Episode 2

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0:00:09 > 0:00:12High in the tree tops of Central America....

0:00:16 > 0:00:19..a margay rules the forest.

0:00:43 > 0:00:45Just one of a remarkable family...

0:00:50 > 0:00:51..that has conquered the world.

0:01:08 > 0:01:09One family...

0:01:12 > 0:01:14..40 different faces.

0:01:30 > 0:01:32They thrive in every landscape...

0:01:34 > 0:01:36..from the frozen north...

0:01:39 > 0:01:40..to the driest deserts.

0:01:45 > 0:01:49From the most remote, barely explored places...

0:01:57 > 0:02:00..to the heart of our modern world.

0:02:02 > 0:02:05These are the cats.

0:02:30 > 0:02:33The monsoon wetlands of South Asia...

0:02:38 > 0:02:41..home to an extraordinary cat...

0:02:44 > 0:02:50..one whose entire life revolves around water.

0:03:31 > 0:03:33This is a fishing cat.

0:03:47 > 0:03:50Their unique ability to catch slippery fish

0:03:50 > 0:03:52in these weed-filled ponds

0:03:52 > 0:03:55has allowed them to colonise these vast wetlands.

0:04:00 > 0:04:04Beneath their long outer coat, they have a shorter layer

0:04:04 > 0:04:07of insulating fur that acts like a wet suit

0:04:07 > 0:04:10and they have partially webbed feet.

0:04:12 > 0:04:15They're well adapted to a life aquatic...

0:04:18 > 0:04:23..but, even so, every fishing cat still has to learn how to fish.

0:04:30 > 0:04:33This female has two kittens just a couple of months old.

0:04:33 > 0:04:37KITTEN MEOWS

0:04:45 > 0:04:50Up to now, they've been kept safely away from the water's edge,

0:04:50 > 0:04:52but that's all about to change.

0:05:09 > 0:05:12This is the first time they've seen water.

0:05:12 > 0:05:15KITTEN PURRS

0:05:32 > 0:05:35It's natural to be nervous...

0:05:49 > 0:05:54..but these water babies take to it like a cat to water.

0:06:04 > 0:06:08It's time to show them the real reason they've been brought here.

0:06:36 > 0:06:41Long whiskers detect vibrations from fish moving in the shallows...

0:06:44 > 0:06:47..helping to gauge the exact striking distance.

0:06:57 > 0:06:59Now it's the kittens' turn.

0:07:32 > 0:07:35For now, it's only water plants that need to be afraid.

0:07:43 > 0:07:46This could take some time.

0:07:55 > 0:07:58They'll be back tomorrow for another lesson.

0:08:13 > 0:08:17All over the globe, cats of all shapes and sizes

0:08:17 > 0:08:19have adapted to the challenges

0:08:19 > 0:08:22of the planet's most extreme environments.

0:08:40 > 0:08:43This is the Namib, Southern Africa,

0:08:43 > 0:08:46the oldest desert on Earth.

0:08:54 > 0:08:57Here, there's no surface water for hundreds of miles.

0:09:09 > 0:09:13Despite this, these desert lions thrive amongst the dunes.

0:09:32 > 0:09:35They live in small, isolated prides,

0:09:35 > 0:09:39relying on shared knowledge and experience

0:09:39 > 0:09:42to find food in this hostile landscape.

0:09:56 > 0:10:00Amongst the dunes, three sisters, barely a year old.

0:10:11 > 0:10:13They are alone,

0:10:13 > 0:10:15recently orphaned.

0:10:17 > 0:10:20The youngest, most inexperienced pride in Africa.

0:10:50 > 0:10:53This is the hardest time of the year for the animals of the Namib.

0:10:58 > 0:11:00The desert is at its hottest...

0:11:01 > 0:11:03..and driest.

0:11:08 > 0:11:12Yet it's this hostility that offers the cubs a chance to survive.

