All language subtitles for Indias.Wild.Leopards.2020.WEBRip.x264-ION10

SANDESH KADUR: Wild cats
are one of the most diverse

groups of carnivores
on the planet.

And my home, India, has more
species than any other country.

My name is Sandesh Kadur.

And I've made it my life goal
to film them all.

(whispering) That was the most
incredible sighting of a tiger.

But with so much development...

Whoa.

India's wild cats...

Crazy.

...are under serious pressure.

♪ ♪

I've spent hundreds of hours
filming leopards.

But India has two
other feline species

that are even more mysterious.

And they couldn't live
in more remote habitats.

In my rapidly changing country,

I want to find these big cats in
the wild, before it's too late.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: For 25 years,

National Geographic Explorer
Sandesh Kadur

has been traveling
to India's wildest places,

documenting his country's
outstanding wildlife.

♪ ♪

He's developed a reputation
for revealing the lives

of some of the world's
most elusive predators.

♪ ♪

His pioneering camera traps
have allowed him to document

the secret lives of almost
every Indian cat species.

(hiss)

SANDESH: The leopard was the
first big cat I saw in the wild,

and I've been drawn to them
ever since.

Their power, energy
and intelligence

have made them the world's
most successful big cat.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Leopards are found
from the southern tip of Africa

all the way to
the eastern end of Russia,

and from India's
most remote landscapes,

to its busiest cities.

This adaptable big cat
has learnt how to live

in nearly every environment.

♪ ♪

SANDESH: But India has two
mysterious leopard cousins

that are so elusive

that I've yet to really
capture them in the wild.

One of them is the snow leopard.

NARRATOR: Here in
the far north of India,

the snow leopards are
the high-altitude specialists.

No other predator in the world
is better adapted

to living in
the mighty Himalaya,

a region so cold
and inhospitable

it's nicknamed the Third Pole.

Everything about this cat
has evolved perfectly

for its environment.

Wide paws act as snowshoes,

giving them superior grip
on icy terrain,

and it can use
its thick, furry tail,

almost as long as its body,

not only for balance,
but also to keep warm.

A deep nasal cavity warms
the frozen mountain air,

and their large lungs ensure

they can get enough
oxygen to hunt.

Then there's the snow leopard's
distant cousin,

the clouded leopard,

the most ancient feline
of the modern cat world.

This evolutionary link
between big and small cats

couldn't live in
a more different habitat.

Here in the dense jungles
of Northeast India,

the clouded leopard is top cat.

Their large cloud-like
coat patterns and small size

allow them to disappear
in the tangled forests,

and their superb
tree-climbing skills

mean they can travel through
the canopy undetected.

(birds chirping)

♪ ♪

SANDESH: Until recently,
both the clouded leopard

and snow leopard
were so rarely seen

they were considered
virtually impossible to film.

But I don't just want
to find these cats.

I want to get
the best photographs yet

of them in the wild

and help make sure
they are protected.

This is just insane.

My adventure started
when I traveled

up to the remote corners
of Northeast India

to try and document
clouded leopards.

I found this fascination
for them in the local culture.

But this was all built around a
huge trade in their body parts.

It was painful to see.

All I found were dead cats.

Poaching was a big issue here.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Just when Sandesh
had all but given up

on finding a clouded leopard in
the wild, he had a lucky break.

SANDESH: I heard about
these clouded leopard cubs

being rehabilitated
back into the wild,

so I rushed to document
the whole process.

NARRATOR:
After months of searching,

Sandesh finally had
his first encounter

with clouded leopards.

SANDESH: In terms of filming
a new species of cat,

I mean, this was it,
this was the holy grail.

(mewing)

NARRATOR: A female
clouded leopard on average

produces a litter
of two to three cubs.

With their mother gone,

these four-week-old orphans
need round-the-clock care.

Only a handful of people
have ever seen

wild clouded leopard cubs.

And this tiny pair had a team
dedicated to getting them

into the wild
as soon as possible.

These cubs,
just two pounds each,

are vitally important to
the future of their species.

After seven months
of dedicated care,

it's time for the cubs
to start living in the wild.

♪ ♪

SANDESH: This is
a conservation first;

it's never been tried before.

NARRATOR: The cubs' new
enclosure is up on the trees,

giving them a safe refuge
from elephants

and encouraging them
to get used to a life

up in the canopy.

In their new home, the cats
can learn the skills they need

to survive in the wild.

SANDESH: Every moment
I spend with these cubs,

I'm learning something new
about clouded leopards.

