All language subtitles for Tiger.Spy.in.the.Jungle.S01E02.1080p.NF.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.x264-qpdb_track3_eng

If you want to
get close to a tiger,
get an elephant.

But these elephants
carry cameras

and with them
they have recorded

the most intimate images
of tigers ever seen.

In the last programme,
they discovered a litter
of four cubs.

We watched as their mother
protected them from enemies.

We saw how she hunted
to provide them with food.

Slowly they started to acquire
the skills they needed
for life in the forest.

But nothing had prepared them
for the day

that a dangerous stranger
arrived at their water hole.

The lives of the cubs
are at risk.

Their mother isn't at the den
and hasn't been seen for days.

A leopard is drinking
from a water hole close by.

Leopards kill tiger cubs.

The cubs are now
eight months old

and they could put up
a real fight,

but a full-grown leopard
is a formidable adversary.

Fortunately, it seems that
all she wanted was a drink.

With the danger past,

the cubs have to deal
with more routine problems.

What, for example,
is the best way
to get out of the den?

Not so difficult, after all.

Now is the time for play.

Keeping cool
is a major preoccupation.

Damp sand in a shady spot
is just the place to do so.

They urinate
directly into the pool.

That conceals their scent
from predators,

a particularly
necessary precaution
when mother is away.

The cubs are still nervous.

They daren't stray
far from the den.

The crew with the
camera-elephants

are becoming concerned
about the mother's safety

and decide to go
in search of her.

Methodically,
they explore her territory

in the centre
of Pench Tiger Reserve.

But it's an area
of around 15 square kilometres

and within it
she could be anywhere.

The elephants can get
to almost any place that
a tigress is likely to reach

and the cameras can be
switched on the moment
an animal is sighted.

But this is not
what they were hoping to find,

another leopard.

A male this time, and
not far from the cubs' den.

The Indian leopard
is notoriously secretive
and rarely seen.

But in Pench,
they far outnumber tigers.

They're a real threat
to any tiger cubs

that have lost the protection
of their mother.

Despite the dangers,
the cubs spend most of the day
out of the den.

Being a foursome
seems to give them confidence.

At this age, the two brothers
and two sisters
get on well together

and rarely squabble.

They've now been without food
for many days

and they must be feeling
very hungry.

And to make matters worse,
their favourite prey
appears nearby.

Cubs as young as this
haven't a hope of catching
such swift prey.

But there's no harm in trying.

It's a chance to try out
some of the techniques

they learnt from watching
their mother.

They're making
all the right moves.

But they haven't got
the patience.

Cubs have to go
for long periods without food,

but if the mother doesn't
return soon, they will
rapidly lose condition.

The next day, the crew hear
alarm calls from deer nearby.

That might mean
there's a tiger around,

so the elephants set off
to investigate.

As they close in on the calls,

the elephant-cams
are switched on remotely.

Trunk-cam,
the first on the scene,
finds the tiger.

But it's not the cub's mother,
it's a male.

If he's a stranger
he might well kill the cubs.

Trunk-cam can film from either
the elephant or on the ground.

And it moves even closer
under its own power.

It's good news.

This is Charger,
the cub's father
and therefore their protector.

He gained his name
from his habit
of charging elephants.

But now
he merely warns them off
with a few growls.

A fearless father is exactly
what the cubs need right now.

He will keep away
any rival males
who might harm them.

But the cubs' problems
are by no means over.

Their mother
has never left them
for as long as this before.

Next day, the search
for her continues.

The elephants
separate and fan out
across her territory.

Then, a breakthrough.

Fresh pugmarks,
not far from her cubs.

Footprints can identify
an individual tiger.

The mahouts
who ride the elephants

say these look like
the cubs' mother's.

They're certainly very fresh.

And there is a female tiger.

She's scent-marking,

which suggests that
this is indeed her territory,

but only a closer view
will confirm her identity.

She is the mother.

Why she left is a mystery.

The mahouts say that
a strange male has been
seen in the reserve

and think that she may have
left to try and lure him
away from the cubs.

The family is reunited.

Although leaving them
was itself a risk,

it was probably the lesser
of two evils.