0:11:18 > 0:11:23It will mean searching day in, day out.

0:11:34 > 0:11:37They walk twice as far as lions living on

0:11:37 > 0:11:39the savannas of East Africa.

0:11:57 > 0:12:00This is the lifeline they were looking for,

0:12:00 > 0:12:03a victim of the extreme heat,

0:12:03 > 0:12:04a dead oryx.

0:12:13 > 0:12:17These cubs don't have the skills or strength to hunt yet.

0:12:23 > 0:12:27But like all desert lions, when times demand it,

0:12:27 > 0:12:28they will scavenge...

0:12:30 > 0:12:32..even on rotting meat.

0:12:48 > 0:12:50With luck, this strategy

0:12:50 > 0:12:53of scavenging victims of the harsh desert

0:12:53 > 0:12:55will keep the cubs from starvation.

0:13:16 > 0:13:18A kudu,

0:13:18 > 0:13:19a huge antelope,

0:13:19 > 0:13:22and one rarely seen in the desert.

0:13:34 > 0:13:36But this is no victim of the heat.

0:13:38 > 0:13:41This is a lion kill.

0:14:02 > 0:14:05A lioness that's not going to share.

0:14:11 > 0:14:13A close call

0:14:13 > 0:14:15and a vital lesson for the sisters.

0:14:19 > 0:14:21In the desert,

0:14:21 > 0:14:23the biggest danger facing young lions

0:14:23 > 0:14:25comes from adult lions.

0:14:42 > 0:14:46The desert has provided just enough for them to survive.

0:14:48 > 0:14:50Very soon they will be old enough

0:14:50 > 0:14:52and strong enough

0:14:52 > 0:14:54to hunt for themselves.

0:15:03 > 0:15:07Cats have evolved to survive in almost every environment on Earth.

0:15:13 > 0:15:16The thick fur and large padded feet of Canada lynx

0:15:16 > 0:15:21enable them to thrive in the deep snow of the frozen north.

0:15:29 > 0:15:31In the forests of India,

0:15:31 > 0:15:34wonderfully agile clouded leopards

0:15:34 > 0:15:36are at home amongst tangled branches.

0:15:38 > 0:15:40Large claws provide grip

0:15:40 > 0:15:42and a long tail gives them balance.

0:15:47 > 0:15:48On the African plains,

0:15:48 > 0:15:53caracal spring almost effortlessly over the tall savanna grass...

0:15:56 > 0:15:58..using their long, powerful legs.

0:16:07 > 0:16:11Whilst some cats are finely tuned to live in just one environment,

0:16:11 > 0:16:14some have a different strategy.

0:16:18 > 0:16:21They will go wherever new opportunities appear.

0:16:33 > 0:16:36The Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.

0:16:39 > 0:16:42Here, there's a cat that can swap life in the jungle

0:16:42 > 0:16:45to go hunting on a tropical beach.

0:16:57 > 0:16:59Thermal-imaging cameras

0:16:59 > 0:17:02reveal the nightlife on this Pacific shore,

0:17:02 > 0:17:04and it's busy.

0:17:23 > 0:17:28A jaguar, the biggest and most powerful cat in the Americas.

0:17:48 > 0:17:49They're built to take on

0:17:49 > 0:17:53the biggest, most dangerous prey in the jungle...

0:17:58 > 0:18:01..but this female is pregnant.

0:18:03 > 0:18:06Right now, she needs to eat as much as possible

0:18:06 > 0:18:09to provide nourishment for her developing cub.

0:18:11 > 0:18:16Tonight, this beach may provide a very welcome addition to her diet.

0:18:20 > 0:18:25A jaguar's eyes are six times more sensitive to light than our own,

0:18:25 > 0:18:31so, even in the dark, anything that moves catches her attention.

0:18:38 > 0:18:40Around the time of the full moon,

0:18:40 > 0:18:43turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.

0:19:33 > 0:19:37An olive ridley turtle has one-inch thick armour for protection...

