dr George McGavin

is the only person
not looking for tigers,

but his job is just as vital.

My role is to assess
the health of the forest

to see if it's a fit place
for a tiger to be.

Head of the expedition,
Dr Alan Rabinowitz,

has dedicated his life
to saving the tiger.

The tiger is
the largest cat in the world.

It's one of
the most magnificent species

to ever walk the face of our earth.

To even think that it could be lost
from this earth in our lifetime

or shortly after, to me,
is just an unthinkable thought.

It's just unthinkable.

But over the last century,
98% of tigers have been lost.

The last of them
are trapped in isolated areas

where they and their prey have
become easy targets for poachers.

Wild tigers need space.
Without it, they rapidly die out.

The best hope
lies with the small populations

clinging to existence
along the edge of the Himalayas.

The solution I have
for saving tigers

is to connect
these isolated populations

through corridors,
through linkages in the landscape

so that genetically, biologically,
these animals could move

between isolated fragments,
and thus the isolated fragments

become part of a larger whole.

Bhutan is the missing link.

Alan's plan can only succeed

if there's a flourishing
population of tigers here,

something not even he knows.

Bhutan is the last country left
in the world throughout tiger range

that we have not had really good
systematic studies of tigers done.

We have no idea how many tigers
are in the country, where they exist,

and yet where Bhutan is situated

is critically important
if we're going to save tigers.

What are the first things
that we need to get doing?

We have to go out
and find tiger evidence.

Their pugmarks, their tracks,
their scrapes, their sprays,

and by setting up camera traps.

I can put the pieces
of the puzzle together,

but you have to give me those pieces.

Steve will be on the case with
big-cat scientist Claudia Wultsch

and her dog, Bruiser.

I'm quite looking forward to
working with Bruiser.

This is the first time
I've looked for animals using a dog.

It seems a strange way
of doing things,

but he does have a remarkable sense
of smell and he'll be able to

pick up things that we would
never have a chance to find,

and all the evidence he manages to
bring in will be incredibly valuable

for learning
what's going on in this area.

Camerawoman Justine Evans
will try a different tack.

She's going to stake out tigers
from the top of a very tall tree.

We're loading up the elephants
to go out to a big, dry riverbed.

Oops. It's a bit slower
with the elephants,

but they carry all the weight.

Along with her daily essentials,

she's taking four specialist cameras
to spot tigers day and night.

This is the first time
I've had to saddle up an elephant.

I hadn't thought about
the logistics.

Lucky I brought
bungee cords along.

Never go anywhere
without bungee cords.

We want a tiger. Just
a fleeting glimpse in the bushes.

Good luck. Bye.

Justine will have to
keep her wits about her.

She's a long way from medical help,
and no-one knows

what dangerous creatures
lurk in this forest.

Steve and Claudia
are also treading carefully.

Oh, what was that?

Hey! Come here. Bruiser, come on.

Very clear elephant tusk
driven up into there, look.

Little bit nerve-racking

to think of an animal that powerful
just wandering around the forest.

Could walk round a corner, and it
could be right there in front of us.

There's no choice.

The only trails through the forest
are the ones made by wild elephants.

They keep Bruiser close.

He's one of a few dogs trained
to find big cats,

and he does it by sniffing out
their droppings, or scats.

Bruiser's just coursing ahead of us

with his nose down close to the
ground, searching out those scents.

I'm really just hoping that
we'll come across a scat

that is definitive, that you
have to say is going to be a tiger.

Bruiser, let's go.

Bruiser can sniff out even
the tiniest remains of a cat's scat.

Steve and Claudia have to work out
which species it belongs to.

Oh, look what he's found.
What did you find?

Such a good boy. Bruiser, come down.

Bruiser's rewarded
with his favourite toy.

Good boy! Good boy!

(Good boy, Bruiser.)

Well, that's absolutely full
of interesting stuff.

Lots of little feathers here.

In fact, most of what I can see
looks like bird to me.

What do you think?
Could be clouded leopard.

Clouded leopard, absolutely.

This isn't tiger scat,
we can say that for 100% certainty,

but it could be from a leopard
or a clouded leopard,

both of which
are pretty exciting for us.