(meow)

While most of the small cats
can purr...

(meow)

...only the big cats can roar.

Clouded leopards are midway
between big cats and small cats.

They have their own
unique vocalizations.

(purr)

(squawking)

(snarl)

(meow)

(purr)

It's been about eight months

since the cubs have been
brought into the forest,

and every day they've
been taken around

through the jungle
on long walks.

And they've grown accustomed

to a lot of the sights
and sounds of the jungle.

They're still very much
like kittens, though;

they haven't quite started
to make a kill yet.

Their cat instincts
are slowly being seen.

They're very arboreal,
they love climbing on trees,

especially fallen logs
like this.

(meow)

NARRATOR: Clouded leopards'
short, powerful legs

have a unique adaptation:

they can rotate
their rear ankles

to climb down tree trunks
headfirst.

They can even hang off branches
using only their hind paws,

giving them a leg up
when hunting in the forest.

(meow)

SANDESH: And hopefully
in a few more months

they'll start making their own
kill and living like wild cats.

NARRATOR: After more than
a year in captivity

learning to hunt
and fend for themselves,

the cubs are ready for release.

(growling)

The door to their enclosure
is left open,

allowing the young
clouded leopards

to return to their forest home.

♪ ♪

SANDESH: I would love to return
and film these cats

when they're back in the wild.

NARRATOR: Though Sandesh may
never find these cats again,

he knows he'll be back
to film clouded leopards

as they were meant to live,
wild and free.

A year later,
back home in Bangalore,

Sandesh is busy testing
some new equipment.

If he's going to get
the shots he wants,

he needs more eyes
in the jungle.

So he's built a bespoke
set of camera traps

that will be triggered
to record life in the forest.

But then he gets
some shocking news.

SANDESH: Oh, my.

I can't believe this.

I've just received some horrific
images from Northeast India.

Two clouded leopards have
been killed by poachers.

If I don't get there now,

I might lose my chance to
document them in the wild.

NARRATOR: Wildlife photographer
Sandesh Kadur has just heard

about two clouded leopards
killed in Northeast India.

SANDESH: This isn't the area
where my cats were released.

But it could just as easily
have been my pair.

I've got to get back
to the jungle

and document clouded leopards in
the wild before it's too late.

NARRATOR: This has become

Sandesh's most
important mission.

If he can photograph
clouded leopards in the wild,

he can try to push for greater
conservation measures

in Northeast India.

India has always been famed
for its tigers,

but in the far northeast
of the country

it's the clouded leopard,
the tiger of the treetops,

that is king of the jungle.

SANDESH: If nobody
knows about them,

how can they care about them?

NARRATOR:
After two days traveling,

he's made it up to
clouded leopard country.

Now he just needs to decide

where to place
his camera traps.

SANDESH: If anyone knows
where I might photograph

a clouded leopard, it's
wildlife biologist Priya Singh.

She's been studying wild cats
in this part of India

and has agreed to
share her knowledge.

PRIYA SINGH: In my opinion,
this is one of the best places

in the world
for clouded leopards.

SANDESH: Oh, wow, look at that.

Oh, he's come right up
to the camera,

oh, he's coming right
along this tree trunk.

So how did you come to pick
this spot for your camera trap?

PRIYA: If they are to move
through the forest floor,

they would prefer
open trails like these.

I saw some scrape marks
down there.

But we have very little
information on clouded leopards

and what areas they
prefer to move through.

They do spend a lot of time
up in trees,

but it's really hard to find
places up in trees

to put camera traps.

SANDESH: So what are my chances
of seeing and filming

a clouded leopard out here?

PRIYA: I spent four months here,

and I was in the forest
almost five days of the week,

and I never saw one.

SANDESH: Okay, well,
let's get to work,

set up some camera traps.

♪ ♪

Most cats like to walk along
these unobstructed pathways.

So I'm hoping that this
camera trap does the job for me.

NARRATOR: Two weeks later,

Sandesh heads back into
the jungle to check his traps

and finds a reason
to be optimistic.

♪ ♪

SANDESH: This is the closest
we've been so far

to a clouded leopard--

fresh scat, probably not
more than 24 hours old.

We're getting closer.

Now let's see where
he's gone from here.

NARRATOR: Sandesh's experience
as a tracker

guides him towards
the elusive cat's trail.

SANDESH: No, it looks like
he's taken the ridgeline up.

♪ ♪

(whispering)
Look what we have here.

This is exactly the kind
of tracks and signs

we're looking for.

This scrape mark
is an indication

that one of the cats has
walked along this trail.