Licking and grooming
not only helps clean the cubs,

it gives them
much needed reassurance.

The tigress has done
a remarkable job
in raising all four cubs,

but they're still
very much at risk.

Half of all tiger cubs born

die before they are a year old
from one cause or another.

The leopard is back.

Will she risk coming down
for a drink

now that the tigress
is back in residence?

She thinks better of it.

And then we see
that the leopard has
her own family to protect,

two five-month-old cubs.

She leads them away to a less
dangerous part of the forest.

To record the lives
of some of the other
inhabitants of the forest,

the elephants use
other kinds of spy-cams.

Log-cam can be
put on the ground and
left to operate by itself.

It will turn itself on
whenever anything large
moves in front of it.

Many of these cameras
are placed around
the tigress's territory

and carefully positioned.

Spotted deer are
regularly caught
by these candid cameras.

They're one of the favourite
foods of tigers.

With hungry cubs to feed,
the tigress must find
a meal quickly.

But there are no deer nearby.

Now, as she searches for prey,

the cubs often travel
with her.

That way she can visit
distant parts of her territory

where the deer
have not been hunted
for some time,

so are less on their guard.

Spotted deer often share
lookout duties with monkeys.

That suits both parties.

But at the water hole,
it's different.

There, not every monkey
is a friend.

Log-cam reveals that macaques
actually chase deer away.

Even the biggest stags
retreat.

With the deer
having taken fright,

the macaques have to rely on
their own surveillance skills.

A tiger spells danger.

Two tigers are clearly
a terrifying sight.

And five must surely be
every monkey's
worst nightmare.

The spotted deer
hear the commotion.

But the tigress is not
particularly perturbed.

This old teak forest
teems with life.

If she keeps moving,
she'll get lots more chances.

Here there are plenty
to choose from.

She's got one.

Tigers are generally
said to succeed
just one time out of 10.

But this tigress kills
on average every third try.

She needs to be good.

Her cubs have already
got huge appetites,

and by the time they leave her
they will weigh
eight times as much.

Even at this size,

each cub consumes
around two kilos of meat
at a single sitting.

The camera elephants
take a bath every day.

They work for five hours
at a stretch

and then the rest of the day
is their own.

In the sweltering summer,

this daily ritual brings
much needed relief
from the heat.

The cubs also like
a cooling dip.

But the pool by the den
is not large

and when their mother joins in

things can get
a little crowded.

In spite of the heat,

summer is a good time
of year for some of
the forest animals.

These are among the rarest,

sloth bears.

They only venture out
during the day
in the most secluded places,

but spy-cam was there
to record them.

They're feasting
on fallen fruit.

Wild boar are also
partial to fruit.

Most animals fear sloth bears,

but not, apparently,
wild boar.

At least,
not when there's food around.

Although there is
plenty for all,

it's sometimes necessary
for the bears to show
who's boss.

The bear cubs are working out
where they stand
in the pecking order.

They're aggressive creatures
by nature

and will face down
even the biggest predators.

But they must show no fear.

Even so, for the youngsters,

things sometimes get
just too much
and it's time to retreat.

The tigers have moved
from their small
and shrinking bath tub

to a more commodious
bathing pool,

a reservoir built
by the local people

that provides them with water
throughout the year.

It's a great place
to cool down.

The sambar deer
are feeling the heat too.

The wild boar also enjoy
a mud bath,

and combining
a wallow with a meal
just doubles the pleasure.

Mud bathing
is clearly enjoyable,

but it also helps an animal
to get rid of ticks

and other skin parasites.

Tigers are one of the few cats
that actually enjoy swimming

and they usually pick
den sites close to water.

As they travel around their
territories during the summer,

they move
as quickly as possible
through the drier parts

to get to the hunting grounds
that have good bathing pools.

As June comes to an end,
the heat becomes
really hard to bear.

Midday temperatures can reach
45 degrees in the shade.

But after a bathe,
the water evaporating
from the fur

cools the body and
brings enough relief
for the animal to snooze.

When the monsoon
finally arrives

it's not a moment too soon.