Bruiser's on great form.

But evidence that tigers live here
might be harder to find.

Tigers are one of the most elusive
animals on the planet.

The team will have to use a variety
of methods to track them down.

Alan's placing remote video cameras
on trails made by wild animals.

He hopes that tigers are using them.

Anything passing
in front of the camera

will trigger a ten-second recording.

I have high hopes for this.

For Alan,
the stakes could not be higher.

After 20 years trying
to save the tiger,

this could be his last crusade.

He has an incurable
form of leukaemia.

'I don't think about it all the time,

'and yet it's always
there all the time.'

It gives a sense of urgency
to my life.

There were times
before I was diagnosed with leukaemia

that I thought
"OK, you know, I'm getting older.

"Probably ten years or so,
I'll slow down."

There is no slowing down.

There's only speeding up now,

because I don't have the time
and the tigers don't have the time.

With as few as 3,000 left, any
wild tiger the team finds in Bhutan

would be a precious discovery.

Alan knows from experience that even
though the forest looks promising,

it's far from certain
that tigers have a future here.

The health of the forest
is everything. In the past,

people thought, "If there's forest,

"it's good potential tiger habitat,
there must be tigers."

Unfortunately, it took us
quite a few years to realise

just what the forest looks like
is not enough.

You need to look at everything.

You need to look at the birds,
you need to look at the insects,

you need to look at
the whole chain of life

through that forest and say,
"This is truly an intact system."

In charge of this forest's
health check is Dr George McGavin,

aided by a team of local scientists.

Rebecca Pradhan and her colleague
will rig mist nets

to catch and record
the birds of the forest.

This net is mainly for
the smaller to medium-size of birds.

Dr Kashmira Kakati is an expert
on smaller jungle cats.

She'll carefully position
her remote cameras

to discover
which species live here.

It's like a really big, exciting
treasure hunt in the forest.

You go put these things out
and when you're picking them up,

you're just waiting
to see what you've got.

It's really, really thrilling.

George's lifetime passion
is insects.

His survey starts close to home,
in Justine's elephants' bed.

Oh, ho, ho, bingo!

Bingo!

Look at that!

Look at that.

Now, they don't come
much bigger than that.

Now, that's what I call
a dung beetle.

That is an absolute monster.

This is

the biggest dung beetle

I've ever found.

He's got these huge hind legs,

big spiny legs
for pushing through the dung.

I find it very hard
to actually hold this.

If I try to hold it
in my hand like that,

watch, I'm holding it quite hard,

and it's just able to
power its way out there.

Look, see. There, it's free.

They're immensely strong.

You are beautiful!

I know not everybody agrees with me,
but I think you're rather beautiful.

George will record every species
the expedition finds,

from beetles to tigers.

It's all part of a report
for the Prime Minister of Bhutan.

Finding tigers
in the lowlands around base camp

would be a good start,

but to create a corridor that will
protect tigers across the region,

the team needs to
find them throughout the country.

Just north of base camp,
the Himalayas begin,

and rise rapidly
to over 7,000 metres.

Most of the country is mountainous.

Jagged peaks and thin air

are the last place
anyone would expect to find tigers,

but the team's heard
extraordinary rumours.

The final member of the expedition
has gone to investigate.

Gordon Buchanan has filmed
big cats all over the world,

but never anywhere like this.

It's amazing to think of the other
places that I've seen tigers.

Down in India, just 200 miles away,
but very, very different habitat.

We're up in the Himalayas here.

It feels so different
and I will be flabbergasted

if we find tigers
up in these mountains.

Gordon's going to live rough
for the next two weeks,

on a mission that will test
his endurance to the limit.

We've been following the river
all morning,

but unfortunately we're about to
start climbing up the mountain,

so it's going to get
a lot tougher from now on.

This is the foal
of one of the ponies.

He's just along to learn the ropes.

Poor little thing's
just lagging behind,

so I'm giving him
a bit of a helping hand.

With every step,
the air is getting thinner.

The journey will be
far too tough for the mules.

Before long,
Gordon will be on his own.

Good boy, Bruiser. What did you get?