NARRATOR: Following the trail
turns up something unexpected.

SANDESH: There's a strong smell
of something that's dead,

and we're just going to track

and see if we can
find the carcass.

It's a barking deer.

Most of it has been eaten up.

I'm not sure if this kill
was made by a clouded leopard,

but if there is
a clouded leopard in the area,

it'll most likely be back.

NARRATOR: This is too good
an opportunity

for Sandesh to miss.

(flies buzzing)

♪ ♪

At night, his camera
finally detects something.

But it's not a clouded leopard.

Dholes, Indian wild dogs,
hunt in packs

and are among the most
successful carnivores

in these forests.

♪ ♪

Sandesh's cameras have detected
many different species,

both at day, and night,

including a rarely seen
sun bear,

and the enigmatic marbled cat.

At around 10 pounds,
a marbled cat looks like

a miniature clouded leopard but
is less than half the weight.

The cameras even capture
a binturong,

a rarely seen small carnivore

that walks like a bear
and acts like a cat.

SANDESH: Oh, my gosh,
got an amazing shot

of a Pallas's squirrel
leaping across the trail.

All the way,
that's a beautiful jump.

NARRATOR: But despite a healthy
mix of potential prey,

he hasn't yet managed to
capture a clouded leopard.

SANDESH: I'm just hoping that

they just come
in the camera trap;

that'd make me very happy.

But so far, nothing.

NARRATOR: As the team
continues up the mountain,

they don't realize
they're about to come across

the most dangerous
predator of all:

poachers.

NARRATOR: Wildlife photographer
Sandesh and his team

have just scared off
poachers in the forest.

He quickly calls the Forest
Department to report them.

SANDESH: Yeah.

The Bushnell we just
recovered over here,

they had thrown it here,

I think while they were running
they must have thrown it down.

We're still missing two SD cards
with content on it.

And they have one rifle,
they have one gun with them.

Okay, fine, we'll wait for
the forest guards to come up.

NARRATOR: Checking footage
on the recovered camera card

reveals something shocking.

SANDESH: Not only did
the poachers steal our cameras,

they were trying
to hide evidence

by taking away the memory cards,

and now we've found that they've
actually killed a monkey.

NARRATOR: In their rush
to escape,

the poachers dropped a bag.

The contents reveal exactly
how they were operating.

SANDESH: Locally made bullets.

These guys were here
trying to hunt.

NARRATOR: Despite hunting
being banned in India,

poaching is a big problem here.

The dense jungles of
Northeast India are home

to some of the most
rarely seen primates,

including the capped langur.

But when he gets down to base,
he hears some news.

The poachers have been
apprehended.

♪ ♪

The risks they took show
there's clearly still a demand

for illegal wildlife parts.

♪ ♪

SANDESH: It's only later
that I realize just how lucky

the clouded leopard was.

♪ ♪

In the morning, a young male
tripped the camera.

Less than an hour later,

the poachers walked up
the same trail.

NARRATOR: With fewer than
10,000 clouded leopards

left in the wild,

it's vital that the areas
they live in are protected.

♪ ♪

With just a week remaining
before he has to travel home,

Sandesh heads deeper into
the jungle to find trails

that are off-grid to even
the most determined poachers.

♪ ♪

It's time to check if the
cameras have captured anything.

SANDESH: Okay, fingers crossed.

♪ ♪

Oh, my god, look at that!

Ohh, I can't believe it.

That's the shot we've
been waiting for.

A clouded leopard on a tree.

It was right here
on this same branch.

Came up and gone like that.

NARRATOR: After months of work,

Sandesh Kadur has just
fulfilled a lifelong mission.

Each of his carefully placed
camera traps has recorded

detailed images of
clouded leopards in the wild.

These images can help prove the
importance of this landscape

for the survival of
these incredible cats,

and hopefully,
get the clouded leopards

the protection they deserve.

With his cat
finally in the bag,

it's time for Sandesh to go
after his final leopard,

the grey ghost
of the mountains:

the snow leopard.

The conditions will test
his methods to the limit.

♪ ♪

SANDESH: Why do snow leopards
have to live

in such an insane habitat?

NARRATOR: National Geographic
Explorer Sandesh Kadur

has managed to capture
intimate shots

of India's smallest and
most rarely seen big cat,

the clouded leopard.

Now, he travels over a thousand
miles northwest to the Himalaya

to track down the snow leopard,

the highest altitude
big carnivore on the planet.

By some estimates there could
as few as 4,000 snow leopards

left in the wild.