As well as bringing
a welcome drop in temperature,

the rains replenish the park's
damns and pools.

There is greenery everywhere.

The giant two-metre webs
of golden orb spiders
hang between the trees.

These are the biggest
spiders' webs in the world.

Their silken guy-ropes
sometimes stretch across
six-metre gaps.

The elephants are bound
to barge through them.

The spiders themselves
have a span as wide
as a human hand.

But they are of no consequence
to an elephant.

Their web is strong enough
to catch a small bird,

but the spiders in fact
feed only on insects.

The cubs are just
over a year old,

and they have an appetite
to match their size.

But there has been
a significant change
in their behaviour.

Their play now includes
mock hunting

with mother
serving as a target.

This is stylised fighting.

It looks dangerously
aggressive,

but the cubs keep their claws
fully sheathed throughout.

Mother never takes part
in their fighting games,

but indulgently
tolerates the cubs'
boisterous behaviour.

They spend
a lot of time travelling.

Five nearly full-sized tigers
on the move together

is a rare sight indeed.

They are a formidable force.

Nothing stays around
to challenge them.

Even though it's now cooler,

they still bathe at
the hottest part of the day.

Water is difficult to resist.

The cubs take no notice
whatever of the elephants,

so it's possible to get
really intimate shots

from the camera
held in the trunk.

Progress through the forest
is slow,

because they linger at almost
every pool or stream.

They're not alone in relishing
the abundance of water.

The langur monkeys
and their babies

seem to have not a care
in the world.

But for some babies,
drinking isn't the most
comfortable of times.

Unlike macaques, langurs are
the friends of spotted deer.

They share the task
of keeping a lookout
for their greatest enemy.

The time has come
for the tigress to make
a determined hunt.

One of her cubs
decides to go with her
to get some personal tuition.

The tigress doesn't need
to look far for a meal.

She is one of the most
productive parts
of her territory.

She hasn't been here
for some time,

so she has more chance of
catching her prey off guard.

The lush undergrowth
gives her plenty of cover.

Her prey
seem quite unconcerned.

But not for long.

The cub has still to learn
that this sort of behaviour

is not what is needed
when mother is trying to hunt.

The langur sends a warning
far and wide.

But still the cub
doesn't calm down.

The cub is now testing
his mother's patience
to the limit.

She warns him
that enough is enough.

The rest of the cubs
are content to wait
until she's caught something.

That shows just how
well-fed they are.

Her prey soon relax.

The pools
are beginning to dry.

Gaur,
the rare wild Indian cattle,

are big enough to push
most others drinkers
out of the way.

Spotted deer are given
their marching orders

by the more dominant
sambar deer.

The mother makes
another start.

But she'll have to get rid
of her over-enthusiastic cub.

This time,
he gets the message.

The cub is beginning
to understand

his mother's
changing demeanour.

Every posture
has a special meaning.

When she has a target
in her sights,

nothing will break
her concentration.

She has taken her prey
completely by surprise.

She brings it down.

It's a sambar deer.

She partially throttles
her victim,

but doesn't kill it.

She will use this one
to give a lesson to her cub.

The mother leaves him
to get on with it.

But he is not quite sure
what to do.

The throttle hold is one of
the most important things
he has to learn

and he's making a good start.

Giving half-killed prey
to a cub like this

seems heart-breakingly cruel

but learning to deal
with live prey is a vital step

on the path to becoming
an independent hunter.

The mother has returned
to find the other cubs.

She can remember
exactly where she left them

and they greet her
with head butts,

a gesture that is used
by many cats, large and small.

The chase took her a long way
from her cubs,

but she knows
the forest so well

that she's able
to lead them directly
back to the kill

by the shortest
possible route.

The cub meanwhile
is making the most
of having the kill to himself.

By the time his brother
and sisters arrive

he's starting to feel
it's his.

The cubs are beginning
now and then

to be aggressive towards
one another,

particularly
when there is food around.

As the newcomers
wait their turn,

they dispel their frustration
with a game of chase.

The cub pulls the carcass
into the shade
of a lantana bush

and things start to calm down.