0:19:48 > 0:19:53..but, for its size, a jaguar has the strongest jaws of any cat...

0:20:04 > 0:20:08..a bite powerful enough to crack open this rich source of food.

0:20:21 > 0:20:24She is not the only one that benefits -

0:20:24 > 0:20:28other animals clean up the scraps.

0:20:35 > 0:20:40Her visit to the beach couldn't have been timed any better.

0:20:52 > 0:20:56It's the beginning of a seasonal gathering of turtles,

0:20:56 > 0:20:59known locally as the arribada, the arrival.

0:21:11 > 0:21:12Over the next few nights,

0:21:12 > 0:21:1630,000 turtles will come to this beach to nest.

0:21:34 > 0:21:36In fact, she won't eat many.

0:21:36 > 0:21:38But for this expectant mother,

0:21:38 > 0:21:42the meat from a few turtles will make all the difference.

0:21:45 > 0:21:48Soon this opportunity will be over

0:21:48 > 0:21:50and she will return to hunting in the forest...

0:21:53 > 0:21:56..leaving the beach to the thousands of hatchlings

0:21:56 > 0:21:59that emerge and return safely to sea.

0:22:18 > 0:22:212,500 miles north...

0:22:26 > 0:22:29..the cool and stormy shores of California.

0:22:35 > 0:22:39A very different coastline, where a very different cat

0:22:39 > 0:22:41has found her own way to make her living.

0:22:54 > 0:22:56At home in her den close to the beach...

0:22:59 > 0:23:00..a bobcat.

0:23:06 > 0:23:10Bobcats usually hunt rabbits and small mammals,

0:23:10 > 0:23:14but this female has set her sights rather higher.

0:23:35 > 0:23:38Here, where a freshwater stream meets the sea...

0:23:42 > 0:23:46..gulls flock to drink and wash salt from their feathers.

0:23:50 > 0:23:53It's what she's counting on.

0:24:13 > 0:24:15But it's not going to be easy.

0:24:31 > 0:24:34She'll just have to wait for the gulls to come back.

0:24:44 > 0:24:47To hunt like this takes determination.

0:25:11 > 0:25:13Most end in failure...

0:25:19 > 0:25:21..but she returns, day after day.

0:25:24 > 0:25:27With every attempt, she refines her technique.

0:25:54 > 0:25:55At last...

0:25:57 > 0:26:00..but one gull won't keep her fed for long.

0:26:10 > 0:26:14Fortunately, this beach is never short of chances to hunt.

0:27:18 > 0:27:22There's no doubting her persistence and skill...

0:27:25 > 0:27:28..even if the occasional gull does slip her grip.

0:27:37 > 0:27:42And, remarkably, she's doing all this whilst she's blind in one eye.

0:27:57 > 0:28:00The Sundarbans of India and Bangladesh

0:28:00 > 0:28:02is the world's largest mangrove swamp.

0:28:12 > 0:28:16Unexplored, muddy islands surrounded by the sea...

0:28:20 > 0:28:22..where a legendary big cat rules.

0:28:27 > 0:28:34BIG CAT MAKES BELLOWING GROWLS

0:28:39 > 0:28:42Perhaps the most elusive and least understood.

0:28:59 > 0:29:00The swamp tiger.

0:29:36 > 0:29:39Only at low tide is it possible catch a glimpse

0:29:39 > 0:29:42of what lies within these mysterious mangroves.

0:30:00 > 0:30:04This is when the animals come down to the shore to feed...

0:30:08 > 0:30:12..both hunted...and hunter.

0:30:20 > 0:30:23Low tide also offers a brief chance

0:30:23 > 0:30:26for this male to patrol the shoreline of his island.

0:30:41 > 0:30:46Scent marking is a warning to other tigers to keep off.

0:30:55 > 0:30:58This is a place where a cat must live his entire life

0:30:58 > 0:31:00in tune with the tide.