They live only in cold,
high-altitude regions.

But as climate changes, their
mountain homes are changing

faster than most
places on Earth.

SANDESH: With warmer summers
and less snowfall,

I want to find out exactly how

these high-altitude felines
are coping.

NARRATOR: But his friends
at the Forest Department

have got urgent news.

The wildlife warden
has just reported

a critically injured
snow leopard.

These cats hunt in one of the
toughest environments on Earth,

testing their skills every day.

They'll go after smaller prey
such as marmots,

but they favor bigger meals

like ibex, urial,
and blue sheep.

One of these mountain goats
will feed a snow leopard

for over a week.

But they are agile, alert
and very hard to catch.

One slip in this unforgiving
terrain can mean death.

But this cat is lucky.

Villagers found it at the base
of a cliff, alive, but barely.

The Forest Department is
racing to provide it

the urgent veterinary attention
it desperately needs.

SANDESH: We have a young male
snow leopard that was found

near the village of Likhsay.

He may have gotten into
a territorial fight.

He's got an injury on his face.

♪ ♪

We've just done an x-ray

and there doesn't seem to be
any sign of breakage.

But obviously the snow leopard
is very weak.

NARRATOR: The vets give
the leopard fluids

and try to keep it comfortable.

SANDESH:
With a little bit of care,

hopefully the snow leopard
will come out of its shock

and we'll be able to release him
back into the wild.

♪ ♪

(speaking native language)

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Sandesh didn't expect
his first encounter

with a snow leopard
to be so intimate.

♪ ♪

He came to understand
how this predator is coping

with a threat facing
all wildlife here.

♪ ♪

The Himalaya is warming
above the global average,

and two thirds of its glaciers
might vanish

by the end of the century.

Sandesh wants to document
what these changes mean

for these cats that have
evolved to thrive here.

To find these felines, he gets
help from a team of locals

who know these mountains
better than anyone.

♪ ♪

SANDESH: Norbu,
our main man here,

has organized our trackers

who are going to be
going out every day

and scanning the hillside
and keeping an eye

on what's going on and report
any snow leopard sightings.

But before I head out, I want to
meet one of the village elders.

In Buddhist culture, stories
about different creatures

are passed down through
the generations.

I learn that the locals here
call the snow leopard "shan."

I need to seek his
blessings and knowledge

in order to meet the shan.

He's just informed us that
they heard the call of the shan

a few days ago in the valley
right behind us.

♪ ♪

(calling)

♪ ♪

(calling)

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: The next morning,

Sandesh gets the news
he's been waiting for.

SANDESH: So we've just got
information of a snow leopard

with two cubs up on the ridge.

So we're going to rush
there right now.

And fingers crossed,
they'll be there. Okay.

NARRATOR: Wildlife photographer
Sandesh just got news

that a female snow leopard
with two cubs

has been spotted in the valley.

SANDESH:
Any information like this

we just cannot take
the risk of letting it go.

Can't leave
a single stone unturned,

especially when it comes
to a snow leopard sighting.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: His diligence
has paid off.

SANDESH: There's a mother
and two cubs,

and they're resting
up high on that hill,

and I feel incredibly fortunate
to be seeing three snow leopards

just on our second day.

It's a good start.

NARRATOR:
Born blind and helpless,

snow leopard cubs grow rapidly

and by three months start
following their mothers.

These two will stay with their
mother for nearly two years,

learning how to survive
in these unforgiving mountains.

SANDESH: She's just gotten up
and going up along that ridge,

I mean, it's incredibly far.

Even though we've been fairly
lucky in seeing snow leopards,

it's been near impossible
to get a close-up shot,

even with
a 1,000-millimeter lens.

So the only way we're going
to capture intimate shots

of snow leopards is by
setting up remote cameras.

NARRATOR: Growing up
in these mountains,

local tracker Norbu developed
a sense for picking out

their movements through
the rocky terrain.

Sandesh relies on this vital
knowledge of how the cats move.

Snow leopards mainly travel
during dawn and dusk.

Able to jump up to 50 feet
in a single stride,

there are few places
they can't reach,

even among these boulders.

But to communicate
with other snow leopards,

they use scrape marks
and scent rocks,

something Norbu
has learned to find.

♪ ♪

Armed with this information,

Sandesh sets up his cameras
across the mountains.

♪ ♪

A few days later,
he gets a surprising call.

A snow leopard has raided
some village livestock.

SANDESH: In the living memory
of the residents of the village,

no snow leopard has ever
entered into the cowshed

and killed livestock.