While the cubs relax,
the elephants leave them

and set off
to look for other tigers.

There are reports that
the cubs' father, Charger,

is back in the neighbourhood.

Trunk-cam spots him first

and discovers that he has
made an extraordinary kill.

The high view
from elephant-back
reveals just what he's eating.

A sloth bear.

Killing a sloth bear shows
just what a strong
individual he is.

Bears are formidable animals

and have even been
known to attack tigers.

The bear must have been
difficult to kill

and plucking it certainly
took some time

for the result
looks like a rug
on the forest floor.

Although Charger has not
gone far away,

he rarely
spends time with his family.

But his presence in
the neighbourhood keeps away

young males
looking for territory
who might attack the cubs.

The male cubs are already
becoming distinguishable
from their sisters

by their more powerful build.

The male on the left
has a broader head
than his sister on the right.

Until now
the cubs have behaved
in a largely similar way.

Eventually, however,
their paths will diverge.

The females will each
take up a territory
close to their mother.

But the males will move
much farther away

to find, and if necessary
fight for, territories
of their own.

For now, however,
brothers and sisters
stick closely together.

They still have
a lot to learn.

Both sexes have to know
how to fight,

the females
to protect themselves
from unwanted advances,

the males
to take or defend a territory.

And siblings make
excellent sparring partners.

It looks violent,
but it's quite disciplined

and no blood is ever drawn.

Fighting adults use exactly
the same moves,

but with claws unsheathed,

and then the results
from bouts like this
can be fatal.

But paradise
doesn't last forever.

There has been
a disturbing report
of a second adult male.

The cubs' play-fighting
may soon need to be
something far more serious.

Then, at the edge
of the cubs' territory,

the strange male is spotted.

He's obviously not used
to seeing elephants.

Tigers may travel
more than 200 kilometres

looking for a place
to establish a territory
of their own.

Such a stranger will kill cubs
if given half a chance.

The cubs are now big enough
to put up a fight,

but having
a strange male around

is nonetheless
a worrying development.

Tigers often use
dried-up riverbeds
as roads through the jungle

and the family
immediately detect

that another tiger has been
using the same path.

The fact that
it had sprayed so high

suggests that
the visitor is a male.

The tigress puckers up
her face

so that the scent passes over
a specially sensitive organ

in her nose which enables her
to analyse the smell.

Spraying enables
all the tigers in the district

to be aware
of one another's presence.

Prominent trees
act as message boards

and an unfamiliar scent
is quickly noticed,

so the family know that
a stranger has arrived.

It's rare to see such
an intense reaction.

The mother overlays
the stranger's scent
with her own

to make it clear
that she's very much
in residence.

In her eagerness to
scent-mark, she gives
the cub a face-full.

Every tree
is scent-marked in turn.

The tigress leads her cubs
up the riverbed

away from the area
as fast as possible

but that is where
the stranger went.

She could be leading them
into danger.

There are scent marks
even here.

With a strange male around,

the elephant crew
check on Charger,
the cubs' father.

He seems in good health,

although quite subdued
for a tiger with
such a reputation.

Then, on his side,
signs that he has been
in a fight.

His right flank shows
puncture marks,

most likely made
by the claws of a tiger.

He also seems
uncharacteristically nervous.

The tigress and the cubs
have moved far
from the riverbed

and now have
other things on their mind.

They have reached
a part of the teak forest

where deer are
particularly abundant.

This open woodland has
some of the highest densities
of prey in India.

The family is fortunate indeed
to have it in their territory.

But with four energetic
cubs to feed,

she really has to hunt
at every opportunity,

otherwise they will start
to lose condition.

The long grass
allows her to get close
very quickly

and without being seen.

As usual,
the cubs are behaving
in a boisterous way

that is bound to catch
the attention of the deer.

They seem to have forgotten
that their mother's
trying to hunt.

But unknowingly,
the cubs are acting
as excellent decoys,

deflecting the
deer's attention
away from their mother.

She still hasn't been seen.

For once, the cubs' games
are a help.

The deer just don't know
how many tigers
there are around.

At last their mother
is within range.

She's got one. It's a sambar.