Near base camp, Bruiser's been

hot on the trail of big cats
all morning.

We're getting there.
OK, Bruiser, let's go.

He's found leopard and clouded
leopard scat, but no signs of tiger.

Now he's flagging.

You've got to feel sorry
for the dog.

He must be crazy, crazy hot,
trekking through this.

It's so hot and humid, Bruiser
can only be worked in short shifts.

Further down the trail,
they startle something.

Uh-oh. Bruiser, come here, hey.

Bruiser! Good boy.

Wow, look at that.

There's a group of golden langurs
in the tree just ahead of us

and as we approached
and they saw the dog,

their first response was
a kind of barking alarm call,

warning the others
he was coming by.

(Good boy, Bruiser.)

They're just looking down at us
curiously.

Golden langur monkeys rarely
spend time on the ground

in case they're taken
by large predators

like leopards, or even tigers.

There are only 5,000 or so
left in the wild.

A group like this, with young,
is an exceptional sight.

It just shows, really, that you need
to preserve the habitat here

not just for the tiger,
but for all the other

really, really valuable
endangered species that live here.

On the forest floor, the remote
cameras are doing their job.

Macaques,
enjoying a meal of pondweed.

Buffalo...

..who use the camera
as a scratching post.

A herd of wild elephants.

They're curious...

and rather camera-shy.

GLASS SHATTERS, BUZZING

Four hours from base camp,
Justine's elephants

have delivered her safely to the
tree chosen for the tiger stakeout.

This is the tree that we're
going to spend the night up in.

I think to really stand any chance
of seeing a glimpse of a big cat,

the only way is
to be able to see a huge view,

because otherwise,
they're too canny.

If I can see 200 metres,
300 metres away,

there's a chance that it might not
be aware of my presence.

And I've got really long lenses,

so I will be able to see it,
even though it can't see me.

She'll be staying out in the jungle
day and night.

High up is the safest place to be.

The elephants head for camp

and Justine settles down for
her first night of surveillance.

Back at base,
everyone returns before dark.

It's safe and relatively luxurious.

Ah!

For dinner, there's fish curry

and a few unwanted guests
on the side.

You're attracting
a hell of a lot of bugs.

Lots of things are hatching out now,

so I reckon in the next couple of
nights it'll be really alive.
INSECT BUZZES

Hello?
INSECT BUZZES LOUDLY

Ow! God, that was loud.

Kashmira has already recovered
one of her remote cameras

and Steve's been called
to the kit tent.

Hi, Kashmira. I heard you've got
something good on your camera traps.

Nice-looking barking deer.

Fantastic. Anything else?

Then...

No way! Isn't it exciting?

It's a clouded leopard.

What a beautiful shot!

This is fantastic.

This is absolutely sensational.

This is exactly the same
riverbed where we found what we

took to be clouded leopard scat.

The clouded leopard is one of the
most elusive, difficult animals

in the whole world to film, and
this is conclusive evidence that

there is one living not more than
a couple of miles away from camp.

Looking for tracks
and signs is detective work.

It's almost like putting all
the parts of the puzzle together.

And to find, you know, this
at the end of it -

conclusive proof that it all added
up to the right signs -

is just incredibly exciting.

The rare clouded leopard
raises their hopes

that there will be
other big cats here too.

THUNDER CRACKS

But they hadn't counted
on an early monsoon.

This is total madness.
Just a couple of seconds ago

there was absolutely nothing,
completely calm.

And from nowhere, a massive
gust of wind and look at this!

Full-on hailstones
just come pelting down.

It's like wandering around

in a cloud of bullets
just falling from the heavens.

Deep in the jungle, the remote
cameras are triggered by the rain

and the animals running for cover.

30 metres up her tree,
Justine's stranded.

This is the worst that can happen.

We've been listening to this storm
all evening,

hoping that it was
going to pass us by,

but it's just hit, the whole,
full strength of it,

right above our heads.

Even the crickets
are scurrying for cover.

Oh! It's not a good situation.

The lightning is right overhead now.

This is rain.

THUNDER CRACKS LOUDLY

Jeez!

Base camp is in danger
of blowing away.