0:31:11 > 0:31:13With the rising water,

0:31:13 > 0:31:16life retreats back to the depths of the mangroves...

0:31:21 > 0:31:22..and he must follow...

0:31:25 > 0:31:29..disappearing again into these strange swamplands.

0:31:36 > 0:31:39We know almost nothing about these tigers,

0:31:39 > 0:31:43but researchers now believe that as many as 100 of them

0:31:43 > 0:31:46make these remote islands their home.

0:31:53 > 0:31:58The world's most celebrated big cats continue to surprise us,

0:31:58 > 0:32:01but the most surprising cats of all...

0:32:03 > 0:32:05..are the little cats.

0:32:05 > 0:32:07FUNKY MUSIC PLAYS

0:32:19 > 0:32:22Out of the 40 known cat species,

0:32:22 > 0:32:2633 are what scientists call the small cats.

0:32:33 > 0:32:37They are the most secretive and least studied of all the cats.

0:32:43 > 0:32:45In the mountains of Chile,

0:32:45 > 0:32:48a guigna, the smallest cat in all the Americas,

0:32:48 > 0:32:51hunts moths amongst the undergrowth.

0:32:59 > 0:33:02Ocelots are the most common cat in the Costa Rican jungle,

0:33:02 > 0:33:04yet they are rarely seen.

0:33:04 > 0:33:07Their perfectly camouflaged coats

0:33:07 > 0:33:10help them to disappear in an instant.

0:33:15 > 0:33:19African wild cats live scattered all across Africa,

0:33:19 > 0:33:21from Morocco to South Africa,

0:33:21 > 0:33:23one of the most widespread of all cats,

0:33:23 > 0:33:27yet they too are hardly ever seen.

0:33:33 > 0:33:37But now specialist camera technology is giving us

0:33:37 > 0:33:42a new insight into the mysterious lives of these small cats

0:33:42 > 0:33:46in some of the most remote places on Earth.

0:33:50 > 0:33:53The Karoo desert, South Africa.

0:33:54 > 0:33:58A vast landscape dominated by low desert scrub.

0:34:03 > 0:34:07It provides the perfect cover for Africa's smallest cat.

0:34:11 > 0:34:13CAT WAILS

0:34:27 > 0:34:32She waits for the cool of night before heading out to hunt.

0:34:52 > 0:34:55A black-footed cat.

0:35:03 > 0:35:07This little female is known to researchers as Gyra.

0:35:07 > 0:35:10She's tiny, weighing not much more than a kilo,

0:35:10 > 0:35:13200 times lighter than a lion.

0:35:26 > 0:35:28She'd be almost impossible to find,

0:35:28 > 0:35:31but she's being tracked with a radio collar.

0:35:34 > 0:35:38And using surveillance cameras that rival a cat's night vision,

0:35:38 > 0:35:41we can at last reveal her nocturnal pursuits.

0:35:50 > 0:35:54She can walk 20 miles a night in search of food,

0:35:54 > 0:35:56the furthest recorded for any small cat.

0:36:03 > 0:36:07Guided by superb night vision, and responding to the tiniest sounds...

0:36:10 > 0:36:12..anything that moves is a potential meal.

0:36:16 > 0:36:18She'll even eat locusts...

0:36:20 > 0:36:23..but she prefers gerbils.

0:36:40 > 0:36:44Or, if that doesn't work, birds.

0:37:15 > 0:37:18With a wiggle to tuck her legs in,

0:37:18 > 0:37:20she gets as low to the ground as possible.

0:37:23 > 0:37:28Primed like a spring, she can deliver maximum power...

0:37:28 > 0:37:30..to jump.

0:37:36 > 0:37:38She hits her target 60% of the time.

0:37:40 > 0:37:44It's what makes black-footed cats the most lethal hunters

0:37:44 > 0:37:46in the entire cat family.

