Episode 2 Tiger - Spy in the Jungle


Episode 2

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

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But these elephants carry cameras and with them they have recorded

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the most intimate images of tigers ever seen.

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

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We watched as their mother protected them from enemies.

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We saw how she hunted to provide them with food.

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Slowly they started to acquire

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the skills they needed for life in the forest.

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But nothing had prepared them for the day

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that a dangerous stranger arrived at their water hole.

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The lives of the cubs are at risk.

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

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A leopard is drinking from a water hole close by.

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Leopards kill tiger cubs.

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The cubs are now eight months old and they could put up a real fight.

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But a full-grown leopard is a formidable adversary.

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TIGER GROWLS

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

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With the danger passed,

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the cubs have to deal with more routine problems.

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

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Not so difficult, after all.

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Now is the time for play.

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Keeping cool is a major preoccupation.

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

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They urinate directly into the pool.

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That conceals their scent from predators -

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a particularly necessary precaution when mother is away.

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TIGER GROWLS

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The cubs are still nervous.

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They daren't stray far from the den.

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The crew with the camera-elephants

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are becoming concerned about the mother's safety

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and decide to go in search of her.

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Methodically, they explore her territory

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in the centre of Pench Tiger Reserve.

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But it's an area of around ten square miles

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and within it she could be anywhere.

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The elephants can get to almost any place

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that a tigress is likely to reach

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

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But this is not what they were hoping to find -

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another leopard.

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

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The Indian leopard is notoriously secretive and rarely seen.

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But in Pench, they far outnumber tigers.

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They're a real threat to any tiger cubs

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that have lost the protection of their mother.

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

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Being a foursome seems to give them confidence.

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

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and rarely squabble.

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They've now been without food for many days

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and they must be feeling very hungry.

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

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

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But there's no harm in trying.

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

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they learnt from watching their mother.

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They're making all the right moves.

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But they haven't got the patience.

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Cubs have to go for long periods without food,

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but if the mother doesn't return soon

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they will rapidly lose condition.

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

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That might mean there's a tiger around,

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so the elephants set off to investigate.

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As they close in on the calls,

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the elephant-cams are switched on remotely.

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

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

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

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

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And it moves even closer under its own power.

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It's good news.

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

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He gained his name from his habit of charging elephants.

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

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

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

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But the cubs' problems are by no means over.

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

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Next day, the search for her continues.

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The elephants separate and fan out across her territory.

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Then a breakthrough.

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Fresh pug marks, not far from her cubs.

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Footprints can identify an individual tiger.

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The mahouts who ride the elephants

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say these look like the cubs' mother's.

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They're certainly very fresh.

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And there is a female tiger.

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She's scent-marking,

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which suggests that this is indeed her territory,

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but only a closer view will confirm her identity.

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She is the mother.

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Why she left is a mystery.

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

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and think that she may have left

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to try and lure him away from the cubs.

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The family is reunited.

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Although leaving them was itself a risk,

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it was probably the lesser of two evils.

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Licking and grooming not only helps clean the cubs,

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it gives them much needed reassurance.

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

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but they're still very much at risk.

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Half of all tiger cubs born

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

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The leopard is back.

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Will she risk coming down for a drink

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now that the tigress is back in residence?

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She thinks better of it.

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

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two five-month-old cubs.

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

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

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the elephants use other kinds of spy-cams.

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

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

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

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and carefully positioned.

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Spotted deer are regularly caught by these candid cameras.

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They're one of the favourite foods of tigers.

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

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But there are no deer nearby.

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Now, as she searches for prey, the cubs often travel with her.

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That way she can visit distant parts of her territory

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where the deer have not been hunted for some time,

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so are less on their guard.

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Spotted deer often share lookout duties with monkeys.

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That suits both parties.

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But at the water hole, it's different.

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There, not every monkey is a friend.

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Log-cam reveals that macaques actually chase deer away.

