Episode 2 Big Cats


Episode 2

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High in the tree tops of Central America....

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..a margay rules the forest.

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Just one of a remarkable family...

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..that has conquered the world.

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One family...

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..40 different faces.

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They thrive in every landscape...

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..from the frozen north...

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..to the driest deserts.

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From the most remote, barely explored places...

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..to the heart of our modern world.

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These are the cats.

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The monsoon wetlands of South Asia...

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..home to an extraordinary cat...

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..one whose entire life revolves around water.

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This is a fishing cat.

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Their unique ability to catch slippery fish

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in these weed-filled ponds

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has allowed them to colonise these vast wetlands.

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Beneath their long outer coat, they have a shorter layer

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of insulating fur that acts like a wet suit

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and they have partially webbed feet.

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They're well adapted to a life aquatic...

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..but, even so, every fishing cat still has to learn how to fish.

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This female has two kittens just a couple of months old.

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KITTEN MEOWS

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Up to now, they've been kept safely away from the water's edge,

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but that's all about to change.

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This is the first time they've seen water.

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KITTEN PURRS

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It's natural to be nervous...

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..but these water babies take to it like a cat to water.

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It's time to show them the real reason they've been brought here.

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Long whiskers detect vibrations from fish moving in the shallows...

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..helping to gauge the exact striking distance.

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Now it's the kittens' turn.

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For now, it's only water plants that need to be afraid.

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This could take some time.

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They'll be back tomorrow for another lesson.

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All over the globe, cats of all shapes and sizes

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have adapted to the challenges

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of the planet's most extreme environments.

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This is the Namib, Southern Africa,

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the oldest desert on Earth.

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Here, there's no surface water for hundreds of miles.

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Despite this, these desert lions thrive amongst the dunes.

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They live in small, isolated prides,

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relying on shared knowledge and experience

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to find food in this hostile landscape.

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Amongst the dunes, three sisters, barely a year old.

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They are alone,

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recently orphaned.

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The youngest, most inexperienced pride in Africa.

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This is the hardest time of the year for the animals of the Namib.

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The desert is at its hottest...

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..and driest.

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Yet it's this hostility that offers the cubs a chance to survive.

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It will mean searching day in, day out.

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They walk twice as far as lions living on

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the savannas of East Africa.

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This is the lifeline they were looking for,

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a victim of the extreme heat,

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a dead oryx.

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These cubs don't have the skills or strength to hunt yet.

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But like all desert lions, when times demand it,

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they will scavenge...

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..even on rotting meat.

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With luck, this strategy

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of scavenging victims of the harsh desert

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will keep the cubs from starvation.

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A kudu,

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a huge antelope,

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and one rarely seen in the desert.

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But this is no victim of the heat.

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This is a lion kill.

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A lioness that's not going to share.

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A close call

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and a vital lesson for the sisters.

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In the desert,

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the biggest danger facing young lions

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comes from adult lions.

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The desert has provided just enough for them to survive.

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Very soon they will be old enough

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and strong enough

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to hunt for themselves.

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Cats have evolved to survive in almost every environment on Earth.

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The thick fur and large padded feet of Canada lynx

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enable them to thrive in the deep snow of the frozen north.

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In the forests of India,

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wonderfully agile clouded leopards

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are at home amongst tangled branches.

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Large claws provide grip

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and a long tail gives them balance.

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On the African plains,

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caracal spring almost effortlessly over the tall savanna grass...

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..using their long, powerful legs.

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Whilst some cats are finely tuned to live in just one environment,

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some have a different strategy.

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They will go wherever new opportunities appear.

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The Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.

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Here, there's a cat that can swap life in the jungle

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to go hunting on a tropical beach.

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Thermal-imaging cameras

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reveal the nightlife on this Pacific shore,

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and it's busy.

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A jaguar, the biggest and most powerful cat in the Americas.

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They're built to take on

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the biggest, most dangerous prey in the jungle...

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..but this female is pregnant.

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Right now, she needs to eat as much as possible

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to provide nourishment for her developing cub.

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Tonight, this beach may provide a very welcome addition to her diet.

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A jaguar's eyes are six times more sensitive to light than our own,

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so, even in the dark, anything that moves catches her attention.

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Around the time of the full moon,

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turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.

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An olive ridley turtle has one-inch thick armour for protection...

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..but, for its size, a jaguar has the strongest jaws of any cat...

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..a bite powerful enough to crack open this rich source of food.

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She is not the only one that benefits -

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other animals clean up the scraps.

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Her visit to the beach couldn't have been timed any better.

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It's the beginning of a seasonal gathering of turtles,

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known locally as the arribada, the arrival.

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Over the next few nights,

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30,000 turtles will come to this beach to nest.

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In fact, she won't eat many.

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But for this expectant mother,

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the meat from a few turtles will make all the difference.

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Soon this opportunity will be over

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and she will return to hunting in the forest...

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..leaving the beach to the thousands of hatchlings

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that emerge and return safely to sea.

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2,500 miles north...

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..the cool and stormy shores of California.

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A very different coastline, where a very different cat

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has found her own way to make her living.

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At home in her den close to the beach...

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..a bobcat.

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Bobcats usually hunt rabbits and small mammals,

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but this female has set her sights rather higher.

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Here, where a freshwater stream meets the sea...

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..gulls flock to drink and wash salt from their feathers.

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It's what she's counting on.

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But it's not going to be easy.

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She'll just have to wait for the gulls to come back.

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To hunt like this takes determination.

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Most end in failure...

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..but she returns, day after day.

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With every attempt, she refines her technique.

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At last...

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..but one gull won't keep her fed for long.

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Fortunately, this beach is never short of chances to hunt.

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There's no doubting her persistence and skill...

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..even if the occasional gull does slip her grip.

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And, remarkably, she's doing all this whilst she's blind in one eye.

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The Sundarbans of India and Bangladesh

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is the world's largest mangrove swamp.

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Unexplored, muddy islands surrounded by the sea...

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..where a legendary big cat rules.

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BIG CAT MAKES BELLOWING GROWLS

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Perhaps the most elusive and least understood.

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The swamp tiger.

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Only at low tide is it possible catch a glimpse

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of what lies within these mysterious mangroves.

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This is when the animals come down to the shore to feed...

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..both hunted...and hunter.

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Low tide also offers a brief chance

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for this male to patrol the shoreline of his island.

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Scent marking is a warning to other tigers to keep off.

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This is a place where a cat must live his entire life

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in tune with the tide.

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With the rising water,

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life retreats back to the depths of the mangroves...

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..and he must follow...

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..disappearing again into these strange swamplands.

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We know almost nothing about these tigers,

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but researchers now believe that as many as 100 of them

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make these remote islands their home.

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The world's most celebrated big cats continue to surprise us,

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but the most surprising cats of all...

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..are the little cats.

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FUNKY MUSIC PLAYS

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Out of the 40 known cat species,

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33 are what scientists call the small cats.

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They are the most secretive and least studied of all the cats.

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In the mountains of Chile,

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a guigna, the smallest cat in all the Americas,

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hunts moths amongst the undergrowth.

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Ocelots are the most common cat in the Costa Rican jungle,

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yet they are rarely seen.

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Their perfectly camouflaged coats

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help them to disappear in an instant.

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African wild cats live scattered all across Africa,

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from Morocco to South Africa,

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one of the most widespread of all cats,

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yet they too are hardly ever seen.

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But now specialist camera technology is giving us

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a new insight into the mysterious lives of these small cats

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in some of the most remote places on Earth.

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The Karoo desert, South Africa.

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A vast landscape dominated by low desert scrub.

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It provides the perfect cover for Africa's smallest cat.

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CAT WAILS

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She waits for the cool of night before heading out to hunt.

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A black-footed cat.

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This little female is known to researchers as Gyra.

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She's tiny, weighing not much more than a kilo,

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200 times lighter than a lion.

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She'd be almost impossible to find,

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but she's being tracked with a radio collar.

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And using surveillance cameras that rival a cat's night vision,

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we can at last reveal her nocturnal pursuits.

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She can walk 20 miles a night in search of food,

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the furthest recorded for any small cat.

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Guided by superb night vision, and responding to the tiniest sounds...

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..anything that moves is a potential meal.

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She'll even eat locusts...

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..but she prefers gerbils.

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Or, if that doesn't work, birds.

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With a wiggle to tuck her legs in,

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she gets as low to the ground as possible.

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Primed like a spring, she can deliver maximum power...

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..to jump.

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She hits her target 60% of the time.

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It's what makes black-footed cats the most lethal hunters

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in the entire cat family.

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And the reason for Gyra's huge appetite

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is that she's raising her own little hunter.

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Even the deadliest cat in Africa can have a softer side.

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Perhaps the most bizarre small cat of all

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lives here...

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..in the heart of Mongolia...

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..one of the most remote and least populated places on Earth.

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After decades of research,

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we are now able to reveal an insight into their hidden lives.

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This is Pallas's cat.

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She's cautious and she has good reason.

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Kittens.

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Four of them.

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Two months old

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and just out of the den.

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They're already becoming a bit of a handful.

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They live in a world of windswept grassland,

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an area three times bigger than the UK,

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but this outcrop of rocks is a safe place to hide the family.

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It's morning and the kittens are hungry,

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but a mother can't hunt with four excitable youngsters tagging along.

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Today, she will have to leave her kittens home alone.

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Out here, in the open, there's nowhere to hide.

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The only thing she can do is to try and blend in.

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A Pallas's cat's ears

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are positioned unusually low on the side of their head

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and that helps them to keep a low profile.

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What's more, these cats can flatten their body to look...

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..like a rock.

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She'll need to hunt all day

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to provide enough for her growing kittens,

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who, meanwhile, are getting up to all sorts of mischief.

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Play will help them to hone their own hunting skills.

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A silver vole finds itself the centre of the kittens' attention.

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The key

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is a silent,

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patient

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approach.

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Alas, on these rocks, a vole has the upper hand.

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Fortunately, the kittens can rely on their mother to provide.

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Pallas's cats actually do very well here

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and there could be as many as 10,000 living in these grasslands...

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..not that it makes them any easier to see.

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In some places, small cats are living secret lives

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right under our noses.

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East of Johannesburg, Africa's biggest industrial complex.

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The size of a town.

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Behind the barbed wire,

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surveillance cameras detect intruders every night.

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A cat has taken over.

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The tierboskat,

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also known as a serval.

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This restricted area is now the home of around 100 of these

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small spotted cats...

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..the densest population anywhere in Africa.

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This secure wasteland is teeming with life.

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It's a place where people rarely venture...

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..and the fences keep out larger predators

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that might be a threat to the servals.

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What's more, the water used to cool the heavy industry

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has helped create lush meadows around these pools

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and that, in turn, has led to an explosion of rats and mice.

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All a serval can eat.

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They're not only attracted by the food,

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but by the one thing that all cats need,

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their own space...

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..where they can be left undisturbed.

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This is a small cat paradise.

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Cats have conquered almost every corner of the planet.

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But now, even in the most remote places,

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they are feeling the impact from our way of life...

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..as we encroach more and more into their world.

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Around the planet, their numbers are decreasing.

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If cats are to survive in our changing world,

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we just need to leave them some space.

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For the Big Cats team,

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it was filming small cats that posed the greatest challenge...

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..none more so than Pallas's cat in the remote grasslands of Mongolia.

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Producer Paul Williams and camerawoman Sue Gibson

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are hoping to be the first team to film this elusive cat

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and they're hoping to find a family with kittens.

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They're joining Gaana and his research team,

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who have been studying the cats here for over a decade.

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As luck would have it,

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the researchers have already seen kittens on their camera traps.

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We've got kittens and a mother,

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which is really exciting cos that was only a few days ago

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that they were caught on the camera trap.

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They stake out the location, hoping that the family is still around.

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-Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

-Do you see?

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Yeah, yeah, yeah! Oh, wow! Wow, wow, wow!

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They're one of the cats we've really been desperate to film

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and to see one for the first time is absolutely incredible.

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That's really special to see.

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I can't believe how lucky we've been.

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While the cats are asleep in their den,

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the team gather rocks to build a hide.

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We're going to leave all the kit here and then back off.

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There might be something new in the environment

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but at least there won't be anyone here.

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Hoping that the behaviour of the cats won't change

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and they will be fine with it.

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The next day, when the mother leaves to go hunting,

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Sue and Paul sneak into position

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while the rest of the team keep a lookout from the hills.

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All they can do now is wait and watch.

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It's not long before the mother returns.

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Sue, can you copy me? Yeah?

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Mother is coming on your right to den.

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OK, copy that. I'll go silent now, thanks.

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I've just filmed my first Pallas's cat.

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They were quite far away, but it's only the first day.

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I wasn't expecting to film anything yet, actually.

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Filming doesn't often start this well

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and, sure enough, their luck doesn't last long.

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This big storm suddenly appeared on the horizon

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and already the wind's really picking up.

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It could be pretty severe

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and I don't want to stick around here very long.

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Exposed on the Mongolian Steppe,

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the winds quickly reach speeds of 50mph.

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The storm is coming up, so we need to tighten up.

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Absolutely insane.

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Phwoar, it is blowing like crazy out there!

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The freak storm has left a trail of destruction.

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Our dining tent is gone...completely.

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It blew our toilet tent to the other side of the mountain.

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I'm glad I wasn't sat on it when that happened!

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While the rest of the team clean up the debris,

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Sue and Gaana head back to the hide.

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It's not looking good.

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I'm wondering whether the storm has moved them on

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because I haven't seen Mum or kittens.

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After 12 hours, there's still been no sign of the cats.

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So we're going to have to get together and have a chat,

0:55:010:55:05

and think about...what to do.

0:55:050:55:07

The cats could have gone anywhere and in any direction.

0:55:130:55:17

With no time to put out more camera traps,

0:55:170:55:20

the team have to search the old-fashioned way.

0:55:200:55:23

It's so difficult finding that little cat in this big landscape.

0:55:230:55:27

Days of searching...

0:55:270:55:28

..turn into weeks.

0:55:330:55:35

No cats again.

0:55:350:55:37

The Pallas's cat is probably one of the most difficult cats to find,

0:55:430:55:47

which is why it's never been filmed before.

0:55:470:55:49

This landscape is vast, these cats are incredibly well camouflaged

0:55:490:55:54

and are very, very good at hiding.

0:55:540:55:56

Finally, Gaana has some good news.

0:56:060:56:09

-You found a den?

-Yeah.

0:56:090:56:10

-Ah, fantastic!

-SUE:

-Hi, Paul, do you copy? Over.

0:56:100:56:13

I've just heard from Gaana that he has found a den.

0:56:130:56:17

Nice one! Great news, great news!

0:56:170:56:19

Sue now has a second chance.

0:56:230:56:26

The new den is high on a hill, sheltered amongst rocks.

0:56:270:56:30

It's the same family and, even better,

0:56:300:56:34

the kittens are now much more active.

0:56:340:56:36

SUE LAUGHS

0:56:360:56:41

It's exactly what the team were hoping to film -

0:56:410:56:44

kittens at play.

0:56:440:56:46

They are the cutest kittens I've ever seen

0:56:500:56:53

and I've filmed quite a few on this series.

0:56:530:56:56

To be that close to little wild bundles of fluff, that was amazing.

0:56:560:57:00

It's a remarkable insight into the life of a remarkable cat.

0:57:020:57:06

Next time, the frontiers of discovery...

0:57:110:57:14

-Just in front of us.

-Ah, that's really special!

0:57:140:57:17

-Holy mackerel!

-..getting closer than ever before...

0:57:170:57:21

There you go!

0:57:210:57:22

..to the secret lives of cats.

0:57:220:57:24

There.

0:57:260:57:27

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