Time and again
she picks these out.

They're bigger than spotted
deer and therefore make
more of a meal.

She doesn't need
to call her cubs.

They saw what happened and
immediately stopped playing.

She makes
a half-hearted attempt
to conceal the body

to hide it from vultures
and other scavengers.

Clearly
she's intending to leave it.

She must have killed this one
just for her cubs.

The first on the carcass
is one of the females

and she
immediately takes possession.

Once again there is
a chance to practise
what is needed to be a hunter.

The later arrivals
are at a disadvantage.

Finders is keepers.

The tigress strolls away
to take a rest
after all that exertion.

She's proving to be a very
remarkable mother,

able to kill so easily
that she herself doesn't
need to feed

at many of her kills.

Her daughter is behaving
as if she's killing the deer
all over again.

Her sister and brothers
seem content to sit it out,

and she makes sure they
realise whose prize it is.

Opening such a big carcass
is not easy on your own,

so soon she lets
one of her brothers join her.

Rivalry disappears as together
they struggle to cut through
the deer's tough hide.

After a day full of action,
the elephants take a break.

But the next morning
the tigers have disappeared.

It's three days before
the elephants find them again.

They are some distance away
from where they were last seen

and moving very purposefully.

The elephants must travel
fast to keep up,

although that doesn't
prevent them from
snacking on the move.

All the cubs are here.

But there's no sign
of the mother

and it's unusual for them
to move so far without her.

As the elephants
get closer to them,

there seems little to be
concerned about.

The cubs are still
in a playful mood.

The next day breaks
with a deceptive calm.

When the cubs are found,
they're still alone.

They have arrived at
one of the park's dams,

a favourite source
of fresh water
for much of the year.

These dams,
scattered throughout the park,

are invaluable
in the drier months.

Even at this time of year,
tigers find them irresistible.

As usual, the cubs use them
as lavatories,

so concealing the signs
that might reveal

their presence
to another tiger.

With their mother absent,
they are very vulnerable.

They find a toy, a log,

but their play
is rather subdued.

When their mother's
not around,

the cubs behave
very differently.

They're quieter
and far less confident.

They avoid deliberately
drawing attention
to themselves

and usually stay
in the same place.

The fact that
they're still on the move

suggests that
they have been disturbed.

It's three days
since the mother
was last seen.

The elephants begin
another search for her.

Like the tigers,
the wild game in the park
is totally undisturbed

by the presence
of the elephants.

In spite of their great
size, they can be
surprisingly quiet.

The elephants are accepted
as just another harmless
inhabitant of the forest.

But some creatures here
are far from harmless.

A strange male has
been sighted again.

He's a young tiger
who's probably looking
for a territory of his own.

The cubs are not far away,
and they seem to have
picked up the male's scent.

With Charger injured,
the intruder is probably
confident enough

to leave his own mark.

This is a dangerous situation
for the cubs,

for their mother
is nowhere to be seen.

The elephants
set out once again

to see if they can find
the cubs' mother.

At last, they discover her
at one of her old den-sites.

This is very reassuring.

But something seems wrong.

She is unusually subdued.

Then we find out why.

She has a wound in her chest
that is obviously causing her
some distress.

Such a cut could have been
caused by the horns
of her prey

or from a fight
with another tiger.

It's fresh and
obviously a serious injury.

She's in a bad way
and desperately needs rest.

This explains why
she left her cubs alone.

The cubs are still on the move

and they've reached
the dammed river
in the centre of the park.

Cubs rarely wander far
from where their mother
left them,

but, perhaps realising
that they're now very much
on their own,

they seem anxious
to keep moving.

They're still too young to
survive without their mother,

so their future will depend on
her making a quick recovery.

They do everything they can
to avoid being detected.

But it's all in vain.

The strange male has appeared
not far from where
the cubs found scent marks.

This is too close for comfort.

Their only option

is to put as much distance
between them and him
as possible.

The cubs have survived
against the odds,

but now
they're in great danger.

With both parents injured
and a rogue male on the loose,

they will need a miracle
to pull through.

In the next Spy in the Jungle
we will find out
if their luck holds.