All language subtitles for At the Edge Wild Asia BluRay 1998 1080p BluRay

The snow leopard's kill
is three days old and all but eaten.

Even so, it struggles to save
the last of its precious meat.

The snow leopard is the top predator
in a spare and unforgiving land

It drags what was once a bharal.

Both snow leopard and bharal

live in the world's
greatest mountains, the Himalaya.

Predator and prey endure at the vertical
limit of mammalian life on Earth.

Here, only rock is in abundance.

Every Himalayan life is precarious.

Sixteen thousand feet up,
a lung full of air contains

only half the oxygen of a breath
taken at sea level.

At any time of year, the temperature
can plummet far below freezing.

And the wind never stops

Despite the cold, the sun burns fiercely
through the thin atmosphere.

Despite permanent ice on the peaks,
water iİs scarce.

The Rumbak valley
in İndia's Hemis National Park

is usually only dusted by snow.

It Ties under
the greatest rain shadow on earth.

Clouds from the south dump
all their moisture

as they collide with the mountains.

The air that reaches Rumbak
is dry and cold.

The snow leopard hates to
share its kill.

The cat hunts alone in
the twilight and at night.

Only very rarely does it reveal itself
to its prey or to humans.

Stealth and mystery are
its greatest weapons.

Even for the snow leopard,
a healthy bharal is no easy kill.

Bharal are at home on the shear cliffs

where a predator in pursuit of prey
risks plummeting to its own death

Bharal are one of
six different Himalayan species

of mountain sheep and goat.

They graze all over the mountains,

but the key events in their lives
happen in this vertical landscape.

To extract maximum oxygen
from the thin air,

Bharal blood is rich in red cells.

Short legs reduce heat loss and lower
the centre of gravity.

Bharal hooves are soft
and rubbery for grip.

İts gut generates heat as it digests.
Hollow hair fibres retain that heat.

The bharal's top coat
is perfect camouflage.

Like the Bharal, the snow leopard
is a specialist mountalineer.

It too has short legs.

İt's ears and testicles are drawn
deep iİnto its multi-layered fur coat.

İn extreme cold,
it will wrap itself in its lush tail.

December in Rumbak valley is
the time of the Bharal rut.

For most of the year mature males
live apart from the main herd.

Now they follow the scent of females
who are almost ready to breed.

For two weeks, mating will be
the bharals' obsession.

Female bharal are half the weight
of large males.

They come İnto season only four weeks
after weaning this year's infants.

Penis mouthing is
both threat and promise.

Size is important to Bharal.

Not just penises,
but horns and body mass.

Males move guickly
from display to direct contest.

A winner shows his dominance
by mounting the loser.

A younger male submits by rubbing
his face under the big male's tail.

During the rut,
males study female urine.

Taste and smell tell him
when she's ready to mate.

The dominant male posture
for a female he detects İs ready.

Pursuit begins.

Females always run from their suitors.

More nimble, they head for the cliffs.

It takes a large and skilful male to
trap a female on his own.

By forcing potential mates
to pursue her,

the female usually ensures
her offspring are sired

by the biggest, strongest animals.

Soon the whole herd occupies
the rutting cliffs.

Even if they failed to establish
dominance, males still try to mate.

But to pass on their genes,
they must fight dangerous battles.

A lone female is pursued
by a group of males.

No one male takes control.
And none will back down.

On another part of the cliff,

the dominant male goes unchallenged.

For his partner,
courting is exhausting but safe.

Success at last.

The big male will mate with the female
many times over the next two days.

He will threaten and fight
off any competition.

Four hours on, the brawl over
the lone female continues.

During the rut, Bharal take huge risks.
They neglect to eat and drink.

Mating leaves the herd exhausted
and some injured.

The rut provides an opportunity for
the snow leopard just when it needs İt.

Prey has become scarce with small
animals in hibernation for the winter.

The snow leopard breeding season
in January reguires

adults to hunt less while
they search for mates.

Tired and crippled Bharal will nourish
the cat over this difficult time.

Higher up the valley,

a young Tibetan wolf has been driven
from the pack into which he was born.

He comes upon a pack of three.