0:37:55 > 0:37:59And the reason for Gyra's huge appetite

0:37:59 > 0:38:02is that she's raising her own little hunter.

0:38:21 > 0:38:25Even the deadliest cat in Africa can have a softer side.

0:38:37 > 0:38:41Perhaps the most bizarre small cat of all

0:38:41 > 0:38:42lives here...

0:38:46 > 0:38:47..in the heart of Mongolia...

0:38:51 > 0:38:56..one of the most remote and least populated places on Earth.

0:39:06 > 0:39:08After decades of research,

0:39:08 > 0:39:12we are now able to reveal an insight into their hidden lives.

0:39:46 > 0:39:49This is Pallas's cat.

0:40:06 > 0:40:09She's cautious and she has good reason.

0:40:14 > 0:40:16Kittens.

0:40:18 > 0:40:19Four of them.

0:40:21 > 0:40:23Two months old

0:40:23 > 0:40:26and just out of the den.

0:40:34 > 0:40:36They're already becoming a bit of a handful.

0:41:09 > 0:41:13They live in a world of windswept grassland,

0:41:13 > 0:41:17an area three times bigger than the UK,

0:41:17 > 0:41:22but this outcrop of rocks is a safe place to hide the family.

0:41:27 > 0:41:31It's morning and the kittens are hungry,

0:41:31 > 0:41:35but a mother can't hunt with four excitable youngsters tagging along.

0:41:44 > 0:41:48Today, she will have to leave her kittens home alone.

0:41:56 > 0:42:00Out here, in the open, there's nowhere to hide.

0:42:06 > 0:42:09The only thing she can do is to try and blend in.

0:42:15 > 0:42:17A Pallas's cat's ears

0:42:17 > 0:42:20are positioned unusually low on the side of their head

0:42:20 > 0:42:23and that helps them to keep a low profile.

0:42:38 > 0:42:42What's more, these cats can flatten their body to look...

0:42:42 > 0:42:43..like a rock.

0:43:02 > 0:43:03She'll need to hunt all day

0:43:03 > 0:43:06to provide enough for her growing kittens,

0:43:06 > 0:43:11who, meanwhile, are getting up to all sorts of mischief.

0:43:22 > 0:43:26Play will help them to hone their own hunting skills.

0:43:35 > 0:43:39A silver vole finds itself the centre of the kittens' attention.

0:44:20 > 0:44:21The key

0:44:21 > 0:44:24is a silent,

0:44:24 > 0:44:25patient

0:44:25 > 0:44:27approach.

0:44:32 > 0:44:36Alas, on these rocks, a vole has the upper hand.

0:44:46 > 0:44:50Fortunately, the kittens can rely on their mother to provide.

0:45:07 > 0:45:10Pallas's cats actually do very well here

0:45:10 > 0:45:13and there could be as many as 10,000 living in these grasslands...

0:45:19 > 0:45:22..not that it makes them any easier to see.

0:45:34 > 0:45:37In some places, small cats are living secret lives

0:45:37 > 0:45:39right under our noses.

0:45:46 > 0:45:50East of Johannesburg, Africa's biggest industrial complex.

0:45:58 > 0:46:00The size of a town.

0:46:07 > 0:46:09Behind the barbed wire,

0:46:09 > 0:46:14surveillance cameras detect intruders every night.

0:46:18 > 0:46:20A cat has taken over.

0:46:28 > 0:46:30The tierboskat,

0:46:30 > 0:46:33also known as a serval.

0:46:49 > 0:46:53This restricted area is now the home of around 100 of these

0:46:53 > 0:46:55small spotted cats...

0:46:59 > 0:47:02..the densest population anywhere in Africa.

0:47:31 > 0:47:34This secure wasteland is teeming with life.

0:47:42 > 0:47:45It's a place where people rarely venture...

0:47:48 > 0:47:51..and the fences keep out larger predators

0:47:51 > 0:47:53that might be a threat to the servals.