They've just seen
where the snow leopard

has entered this cowshed from.

There's still some remnants
of snow leopard fur

stuck on the thorny bush,

and this is what they do
to keep snow leopards out,

is have a line of thorns,

but the snow leopard found
a break in the defenses,

came right through and
attacked the calf right here.

And there was a battle between
the mother of the calf

and the snow leopard,

and there is even some
blood stains over here.

But in that whole process,

the snow leopard managed to kill
the calf and then took off.

When I asked Namgail
if he's upset or angry,

he's "Well, it was
bound to happen

at one point or the other,

so there's nothing much
you can do about it."

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Snow leopards consume
their hard-won kills

over several days...

so this cat will likely return.

That gives Sandesh
the perfect opportunity

to document the cat at a kill.

♪ ♪

SANDESH: I'm sitting here in
a hide at 14,000 feet elevation,

and I'm sat here with three
pairs of thermals, head gear,

gloves, several pairs of socks,

and it's still freezing.

I wish I was as adapted to
the cold as the snow leopard.

It has the densest fur
amongst any of the big cats.

Its paws are insulated,
it's got fur between its pads.

NARRATOR: After many hours,

a predator eventually
comes to the kill,

but it's not the one
Sandesh was expecting.

Red foxes are the world's
most widespread canine species,

found across
the Northern Hemisphere.

Like leopards,
they are intelligent

and highly adaptable,

never passing up an opportunity
for a free meal.

But in these mountains,
they need to be alert.

As dusk approaches,
an even bigger canine emerges.

(barking)

Grey wolves are another top
predator here in the Himalaya.

SANDESH: I don't know how this
snow leopard is going to fare

with a wolf in the area.

I doubt it will be able
to defend itself.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: But during the night,
Sandesh's cameras detect

something that's rarely
ever been seen before.

(yelp)

(yelp)

NARRATOR: After staking out
a cow killed by a snow leopard,

Sandesh's nighttime
camera traps have recorded

rarely ever seen behavior

of a snow leopard
chasing off a wolf.

(yelp)

(yelp)

(yelp)

In the age-old conflict
between cats and dogs,

it's clear that the
snow leopard wins that battle,

at least tonight.

(yelp)

The villagers' generosity
means the snow leopard

will have enough food
for well over a week.

♪ ♪

SANDESH: (whispering)
There's a snow leopard

resting on the rock.

He's coming down to the kill.

♪ ♪

This is just incredible.

This is the view
I had always wanted;

my hide barely 200 feet
from a wild snow leopard.

I finally have
my chance to witness

one of India's feline phantoms
up close.

In the wild, snow leopards can
live on average about 12 years,

and I expect as they get older,
like other big cats,

they have to take more risks
to make a kill.

I don't know what pushed this
snow leopard into killing a cow,

if it was hungry or injured
or just being opportunistic,

but I hope the warming
of these mountains

isn't going to push
these magnificent animals

into more contact with people.

NARRATOR: To understand
the bigger picture,

Sandesh retrieves his camera
traps from across the mountains

to see what they reveal.

Over the course of two months,

they've captured an intimate
window of wild Himalayan life.

♪ ♪

And Sandesh's skillfully placed
camera traps have allowed him

to document extraordinary
images of snow leopards.

He's surprised to see that they
regularly use the same paths

as people and livestock,

showing just how frequently
their domains overlap.

Despite this, he's learned
that in this area

locals rarely have any trouble

living alongside
these elusive cats.

(engine starts)

But before leaving, he has
one final old friend to see.

The rescued snow leopard

found injured at
the bottom of the cliff.

His fans have named him Likki,

the snow leopard from
the village of Likhsay.

Having suffered
a near-fatal head injury,

timely help by the locals
and vital veterinary care

saved this cat's life.

♪ ♪

Now fighting fit,

Likki is ready to be released
back into the wild.

(roar)

♪ ♪

The Forest Department
is driving him

to the spot from
where he was rescued.

♪ ♪

SANDESH: He's finally back home
after two months

of intensive care with
the Forest Department.

♪ ♪

Even though these cats
do impact livelihoods,

this snow leopards' life
was saved by people.

This is the challenge
of conserving wild cats

in a country with over
1.3 billion people.

What I've seen on my journey

exploring India's
secret leopards

shows that we need
tolerance and respect

to live alongside
these big cats.

People tend to forget
what they don't see.

My job is to photograph
these felines

and remind people that
these elusive cats exist

and must be protected.

And by doing so, I hope
that these mysterious leopards

continue to roam
these last wild places.