Lacking the individual power
of big cats,

wolves must work together
to kill larger prey.

The lone wolf
is desperate to join a pack.

Very carefully,
the outsider introduces himself.

A pack that can
kill large prey with three

has no need of a fourth mouth to feed.

But the young wolf
will continue to shadow the pack.

In the vast Himalaya,

it could be many hungry weeks before
he finds another that might aspect him

Humans have lived in Rumbak
for hundreds of years.

The Himalaya is an intersection
of great cultures and nations.

İt's a terrible place to farm.

Especially in winter,

families depend on the milk
and meat of domestic animals.

Their dung is essential fuel.

The farmers' Bhuddist code demands
they don't kill wild animals.

But that belief is sorely tested.

Domestic stocks are
an easy opportunity for predators.

High above, the wolf pack
has killed a mule.

They make the most of the carcass.

It may be many days and miles
before the pack kills again.

Feeding, the packs' strict
hierarchy is clear.

The dominant wolf shows its status
by raising its tail.

The others submit
by rolling on their backs.

The lone wolf can only watch.
Like the magpie, he is a scavenger.

Well fed, the pack leaves.

The young wolf waits
until they are far away.

Movement of animals between packs
is essential to prevent inbreeding,

but for individuals it's traumatic.

The outsider is justifiably wary.

If the pack finds him on the carcass,
he may be killed.

The young wolf could survive
on small prey and scraps.

But he will never breed
unless he joins a pack.

He will never stop trying.

A Bearded Vulture waits
for the lone wolf to leave.

First to the kill
are yellow billed choughs.

The Bearded vulture is in no hurry.

İt will circle the carcass many times
to ensure the wolf is long gone.

With a wing span over 9 feet
there's no gulck getaway.

In the Himalaya, many species
of bird scavenge meat.

But the bearded vulture has
an advantage over all its competitors.

İt eats bone.

While it will sometimes take flesh,

it prefers the shards scattered
by the wolves.

To digest its hard diet,
the bird's gut is highly acidic.

İt can swallow bones up
to 10 inches long.

Late winter. The streams begin to thaw.

Insect larvae have survived
beneath the ice

where only the Dipper is
tough enough to hunt them.

It has extraordinary strong toes to
hold itself against the current.

Air trapped beneath its plumage protects
the bird against the cold.

İn spring, people plant barley and peas.

They get a single crop each year from
the small parts of the valley floor

they can irrigate by diverting streams.

The crop will be just enough
for each family to feed itself

and its animals through winter.

As the days lengthen,
many animals climb.

The upper slopes are no longer barren.

Bharal devour the
first green grazing of the year.

The females are two thirds of
the way through their pregnancies.

Straight after the rut,
the older male Bharal left the females

and young to form separate herds.

Female Bharal have
thelir own hierarchies.

Dominant females get right
of way on the cliffs

and better access to food.

More plentiful grazing means they now
have the eneragy to fight.

And sometimes, even to play.

On the slopes above, the male
bharal herd faces colder weather.

They test each other in preparation
for the next rut.

But spring battles are less serious
than contests to come.

The male herd grazes on the tough,

less nutritious plants
that grow in the upper valley.

The split from
the main herd ensures large males

don't compete with pregnant females
for the best food.

This spring, a male wolf lingers in
the upper reaches of Rumbak valley.

Wolves prefer to hunt in the open

where they can wear down
their prey over a long chase.

The wolf would struggle to bring down
an adult Bharal male on his own.

But the female and young bharal herd
across the valley is a good prospect.

For the wolf, there is no point
following the bharal onto the cliffs.

He lacks the agility to kill there.

In the Himalaya, a large proportion of
the land is straight up and down.

Whenever threatened,
bharal flee to this vertical world.

But here, the snow leopard
is just as agile as its prey.

A female wolf waited while her
mate tested the bharal herd.

Usually they would hunt together.
But the female rests often.

She is wary and seldom moves
from a small territory.

Her teats are extended.

She has priorities other than hunting.

Her seven pups
were born blind and helpless.

Now they're five weeks old,

they spend most of the day outside the
hole in the ground which is their den.

Wolf pup games help build the strength

and co-ordination they
will reguire for hunting.