0:48:11 > 0:48:15What's more, the water used to cool the heavy industry

0:48:15 > 0:48:19has helped create lush meadows around these pools

0:48:19 > 0:48:25and that, in turn, has led to an explosion of rats and mice.

0:48:29 > 0:48:31All a serval can eat.

0:48:36 > 0:48:39They're not only attracted by the food,

0:48:39 > 0:48:43but by the one thing that all cats need,

0:48:43 > 0:48:45their own space...

0:48:48 > 0:48:51..where they can be left undisturbed.

0:48:53 > 0:48:55This is a small cat paradise.

0:49:06 > 0:49:09Cats have conquered almost every corner of the planet.

0:49:27 > 0:49:31But now, even in the most remote places,

0:49:31 > 0:49:35they are feeling the impact from our way of life...

0:49:39 > 0:49:42..as we encroach more and more into their world.

0:49:47 > 0:49:50Around the planet, their numbers are decreasing.

0:49:54 > 0:49:59If cats are to survive in our changing world,

0:49:59 > 0:50:02we just need to leave them some space.

0:50:17 > 0:50:19For the Big Cats team,

0:50:19 > 0:50:23it was filming small cats that posed the greatest challenge...

0:50:27 > 0:50:31..none more so than Pallas's cat in the remote grasslands of Mongolia.

0:50:38 > 0:50:42Producer Paul Williams and camerawoman Sue Gibson

0:50:42 > 0:50:46are hoping to be the first team to film this elusive cat

0:50:46 > 0:50:50and they're hoping to find a family with kittens.

0:50:53 > 0:50:56They're joining Gaana and his research team,

0:50:56 > 0:51:00who have been studying the cats here for over a decade.

0:51:01 > 0:51:02As luck would have it,

0:51:02 > 0:51:05the researchers have already seen kittens on their camera traps.

0:51:05 > 0:51:08We've got kittens and a mother,

0:51:08 > 0:51:12which is really exciting cos that was only a few days ago

0:51:12 > 0:51:14that they were caught on the camera trap.

0:51:18 > 0:51:21They stake out the location, hoping that the family is still around.

0:51:21 > 0:51:24- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! - Do you see?

0:51:24 > 0:51:26Yeah, yeah, yeah! Oh, wow! Wow, wow, wow!

0:51:28 > 0:51:31They're one of the cats we've really been desperate to film

0:51:31 > 0:51:34and to see one for the first time is absolutely incredible.

0:51:36 > 0:51:38That's really special to see.

0:51:38 > 0:51:40I can't believe how lucky we've been.

0:51:44 > 0:51:46While the cats are asleep in their den,

0:51:46 > 0:51:49the team gather rocks to build a hide.

0:51:51 > 0:51:55We're going to leave all the kit here and then back off.

0:51:57 > 0:51:59There might be something new in the environment

0:51:59 > 0:52:00but at least there won't be anyone here.

0:52:00 > 0:52:02Hoping that the behaviour of the cats won't change

0:52:02 > 0:52:04and they will be fine with it.

0:52:06 > 0:52:10The next day, when the mother leaves to go hunting,

0:52:10 > 0:52:13Sue and Paul sneak into position

0:52:13 > 0:52:16while the rest of the team keep a lookout from the hills.

0:52:19 > 0:52:23All they can do now is wait and watch.

0:52:25 > 0:52:28It's not long before the mother returns.

0:52:28 > 0:52:30Sue, can you copy me? Yeah?

0:52:30 > 0:52:33Mother is coming on your right to den.

0:52:33 > 0:52:35OK, copy that. I'll go silent now, thanks.

0:52:44 > 0:52:47I've just filmed my first Pallas's cat.

0:52:49 > 0:52:53They were quite far away, but it's only the first day.

0:52:53 > 0:52:57I wasn't expecting to film anything yet, actually.