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Even the biggest stags retreat.

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BARKING

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With the deer having taken fright,

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the macaques have to rely on their own surveillance skills.

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-MACAQUE BARKS

-A tiger spells danger.

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MACAQUE BARKS

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Two tigers are clearly a terrifying sight.

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MACAQUE BARKS

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

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BARKING CONTINUES

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The spotted deer hear the commotion.

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But the tigress is not particularly perturbed.

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This old teak forest teems with life.

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

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Here there are plenty to choose from.

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She's got one!

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

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But this tigress kills on average every third try.

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She needs to be good.

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Her cubs have already got huge appetites

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

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Even at this size,

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

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The camera elephants take a bath every day.

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They work for five hours at a stretch

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and then the rest of the day is their own.

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In the sweltering summer,

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this daily ritual brings much needed relief from the heat.

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The cubs also like a cooling dip.

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But the pool by the den is not large

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and when their mother joins in things can get a little crowded.

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In spite of the heat

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

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These are among the rarest -

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sloth bears.

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

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but spy-cam was there to record them.

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They're feasting on fallen fruit.

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Wild boar are also partial to fruit.

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Most animals fear sloth bears,

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but not, apparently, wild boar.

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At least, not when there's food around.

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Although there is plenty for all,

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

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BEAR GROWLS

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

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They're aggressive creatures by nature

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and will face down even the biggest predators.

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But they must show no fear.

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Even so, for the youngsters,

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

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The tigers have moved from their small and shrinking bath tub

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to a more commodious bathing pool -

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a reservoir built by the local people

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that provides them with water throughout the year.

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It's a great place to cool down.

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The sambar deer are feeling the heat too.

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The wild boar also enjoy a mud bath,

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

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Mud bathing is clearly enjoyable,

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but it also helps an animal to get rid of ticks

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and other skin parasites.

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The tigress hasn't yet found the perfect spot.

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The cubs opt for shade.

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Tigers are one of the few cats that actually enjoy swimming

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and they usually pick den sites close to water.

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As they travel around their territories during the summer,

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they move as quickly as possible through the drier parts

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

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

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Midday temperatures can reach 45 degrees in the shade.

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But after a bathe, the water evaporating from the fur

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

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When the monsoon finally arrives it's not a moment too soon.

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As well as bringing a welcome drop in temperature,

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the rains replenish the park's dams and pools.

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There is greenery everywhere.

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

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These are the biggest spiders' webs in the world.

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

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The elephants are bound to barge through them.

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

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But they are of no consequence to an elephant.

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Their web is strong enough to catch a small bird,

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but the spiders in fact feed only on insects.

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The cubs are just over a year old

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and they have an appetite to match their size.

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But there has been a significant change in their behaviour.

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Their play now includes mock hunting with mother serving as a target.

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This is stylised fighting.

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It looks dangerously aggressive,

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but the cubs keep their claws fully sheathed throughout.

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Mother never takes part in their fighting games,

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but indulgently tolerates the cubs' boisterous behaviour.

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They spend a lot of time travelling.

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Five nearly full-sized tigers on the move together

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is a rare sight indeed.

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They are a formidable force.

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Nothing stays around to challenge them.

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Even though it's now cooler,

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they still bathe at the hottest part of the day.

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Water is difficult to resist.

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The cubs take no notice whatever of the elephants,

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so it's possible to get really intimate shots

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from the camera held in the trunk.

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Progress through the forest is slow,

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because they linger at almost every pool or stream.

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

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The langur monkeys and their babies

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seem to have not a care in the world.

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

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Unlike macaques, langurs are the friends of spotted deer.

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

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

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

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The rest prefer to take it easy.

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They're now starting to behave as individuals.

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Each making its own decisions about what it should do.

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

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

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She hasn't been here for some time,

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

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The lush undergrowth gives her plenty of cover.

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Her prey seem quite unconcerned.