And contests teach the pups how to win

and lose the fights
which establish pack hierarchy.

While the pups are out in the open,
the male wolf guards the den.

He knows the attraction of his pups
to eagles or even other wolves.

He patrols a territory with the den
at its centre.

He scents marks continually.

Each morning and evening,
the wolf proclaims his domain.

The den is above the grazing range of
the wolfs favoured prey

Once the Tibetan Argali was a
major source of food for the wolf packs.

Hunting by humans has reduced the Argali
population to a few remnant herds.

Unlike Bharal,
Argali never escape to the cliffs.

Their long legs make them poor climbers
but fast runners.

The Argali is the largest sheep
in the world.

This male's skull and horns weigh
more than 40 pounds.

As much as for meat, they have been shot
for their trophy heads.

Humans not only hunt wild animals,
they also take their food.

In the warmer months,
farmers bring their flocks

to graze on the high pastures

A domestic goat
is irresistible to a predator

The wolf family is always hungry.

The male wolf doesn't even waste
the skin from an old kill.

He hunts for a family of nine.

To ration its consumption,

he stashess the remains of a goat
well away from the pups.

Outside protected areas like Rumbak,
the contest between wolves and people

most often results
in the slaughter of pups.

The pups first tried meat two weeks ago.

They've developed voraciocus appetites.

But they're still too small
to rip meat away from bone.

The male won't feed the pups
close to the den.

Scraps attract vermin and disease.

By licking at their father's mouth,
the pups forces him to deliver.

Like wolves, golden eagles bred in
the early spring

so that they can raise their young when
it is warmer and prey more plentiful.

The eagle chicks are three days old.

They hatched a day apart.

But already the oldest
is clearly in charge.

The golden eagle sledom drinks.
İt gets moisture from flesh.

Unlike mammals,
birds don't suffer at high altitude.

Their more efficient lungs cope easily
with the thin air.

The adult feeds the dominant chick
until it can eat no more.

Only then will it feed its sibling.

Usually, the younger chick dies
from hunger and harassment by its elder.

But so far this spring, prey is
plentiful and both chicks get enough.

Golden Eagles have nested on this ledge
for more than one hundred years.

Perhaps one reason goölden eagles
have kept coming to this place

is it's proximity to
a rich food source.

Himalayan marmots' emerged three weeks
ago from a six-month hibernation.

Marmots are fast breeding rodents.

In the warmer half of the year,

they're an important source of food

for Himalayan carnivores- including
snow leopards and wolves.

Marmot burrows honeycomb a sunny slope.

Their diggings and droppings
encourage grass growth.

Despite the risk from predators,

they spend most of
their days above ground.

Marmots must pack a year's
eating into half that time.

In the first few weeks of spring,
marmots breed.

They mate underground where it's safer,

but hierarchies are established
in contests outside the burrows.

Marmot battles can be serious, but this
match is as much ritual as fight.

An eagle can spot a marmot
more than a mile away.

Defenceless alone,
marmots have a group warning system.

The marmots waste no time
in getting back out on the grass.

The death of one ensures
the temporary safety of the colony.

A cliff-side nest is
without shade all afternoon

the air is a few degrees above freezing,

but direct sunlight can heat a rock

or an eagle chick to more than
a hundred degrees.

With only thin down to protect them,
the eagle chicks could easily die.

Fortunately, an adult eagle
can easily provide shade.

The wolf family stays at the den
only as long as it must.

Settled, they are most
at risk from people.

The pups are now seven weeks old.

Their mother will not suckle them
for much longer.

With the promise of milk,

she entices her brood away
from the den for the last time.

The male will lead his family many miles
before he allows them to rest.

The pups' endless roaming across
the Himalaya has begun.

It's likely that only a few
will survive even there first winter.

Summer the bounty
will last eight short weeks.

The valley floors are irrigated
by snowmelt off the peaks.

But steeper slopes remain dry.

New growth must cope with burning sun
and freezing nights.

Astragalus' fur acts as insulation
in both extremes.

Pods are a green house
around tender new seeds.

Other plants hug the rocks to stay out
of the chilling, drying wind.

For Bharal these are the months
of plenty.