Going to tether everything down,

try and keep it from taking off,
which is what it's doing now.

Last night's storm disappeared
as quickly as it arrived.

Justine survived...

..just.

After the storm,
the forest is alive with birds.

Justine's spied some hornbills
on the other side of the clearing.

(This hornbill's just flown in.

(It's having a good,
long look around.)

Hornbills eat fruit,
small mammals and reptiles.

Throughout Asia,
they're renowned targets for hunters

Their presence suggests there's
less poaching here than elsewhere.

Nearer base camp, the mist nets

have caught something
just as dazzling.

Hey, what else have you got?

Blue-throated Barbet.
Blue-throated Barbet.

Oh, that's... God that is stunning!

What a splendid-looking chap.

Every bird's vital statistics
are recorded.

CAMERA CLICKS

He's a star. A pygmy kingfisher
poses for its place in the report,

which George will ultimately
present to the government of Bhutan.

While Bruiser's on down time,

Steve gets called out to something
in the long grass near camp.

Oh, it's big, really big!

That's the tail,

which means the head is just...

there.

Oh, wow.

This is an Indian rock python.

OK, I just need to get
a better grip on him,

I'm a little bit high at the moment
and he can get a bite on me.

There, that's it.

He's not venomous,

but he could put a really
unpleasant bite into you.

It's easily the largest snake
found round here.

There have been specimens of these
that have been found

up to six metres long,

and it's a snake that is
inextricably linked with a tiger.

It's something that a tiger will
actually feed on,

also these big snakes take the same
sort of prey as the tiger do.

Let's let him go.

It's evidence
that the conditions here

are ideal for tigers.

In the north of Bhutan,

Gordon remains unconvinced by tales
of tigers living so high up.

We're heading up further into what
is snow leopard territory,

but I am intrigued to see if we can
find evidence of tigers beyond this.

I would be amazed if there are
tigers living up here.

If they are here, they've adapted
to live at this elevation

because tigers are supposed
to live way, way down there.

While the mules rest,
Gordon explores trails

etched into the mountainside
by generations of nomadic herders.

If tigers are living up here,

they would make use
of these same paths

He searches for three hours.

I haven't seen anything.
The things I'm looking for,

the first thing I've been looking for
is the prey,

what are the tigers
feeding on up here.

But in the absence of that,
looking for their tracks

along this loose, dusty soil.

Tigers, when they're patrolling, they
make these scrapes on the ground,

they urinate against bushes, you can
smell that, they scratch on trees.

There is none of that.

I haven't seen one piece
of evidence that backs up the rumours

that there are tigers up here
and I keep on telling myself

these are rumours
that there are tigers here,

but there are also rumours
in Bhutan that there are yetis.

So I'm beginning
to wonder whether here at all.

It's beginning to look
like a wild goose chase.

But the plight of the tigers
is so desperate,

Gordon won't give up
until he's exhausted all leads.

In the south, the search for tigers
has come to an abrupt halt.

Another heavy rainstorm

is washing away any telltale
footprints or scat.

This is pretty hopeless now.

Down here is just a running stream so
there is absolutely nothing

going to hold there
and unless we were to come across

an area where the tiger had
been within minutes beforehand,

which really isn't going to happen,
our mission is over for today.

So I think we need to head back
to camp, get dry, get the dog dry.

He's looking a bit miserable,
isn't he?

Let's go.

These delays are the last thing
the team needs.

Time is running out for the tiger.

The Chinese medicine market
for tiger bones
and body parts is booming.

As tigers become rarer, the price on
their heads just gets higher.

They are an irresistible
temptation for poachers.

Alan has frequently witnessed
the aftermath of their dirty work.

But seeing these images for the
first time can be deeply shocking.

I wanted to show you some
of the things we have found

in the 10 to 20 years
I have been studying tigers,

and what's still happening right now.

Tigers have just become so valuable
today on the Chinese medicinal market

that people are going after
every individual tiger.

Oh, for God's sake!
What's happened there?

They just killed the tiger
and took its entire skeleton out.

The rest was trashed.

Again, the same, in Russia. Here
they decided to take the whole tiger.