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-But not for long.

-CUB GROWLS

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The cub has still to learn that this sort of behaviour

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

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DEER BARKS

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LANGUR BARKS

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The langur sends a warning far and wide.

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But still the cub doesn't calm down.

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

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She warns him that enough is enough.

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TIGER GROWLS

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

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That shows just how well fed they are.

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Her prey soon relax.

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The pools are beginning to dry.

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Gaur, the rare wild Indian cattle,

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

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Spotted deer are given their marching orders

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by the more dominant sambar deer.

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The mother makes another start.

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

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This time, he gets the message.

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The cub is beginning to understand his mother's changing demeanour.

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Every posture has a special meaning.

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When she has a target in her sights,

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nothing will break her concentration.

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She has taken her prey completely by surprise.

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She brings it down.

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It's a sambar deer.

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She partially throttles her victim, but doesn't kill it.

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

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The mother leaves him to get on with it.

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But he is not quite sure what to do.

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

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and he's making a good start.

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Giving half-killed prey to a cub like this

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seems heart-breakingly cruel

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but learning to deal with live prey is a vital step

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on the path to becoming an independent hunter.

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The mother has returned to find the other cubs.

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She can remember exactly where she left them

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and they greet her with head butts,

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

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The chase took her a long way from her cubs,

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but she knows the forest so well

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

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by the shortest possible route.

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

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By the time his brother and sisters arrive

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he's starting to feel it's his.

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The cubs are beginning now and then

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to be aggressive towards one another,

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particularly when there is food around.

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As the newcomers wait their turn,

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they dispel their frustration with a game of chase.

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The carcass is too big for one cub to consume on his own

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so eventually they will all get their fill.

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

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and things start to calm down.

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While the cubs relax, the elephants leave them

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and set off to look for other tigers.

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There are reports that the cubs' father, Charger,

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is back in the neighbourhood.

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Trunk-cam spots him first

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and discovers that he has made an extraordinary kill.

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

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A sloth bear.

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

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Bears are formidable animals

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and have even been known to attack tigers.

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The bear must have been difficult to kill

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and plucking it certainly took some time

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

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Although Charger has not gone far away,

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he rarely spends time with his family.

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But his presence in the neighbourhood keeps away

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young males looking for territory who might attack the cubs.

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The male cubs are already becoming distinguishable from their sisters

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by their more powerful build.

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

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

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Eventually, however, their paths will diverge.

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

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But the males will move much farther away

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

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

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They still have a lot to learn.

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Both sexes have to know how to fight,

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the females to protect themselves from unwanted advances,

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the males to take or defend a territory.

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And siblings make excellent sparring partners.

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It looks violent, but it's quite disciplined

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and no blood is ever drawn.

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Fighting adults use exactly the same moves, but with claws unsheathed,

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

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But paradise doesn't last forever.

0:40:070:40:09

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

0:40:090:40:14

The cubs' play-fighting may soon need to be

0:40:140:40:17

something far more serious.

0:40:170:40:19

Then, at the edge of the cubs' territory,

0:40:290:40:31

the strange male is spotted.

0:40:310:40:34

He's obviously not used to seeing elephants.

0:40:340:40:37

Tigers may travel more than 130 miles

0:40:430:40:46

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

0:40:460:40:50

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

0:40:500:40:53

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

0:40:580:41:01

but having a strange male around is nonetheless a worrying development.

0:41:010:41:06

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

0:41:090:41:13

and the family immediately detect

0:41:130:41:15

that another tiger has been using the same path.

0:41:150:41:18

The fact that it has sprayed so high suggests that the visitor is a male.

0:41:180:41:23

The tigress puckers up her face

0:41:250:41:27

so that the scent passes over a specially sensitive organ

0:41:270:41:31

in her nose which enables her to analyse the smell.

0:41:310:41:34

Spraying enables all the tigers in the district

0:41:410:41:44

to be aware of one another's presence.