They convert summer growth into fat.

They shed old winter coats
and begin growing new ones.

As snow and ice retreat higher up
the peaks, female Bharal leave the herd.

They seek the caves and crevices of the
most difficult terrain of the valley.

They are about to give birth.

The snow leopard shares
the bharals' time of plenty.

Lone pregnant females
and defenceless infants

are the easiest killing of the year.

In the meadows below,

there's the chance of fresh food
for another ferocious predator.

The tiny Himalayan weasel.

In a treeless place
all birds nest on the ground.

Horned Lark chicks merge
with the new grass of the meadows.

The horned lark is a summer migrant
from lower altitude.

It feeds on insects that appear
during the few weeks of warmth.

Wary of attracting predators,

the adult male stops only long
enough to shovel in food

and clear away
the infants' faecal sacks.

Far above and far safer, the golden
Eagle chicks are now seven weeks old.

That both chicks are still alive
is testament to the bounty

of the marmot colony
and the hunting skills of the adults.

The chicks are now large enough
to be safe from heat and cold.

The parents' visits to
the crowded nest are brief.

The chicks are
still six weeks away from flying

Each chick now eat almost
as much as an adult.

Convenientily, a new source of food
is now available.

Amongst the carnage of the nest, are the
tiny hooves of a new-born Bharal.

Two days after birth, bharal kids
and their mothers rejoin the herd.

On the open slopes,
infants form nursery groups.

Kids demand milk.

In lean years infants may be kicked away
after a few seconds feeding.

This year mothers let
their young suckle often

and long - a sign that food
is plentiful.

If they are to survive,

Bharal kids must guickly learn to be
at home on the cliffs.

Bharal mothers climb with their young.
Twins are rare.

Females invest all their energies
in a single kid.

Like marmots, bharal infants are hunted
from every guarter.

They have only the vigilance
of their mothers for protection.

Mothers always place themselves
between their offspring and the drop.

The infant mother bond
will remain strong

even after the kids are weaned
at five months.

By then, it will be freezing cold.

Food will be scarce.

Despite the best efforts
of their mothers,

half the kids die in their first year.

Autumn the bloom is a distant memory.

Bharal have begun to burn summer fat.

Tough times too for the snow İeopard.

Marmots are in hibernation
under frozen ground.

Bharal are yet to exhaust themselves
at the rut.

Cold feeds the cat's hunger.

İn autumn, most alpine plants disappear
from the surface.

Bharal must burn precious energy
digging for roots.

Near the end of the day, an adult female
moves closer to the cliffs for safety.

She is sick or exhausted.

The snow leopard killed
the young female just before dawn.

The rest of the bharal group
have flared far up the valley.

The cat starts on liver and kidneys,

the richest and most easily
consumable part of its prey.

Within hours, the smell
of blood attracts a Red Fox.

Magpie and Fox know the cat has killed
far more than it can eat at one sitting.

The morning sun finds
the snow leopard too full to eat

and two thirds of
the carcass still remaining.

Snow leopards are seldom
so exposed in daylight.

In direct sun,
they gulickly overheat beneath their fur.

The cat's instinct is to climb into
the crags above the kill and digest.

İt's the moment the magpies
have been waiting for.

The Bearded vulture won't land with the
snow leopard anywhere near the carcass

but its presence is a flag
to other scavengers.

The snow leopard
is torn between protecting

its kill and the cool,
concealing shadows above.

Eventually the instinct to
climb wins out.

The snow leopard is been gone
for only ten minutes.

The scavengers take there chance.

After just half an hour

the Snow Leopard is forced to return

The bharal is still too heavy to shift.

The Snow Leopard's only option
is to stay and eat.

Three days after it died,
the bharal carcass can be dragged.

The snow leopard begins
the exhausting haul

to save the last of its precious meat.

The Himalaya presents
no easy opportunities to the animals

that breathe its thin air.

Soon the Bharal males will once again

have to posture and fight
in order to mate.

In these mountains every step
of every day is a struggle,

only the tough and the lucky enduüre.

Tonight, the snow leopard
will finish its kill.

Then it will disappear into
the shadows - its mystery preserved

until the chance comes to kill again.