The largest cat in the world.

By every count,
one of the most magnificent species

to ever walk
the face of our earth.

Look what people do to it.

I have to get angry.

This can't happen, this can't go on,

but they're not going to kill every
tiger on my watch

and on the watch
of others who feel so strongly

that this animal has every right
to survive and should survive.

Some of these are so disgusting...

..that I just don't want
to see them.

How anybody could do...

I don't know how you stand it.

I couldn't do this.
I couldn't do this job.

It's hard.

I wish you hadn't shown me those.

George, it stinks, it really does.

They must hope that Bhutan
offers any remaining tigers

a safe place to stay hidden.

Tigers are not easy to find,
not in a natural area.

People think, "If you're not
seeing tigers, why don't you go to
place where you can see tigers?"

Well, frankly, any place where you
can go and see tigers easily

is not the most natural area
for tigers.

This is a truly, wild,
natural landscape for the tiger.

Tigers roam over hundreds of miles,
and avoid humans wherever they can.

If they do live in these thick
forests, they would rarely be seen.

But for the Himalayan tiger corridor
to be successful,

the expedition must discover
a healthy population in Bhutan,

from the southern lowlands
up into the mountains.

At altitude, finding them
is even more of a challenge.

Gordon has been searching
the mountain ridge all day.

He's about to set up camp
when one of the porters
spots something of interest.

Oh, yeah, just down here.

The yak carcass.

Most big cats start
feeding from the rear.

If you look, the front half
is intact and the back half
is almost completely gone.

That might be a big clue
as to what happened to it.

If there is a big cat up here and
there were yaks grazing around here,

what they would do is lurk
on the tree line and wait
for a yak to get close enough.

They'd just charge out,
grab it and then drag it back
in to somewhere like this.

What I'd be looking for on a fresh
kill, is puncture marks on the neck.

And, actually, the hair is quite
badly disturbed around there, but...

There's a deep hole in there.

Actually, there's a very deep hole.

Oh!

Come and have a look.

I've found something here which...

It could really mean that a tiger
took this. A big puncture wound.

It looks maybe a little bit too big
for a leopard.

Often, when they attack, it's only
one tooth that actually punctures.

It's like a bullet hole,
exactly where a tiger would attack.

It would grab onto it and
swing round and grab under the neck.

Quite often the puncture wound
is located behind the ear,

which is exactly where this one is.

The gruesome remains
are an intriguing discovery.

Gordon will rig the surrounding area
with his remote cameras.

He'll return to check them
at the end of the expedition.

Near base camp, Alan's camera traps
have been whirring away for a week.

They've recorded
everything that's walked past.

It's always very, very exciting
looking at these pictures.

It's like going into a candy store
and not being sure of

exactly what kind of candy
is in there.

And hoping your
favourite candy is there.

A big bird of some type.

Oh, a macaque.

Oh, beautiful. Water buffalo.

Lots of animals for a tiger
to feed on.

Just wait for the tiger
to come around the corner.

Oh!

Look at that. That's a beauty.

Drinking water.

Beautiful shot.

It's not a tiger,
but a rare leopard.

We didn't have a tiger this time,
but we have some great pictures.

People don't understand, unless
they've been in other areas where

so much of the animals have been
killed off, how special this is.

In Bhutan, where Buddhist
respect for wildlife is strong,
hunting is rare.

Animals are safer here
than elsewhere.

Civets search for food
under the cover of darkness.

It's the best time for species
like the leopard cat,

and the leopard, to hunt.

There's a good population
of leopards here.

And even rare form of leopard -
a black panther.

But still no tigers.

High up in her tree,
Justine hopes for better luck.

She's scanning the darkness
with a heat-sensing camera.

It will pick out animals in
the cool of the forest night.

I can see something.

It's amazing how it glows.

This is the first mammal
I've seen on a thermal camera.

She switches to her infrared camera
for a more detailed look.

Great.

Great, great, great - it's
a Sambar deer. It's a female.

The Sambar deer is a great find.

It's one of the
tiger's favourite prey.

She's looking nervous.

I guess if you're a Sambar deer,

you'd spend your whole life
being nervous.