0:41:440:41:46

Prominent trees act as messageboards

0:41:460:41:49

and an unfamiliar scent is quickly noticed,

0:41:490:41:52

so the family know that a stranger has arrived.

0:41:520:41:55

It's rare to see such an intense reaction.

0:41:570:41:59

The mother overlays the stranger's scent with her own

0:41:590:42:02

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

0:42:020:42:06

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

0:42:110:42:15

Every tree is scent-marked in turn.

0:42:220:42:25

The tigress leads her cubs up the riverbed

0:42:380:42:41

away from the area as fast as possible

0:42:410:42:44

but that is where the stranger went.

0:42:440:42:47

She could be leading them into danger.

0:42:470:42:49

There are scent marks even here.

0:42:530:42:55

With a strange male around,

0:42:590:43:01

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

0:43:010:43:06

He seems in good heath,

0:43:060:43:07

although quite subdued for a tiger with such a reputation.

0:43:070:43:11

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

0:43:110:43:16

His right flank shows puncture marks,

0:43:190:43:22

most likely made by the claws of a tiger.

0:43:220:43:25

He also seems uncharacteristically nervous.

0:43:320:43:36

The tigress and the cubs have moved far from the riverbed

0:43:470:43:51

and now have other things on their mind.

0:43:510:43:53

They have reached a part of the teak forest

0:43:530:43:56

where deer are particularly abundant.

0:43:560:43:59

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

0:44:010:44:06

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

0:44:060:44:10

But with four energetic cubs to feed she really has to hunt

0:44:120:44:16

at every opportunity, otherwise they will start to lose condition.

0:44:160:44:20

The long grass allows her to get close very quickly

0:44:470:44:51

and without being seen.

0:44:510:44:53

As usual the cubs are behaving in a boisterous way

0:44:550:44:58

that is bound to catch the attention of the deer.

0:44:580:45:01

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

0:45:030:45:07

DEER CALL IN ALARM

0:45:170:45:19

But unknowingly the cubs are acting as excellent decoys,

0:45:200:45:25

deflecting the deer's attention away from their mother.

0:45:250:45:28

She still hasn't been seen.

0:45:310:45:33

For once, the cubs' games are a help.

0:45:370:45:40

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

0:45:400:45:43

At last their mother is within range.

0:45:500:45:53

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

0:46:040:46:07

Time and again she picks these out.

0:46:070:46:09

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

0:46:090:46:13

She doesn't need to call her cubs.

0:46:200:46:22

They saw what happened and immediately stopped playing.

0:46:220:46:26

She makes a half-hearted attempt to conceal the body

0:46:320:46:36

to hide it from vultures and other scavengers.

0:46:360:46:39

Clearly she's intending to leave it.

0:46:390:46:42

She must have killed this one just for her cubs.

0:46:520:46:56

The first on the carcass is one of the females

0:47:010:47:04

and she immediately takes possession.

0:47:040:47:07

Once again there is a chance to practise

0:47:070:47:10

what is needed to be a hunter.

0:47:100:47:12

The later arrivals are at a disadvantage.

0:47:150:47:17

Finders is keepers.

0:47:170:47:20

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

0:47:280:47:34

She is proving to be a very remarkable mother,

0:47:340:47:37

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

0:47:370:47:42

at many of her kills.

0:47:420:47:43

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

0:47:560:48:02

Her sister and brothers seem content to sit it out,

0:48:340:48:39

and she makes sure they realise whose prize it is.

0:48:390:48:42

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

0:48:450:48:49

so soon she lets one of her brothers join her.

0:48:490:48:52

Rivalry disappears as together they struggle to cut through

0:49:020:49:06

the deer's tough hide.

0:49:060:49:08

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

0:49:300:49:34

But the next morning the tigers have disappeared.

0:49:360:49:40

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

0:49:440:49:48

They are some distance away from where they were last seen

0:49:520:49:56

and moving very purposefully.