0:52:59 > 0:53:02Filming doesn't often start this well

0:53:02 > 0:53:05and, sure enough, their luck doesn't last long.

0:53:07 > 0:53:10This big storm suddenly appeared on the horizon

0:53:10 > 0:53:12and already the wind's really picking up.

0:53:12 > 0:53:13It could be pretty severe

0:53:13 > 0:53:16and I don't want to stick around here very long.

0:53:18 > 0:53:20Exposed on the Mongolian Steppe,

0:53:20 > 0:53:23the winds quickly reach speeds of 50mph.

0:53:28 > 0:53:32The storm is coming up, so we need to tighten up.

0:54:01 > 0:54:03Absolutely insane.

0:54:05 > 0:54:09Phwoar, it is blowing like crazy out there!

0:54:14 > 0:54:17The freak storm has left a trail of destruction.

0:54:17 > 0:54:21Our dining tent is gone...completely.

0:54:24 > 0:54:26It blew our toilet tent to the other side of the mountain.

0:54:26 > 0:54:29I'm glad I wasn't sat on it when that happened!

0:54:33 > 0:54:36While the rest of the team clean up the debris,

0:54:36 > 0:54:38Sue and Gaana head back to the hide.

0:54:43 > 0:54:45It's not looking good.

0:54:46 > 0:54:50I'm wondering whether the storm has moved them on

0:54:50 > 0:54:53because I haven't seen Mum or kittens.

0:54:54 > 0:54:59After 12 hours, there's still been no sign of the cats.

0:55:01 > 0:55:05So we're going to have to get together and have a chat,

0:55:05 > 0:55:07and think about...what to do.

0:55:13 > 0:55:17The cats could have gone anywhere and in any direction.

0:55:17 > 0:55:20With no time to put out more camera traps,

0:55:20 > 0:55:23the team have to search the old-fashioned way.

0:55:23 > 0:55:27It's so difficult finding that little cat in this big landscape.

0:55:27 > 0:55:28Days of searching...

0:55:33 > 0:55:35..turn into weeks.

0:55:35 > 0:55:37No cats again.

0:55:43 > 0:55:47The Pallas's cat is probably one of the most difficult cats to find,

0:55:47 > 0:55:49which is why it's never been filmed before.

0:55:49 > 0:55:54This landscape is vast, these cats are incredibly well camouflaged

0:55:54 > 0:55:56and are very, very good at hiding.

0:56:06 > 0:56:09Finally, Gaana has some good news.

0:56:09 > 0:56:10- You found a den?- Yeah.

0:56:10 > 0:56:13- Ah, fantastic! - SUE:- Hi, Paul, do you copy? Over.

0:56:13 > 0:56:17I've just heard from Gaana that he has found a den.

0:56:17 > 0:56:19Nice one! Great news, great news!

0:56:23 > 0:56:26Sue now has a second chance.

0:56:27 > 0:56:30The new den is high on a hill, sheltered amongst rocks.

0:56:30 > 0:56:34It's the same family and, even better,

0:56:34 > 0:56:36the kittens are now much more active.

0:56:36 > 0:56:41SUE LAUGHS

0:56:41 > 0:56:44It's exactly what the team were hoping to film -

0:56:44 > 0:56:46kittens at play.

0:56:50 > 0:56:53They are the cutest kittens I've ever seen

0:56:53 > 0:56:56and I've filmed quite a few on this series.

0:56:56 > 0:57:00To be that close to little wild bundles of fluff, that was amazing.

0:57:02 > 0:57:06It's a remarkable insight into the life of a remarkable cat.

0:57:11 > 0:57:14Next time, the frontiers of discovery...

0:57:14 > 0:57:17- Just in front of us. - Ah, that's really special!

0:57:17 > 0:57:21- Holy mackerel! - ..getting closer than ever before...

0:57:21 > 0:57:22There you go!

0:57:22 > 0:57:24..to the secret lives of cats.

0:57:26 > 0:57:27There.