There's another deer.

I'm really glad to see these Sambar
deer, because it means that there's
quite a good population around,

which does raise our chances
somewhat of seeing tiger.

Justine will keep her tiger vigil
all night.

At base camp,
everyone is desperate for some rest.

Goodnight, Bruiser. Goodnight.

All except George.

Darkness is when his
favourite creatures appear.

Oh, my goodness.

This is a beautiful moon moth.

And it's a male and you've
got these long hind wing tails.

Absolutely gorgeous.

What a sight to see.

I'll just bend it round,
and you can see how stunning...

Look at that.

Is that not just the prettiest moth
you've ever seen in your life?

That is one of the best things
I've seen so far.

George is also drawn to little
glowing lights in the forest.

There's fireflies all over here,
they're absolutely fantastic, look.

And these aren't, of course, flies.

They are little beetles
and they emit this cold,

greenish glow from a special organ
on the underside of their abdomen.

I do remember a book I had when
I was a kid, saying that you could

read a book if you had enough
fireflies or glow-worms in a jar.

First, he has to catch them.

Oh! Ah!

Don't lose them!

I reckon I've got about
50 fireflies in here,

at least 50.

Well, when you've
got them in the jar...

Oh, wow.

That is just fabulous!

Let me see.

Switch off your light
and see if we can do this.

It's like a little disco show.

Around the world in 80 days.

I think you would ruin your eyesight.

But George's night shift
has not been in vain -

he's proven one thing for sure.

This is a very special place.

It does seem to be incredibly rich,

and it's these armies of small
insects that feed
birds and other animals,

which in turn feed the higher
carnivores, including cats.

I know the word "pristine"
is often used, but in this regard,

I think for this forest,
it really is accurate.

All that's missing from the picture
are the tigers themselves.

If anyone knows how tigers might
survive in these hostile conditions,

it's the yak herders.

Gordon needs to find them.

It's just started snowing.

Just hoping it doesn't get too heavy,
because these paths are so narrow

and the ledges
are really quite steep.

I'm really up against it here.

It's minus five, and Gordon
faces an uncomfortable obstacle.

No way.

There is a bridge there,

but the bridge is long gone.
It's lovely, crystal clear water.

Hey, hey. It's fine, it's fine!

With hours of tough walking ahead,

freezing cold, wet boots
are not an option.

Oh, that's painful.

Oh, that's cold!

So I was going to cross it as fast
as I could, but you can't cross

a river full of slippery boulders
very quickly.

It just got colder and colder
and now my feet are kind of on fire.

I'm getting a little bit worried.

I just want to get to camp.

100 miles downstream, Steve and the
dog team are widening their search.

They're scouring the river banks.

Actually, let's go out to the edge.

Almost immediately,
Bruiser comes to a stop.

Show me, Bruiser.

Ah, here we go.

He just found it
and I can see it now.

Bruiser, step back.

Wow, that's pretty cool.

It's by far the largest scat
Bruiser's found.

He's found some tiger scat. And
this is some Sambar deer, you think?

Yes. That's almost
exclusively hair, isn't it?

You can tell the size, it's not
small. There's a lot of it around.

Look at this here.
There's more here.

This is just absolutely phenomenal.

I can't believe that right here,
a tiger has been

within the last couple of weeks,
just walking down this beach.

I mean, it's incredible.

Well done!

Well done, Bruiser! That's amazing.

It's the evidence the dog team
have been longing to find.
Good job, Bruiser.

Bruiser's rewarded
with extra play time.

And a long cool down.

But Steve doesn't want
to get his hopes up

until Alan has given
his expert opinion.

This looks like Sambar deer.

This is the kind of piece to the
puzzle that you need, and you want.

You want faecal material with
the tiger's favourite prey in it.

That's neat, that's exciting.

This pile of hair
is an amazing find.

It's the first proof

there's a tiger within striking
distance of base camp.

They'll leave the camera traps
running for a few more days.

4,000 metres up, and after
two days relentless trekking,

Gordon and translator, Phup,
reach the yak herders.

Hopefully,
they'll have some answers.

Have you lost any
of your yaks recently?