0:49:560:49:59

The elephants must travel fast to keep up,

0:49:590:50:02

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

0:50:020:50:06

All the cubs are here.

0:50:130:50:15

But there's no sign of the mother

0:50:150:50:17

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

0:50:170:50:21

As the elephants get closer to them

0:50:310:50:33

there seems little to be concerned about.

0:50:330:50:36

The cubs are still in a playful mood.

0:50:360:50:39

The next day breaks with a deceptive calm.

0:50:510:50:55

When the cubs are found they're still alone.

0:51:080:51:11

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

0:51:120:51:16

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

0:51:160:51:20

These dams, scattered throughout the park,

0:51:230:51:25

are invaluable in the drier months.

0:51:250:51:28

Even at this time of year tigers find them irresistible.

0:51:280:51:31

As usual, the cubs use them as lavatories, so concealing the signs

0:51:360:51:40

that might reveal their presence to another tiger.

0:51:400:51:43

With their mother absent, they are very vulnerable.

0:51:430:51:46

They find a toy, a log,

0:52:050:52:08

but their play is rather subdued.

0:52:080:52:10

When their mother's not around, the cubs behave very differently.

0:52:170:52:21

They're quieter and far less confident.

0:52:210:52:24

They avoid deliberately drawing attention to themselves

0:52:320:52:36

and usually stay in the same place.

0:52:360:52:38

The fact that they're still on the move

0:52:380:52:40

suggests that they have been disturbed.

0:52:400:52:43

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

0:52:510:52:56

The elephants begin another search for her.

0:53:010:53:04

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

0:53:080:53:13

by the presence of the elephants.

0:53:130:53:16

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

0:53:160:53:20

The elephants are accepted

0:53:260:53:28

as just another harmless inhabitant of the forest.

0:53:280:53:32

But some creatures here are far from harmless.

0:53:340:53:38

A strange male has been sighted again.

0:53:470:53:51

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

0:53:540:53:59

The cubs are not far away

0:54:070:54:10

and they seem to have picked up the male's scent.

0:54:100:54:12

With Charger injured, the intruder is probably confident enough

0:54:170:54:22

to leave his own mark.

0:54:220:54:24

This is a dangerous situation for the cubs,

0:54:270:54:30

for their mother is nowhere to be seen.

0:54:300:54:33

The elephants set out once again

0:54:450:54:47

to see if they can find the cubs' mother.

0:54:470:54:50

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

0:54:580:55:03

This is very reassuring.

0:55:030:55:05

But something seems wrong.

0:55:110:55:13

She is unusually subdued.

0:55:130:55:16

Then we find out why.

0:55:210:55:23

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

0:55:230:55:28

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

0:55:400:55:44

or from a fight with another tiger.

0:55:440:55:46

It's fresh and obviously a serious injury.

0:55:460:55:49

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

0:55:510:55:55

This explains why she left her cubs alone.

0:56:000:56:04

The cubs are still on the move

0:56:060:56:08

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

0:56:080:56:12

Cubs rarely wander far from where their mother left them,

0:56:190:56:23

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

0:56:230:56:27

they seem anxious to keep moving.

0:56:270:56:29

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

0:56:400:56:44

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

0:56:440:56:47

They do everything they can to avoid being detected.

0:56:570:57:01

But it's all in vain.

0:57:060:57:08

The strange male has appeared

0:57:220:57:24

not far from where the cubs found scent marks.

0:57:240:57:27

This is too close for comfort.

0:57:270:57:29

Their only option

0:57:370:57:39

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

0:57:390:57:44

The cubs have survived against the odds.

0:57:540:57:57

But now they're in great danger.

0:57:570:57:59

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

0:58:000:58:05

they will need a miracle to pull through.

0:58:050:58:08

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

0:58:120:58:18

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:58:500:58:53

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0:58:530:58:56

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