SPEAKS IN NATIVE TONGUE

A big cat has killed one of his
favourite bulls.

And was it close to the camp?

Other side of the ridge in a forest.

And he says it was attacked by
the big cat and he sees all these

bites all over his throat and his
left shoulder has been smashed off.

He has seen the pugmark. The pugmark
that you saw, how big was it?

If it's that size,
it's definitely a tiger.

How high is that? How many metres?

What he said was 4,300 metres.

It doesn't matter how many times
he's seen a tiger pug mark.

At 4000 metres,
if he's seen one there, he's seen it.

It's incredible, unbelievable that
this man is telling us

that he's found evidence of tigers,
4,000 metres plus.

If the gentleman
wants to come into... Thank you.

Gordon now has a first-hand account,
suggesting at least one
tiger lives on these peaks.

We still need proof of this.

This is anecdotal evidence,

not that I'm doubting what anyone
is saying, but we need evidence.

We need to see a tiger at this
elevation for ourselves,

either with our own eyes,
or with camera traps.

Gordon must plant
his camera traps even higher.

If he can show that tigers
live in these mountains,

it would massively expand the
proposed Himalayan tiger corridor.

It would be a huge boost
to saving them in the wild.

Ten days into the expedition,
they've found a wealth of animals,

which George will
include in his report.

Alan is bringing
in his camera traps.

Everyone piles into the dining tent
to see the results.

Oh! That's beautiful.

Nice big chunk of tiger food,
is what that is.

ALL: Oooh! Very nice,
more tiger prey.

Tigers love these big wild pigs.

Oh, that's very nice.
Two big chunks of tiger food.

Oh! Well, there's no mistaking that.

Female? Male.

Really? Oh, yeah!
LAUGHTER

Oh, yeah, so it is!
Oh, lots of ellies and a baby elly.

Very close to the camera, isn't it?

Amazing. That's a great shot.

But there's only one animal
the team really wants to see.

ALL: Ah!

It sure is.

It's a tiger!

Look at that big boy. Look at it!.
Play it again.

It's what the expedition have
been dreaming of,

hard evidence that
the world's largest cat
is living in these forests.

That is the most fantastic thing
I've ever seen.

It's just absolutely...
What a magnificent animal.

As they continue to watch,
they're in for a surprise.

ALL: Oh!

That is beautiful.

There's not just one,
but two tigers,

walking the trails
a couple of miles from camp.

Oh, that is beautiful.

It's the first time Bhutan's
precious tigers have been filmed.

Man, oh, man!

Do you see that,
just right on that crack?

Oh, look at that. Unbelievable.

They're here, they're healthy,
the forest's healthy.

It's just incredible.

To me, this is as good as it gets.

I would rather see
these kind of great shots

at several different locations,
followed by prey on
the same trail, frankly,

than I would having a moment
seeing a tiger in the forest.

The team now have three images

of one of the rarest animals
on the planet.

It's a fantastic start.

Now they can extend their search
throughout the forests of Bhutan

and begin to work out how many
breeding pairs there are.

Look at that! That is spectacular.

Awesome.

High in the Himalayas,
Gordon is looking for places
to set his remote cameras.

The air is getting thinner.

I just can't breathe.

I feel as if I don't belong here.

You've got hardly any breath.

Every five steps, I need to...

I feel as if I have to stop.

This is downright painful.

My lungs are burning.
My legs are burning.

Man, do I really want to do this?

Jesus.

Altitude sickness is a real danger,
but Gordon summons
his last ounce of will.

At 5,000 metres,
he rigs his final camera.

He has given his all.

From now on, the remote cameras
will be his eyes in the clouds.

He'll recover them
at the end of the expedition,

to see if they bear witness to the
highest living tigers in the world.

Next time:

The team strikes out from base camp.

And their mission
to save the tiger

takes Steve on a dangerous journey
into the unknown.

Down there is where we'll
find some answers about the tiger.

George meets the
king of the jungle...

Look at him!

Absolutely magnificent.

And Alan's master plan
begins to take shape...

Can we save tigers?

Absolutely, we can save tigers.

We will save tigers.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk