0:00:05 > 0:00:09An international team of explorers,
0:00:09 > 0:00:16scientists and filmmakers is on a critical mission to save tigers.
0:00:16 > 0:00:17THUNDER CLAPS
0:00:18 > 0:00:23Revered and feared, the majestic tiger has been hunted to the brink of extinction.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35But the mysterious Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan may hold new hope.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38What we find out here could be essential for the survival of the species.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43The expedition has found tigers in the tropical south.
0:00:43 > 0:00:50Now, the search continues into the mountains, where science says tigers shouldn't exist.
0:00:50 > 0:00:51We have to look everywhere.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55We have to search everything. That's our mission.
0:00:55 > 0:01:01As the team take on the mighty Himalayas, they will face their toughest challenges yet.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Predators enter camp.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05We've got a cat! Gee! Oh, we've got a cat.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08- Oh!- Food supplies are ruined.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10I've suddenly become a vegetarian.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14And they are stalked by big cats.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17And I don't know where the hell I am.
0:01:17 > 0:01:23What they discover in the mountains could change the fate of tigers forever.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Bhutan is a little-known Himalayan country.
0:02:01 > 0:02:07From its border with India, the land rises 7,000 metres into the highest mountain range on earth.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13For three weeks, the expedition has been based in the tropical south.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Now they're packing up jungle base camp.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21The final and most crucial phase of the expedition has begun.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26A small team is travelling into the high Himalayas
0:02:26 > 0:02:32to investigate rumours that tigers are living at extreme altitudes.
0:02:32 > 0:02:40Gordon Buchanan is a wildlife cameraman, with 10 years' experience filming big cats.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45He's returning to these mountains to check the camera traps he set at the start of the expedition.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47All ready to go.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Good luck.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53It's quite exciting because all this time that I've been at base camp,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57the camera traps that I laid up in the Himalayas a good while back,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00they've been clicking away and recording images up there.
0:03:00 > 0:03:06With Gordon is Oxford University biologist Dr George McGavin.
0:03:06 > 0:03:12He will be carrying out a health check of the forest, to see if it's rich enough to support big cats.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20The cooler, higher altitude will have a completely different fauna.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Totally uncharted, unknown in terms of its animals and plants.
0:03:24 > 0:03:31These mountains are the missing piece of a puzzle that might save tigers from extinction in the wild.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Tigers used to range across all of Asia.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Only small pockets remain.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41But there is a master plan
0:03:41 > 0:03:47to link isolated tiger populations in the last wild landscape along the foothills of the Himalayas.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53No-one knows how many tigers there are in Bhutan.
0:03:53 > 0:03:59The vast tiger corridor will only be effective if evidence of tigers can be found.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Not just in its southern jungles, but in the mountains, too.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Time is not on their side.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13Tigers could go extinct over the next one or two decades.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17Literally, tigers are dying as we speak.
0:04:17 > 0:04:24The inspiration behind this master plan to save tigers is big cat expert Dr Alan Rabinowitz.
0:04:24 > 0:04:31The Himalayan corridor, by its nature, by its name, is a very mountainous region.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36Its survival will depend on whether or not
0:04:36 > 0:04:40tigers can live and move through some of these high mountain ranges.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46The team has just two weeks to find that vital evidence.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54Gordon and George's new base camp is 3km higher than their last one.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04With the help of local herders,
0:05:04 > 0:05:09this expedition will be the first from the outside world to explore this remote region.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15There are no roads here.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18So the expedition's kit is arriving by pony train.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27Gordon's prepared for anything. He's brought an arsenal of high-tech cameras.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32If we're going to be successful up here, we have to throw everything we've got at it.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35So we've got the thermal camera, we've got the infra-red camera,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37we've got the big long lens and the camera traps.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Because for Alan's idea of the tiger corridor to work,
0:05:40 > 0:05:45we not only have to find tigers down in the south, but we have to find tigers throughout Bhutan.
0:05:45 > 0:05:52Explorer Steve Backshall is the third and final member of the mountain team.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56He is five days' walk to the northeast of Gordon and George's mountain camp.
0:05:59 > 0:06:06Steve's trekking up to the Tibetan border, to a remote peak where tigers are rumoured to roam.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11Local people call it Gang Chen Ta - Tiger Mountain.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21As far as knowledge of tigers go, this part of the Himalaya hasn't been explored by anybody.
0:06:21 > 0:06:26So any information we can find up here is going to be massively valuable.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31Steve has tracked deadly predators across every continent.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Now he's on the trail of tigers.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38His field skills will help him discover whether legends of tigers
0:06:38 > 0:06:43living at high altitude in the Himalayas are true.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Fact and fiction can become blurred at these extreme altitudes.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Just saw quite a large shape moving into these trees.
0:06:53 > 0:06:59I'm not 100% sure what it is, so going to just move quite quietly.
0:06:59 > 0:07:07Bhutan's mysterious mountains are supposed to be home to a huge hairy creature called the Yeti.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Oh, it's a yak.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20There are some wild yak left in the Himalaya. There are not many.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21Most of them are domesticated,
0:07:21 > 0:07:26and just allowed to roam free and graze like this one here.
0:07:26 > 0:07:33Yak usually occur too high to be tiger prey. I've never heard of it happening.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35But it could.
0:07:36 > 0:07:42A male tiger needs to eat close to Steve's body weight in fresh meat every week.
0:07:42 > 0:07:48The best way to track down an elusive tiger is to first find its prey.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52On this main track that we've been walking on,
0:07:52 > 0:07:56all of the tracks that are left behind
0:07:56 > 0:08:00are from the shod hooves of horses and donkeys.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05This here, this kind of chute running down the hillside is very, very steep,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09and it's not made by domestic animals.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13This is definitely coming from wild animals.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18So there you can see a very definite cloven hoof.
0:08:18 > 0:08:24Slightly splayed because it's going uphill on a soft surface,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27but that is from a sambar deer.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32It's the largest deer found round here, and the favourite prey of the tiger.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37So even though we haven't actually seen any of these animals yet they're definitely here,
0:08:37 > 0:08:42and it's really, really good news for us because this is exactly the kind of large prey that tigers need.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47I mean, they'd need to eat something the size of a sambar deer probably at least once a week.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58Before it gets dark, Gordon and George head off to get a feel for the forest around camp.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03BIRD CALLS
0:09:03 > 0:09:08The altitude will make exploring here a physical challenge.
0:09:10 > 0:09:16We've just moved from the tropical forest at low altitude up to 10,000 feet in an hour,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19and you feel a bit breathless.
0:09:19 > 0:09:25So, I'm not going to be racing about after insects for a day or two.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Well, a day.
0:09:27 > 0:09:33George will perform a rapid health check of this forest by surveying the smaller animals that live here.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38It's early spring, so it should be full of life.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Absolutely stunning.
0:09:41 > 0:09:42FAINT PECKING
0:09:42 > 0:09:44A woodpecker.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52I reckon it will be very hard to see anything in this.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55I reckon we'll have to have a lot of luck on our side.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00Cos even if you're very careful, you make just too much noise.
0:10:00 > 0:10:01TWIGS SNAP
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Gordon's exploring the perimeter of camp.
0:10:09 > 0:10:15Just off the track, a huge scat.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19This is probably the kind of upper end of a leopard scat,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22kind of lower end of a tiger scat. It could be either.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24But it is definitely from a big cat.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29And we are... Camp is just on the other side of the trees there.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31200 yards away.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Wow.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38I always think, where a cat walks once, it's likely to walk again.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43Amazing that we've just arrived and we're finding signs of big cats right beside camp.
0:10:43 > 0:10:49There's no way of telling if they're the droppings of a tiger or a leopard.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52It's a promising lead for the expedition,
0:10:52 > 0:10:57but signs of any big cat prowling so close is a serious worry for the herders.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01They round up their animals and light fires.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06One domestic animal like this would be an easy meal.
0:11:06 > 0:11:1025 may tempt the predator even closer.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16That's a very smart idea to have them all tied up to a rope here,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19where they can have an eye on them,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22than having them all around the edge here. Cos that's a risk.
0:11:22 > 0:11:28And they are now very concerned about the thought that they might lose one of their animals.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Big cats usually avoid humans.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40But hungry tigers and leopards WILL eat people.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44They ambush their prey, ideally in the pitch dark.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Everyone must be on their guard.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57If a big cat does prowl close to camp,
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Gordon should spot it, using night vision or thermal imaging gear,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04which picks up body heat.
0:12:10 > 0:12:17After five cold hours, George sees something unfamiliar in the darkness.
0:12:19 > 0:12:26I just walked out and I saw eyeshine on some animal over here, but it was moving in an odd way.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30It was as if it was flying, but not.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33It is 100% big cat.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35It had a long tail.
0:12:35 > 0:12:42The thermal camera picks up the ponies and a small hot-spot in the trees behind them.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Gordon's suspects it's a leopard.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46But he needs confirmation.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48Right, do you know what I'm going to do?
0:12:48 > 0:12:52And I think I have to do this alone, is try and go up and intercept the leopard.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54He's not going to come down. I'm not going to put him off.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58But if I can go ahead of him, I might get some shots of him on this camera.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02George will stay in camp with the thermal camera,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05and warn Gordon if the leopard appears.
0:13:16 > 0:13:23He looks very alone there. A little white figure.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26(It's behind you!)
0:13:30 > 0:13:32That's the dog there.
0:13:32 > 0:13:33DOGS BARK
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Dogs have seen someone or heard something.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40It'll take more than a little dog like that to put a leopard off.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44One of the favourite things that leopards like to eat are dogs.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49I wonder, I wonder, I wonder.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54You know, I'm convinced that that leopard is still there.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59Gordon, there seems to be a very, very faint white spot
0:13:59 > 0:14:02just up from you to your left.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Towards me or away from me?
0:14:05 > 0:14:07If you spin round,
0:14:07 > 0:14:12there's a very, very tiny white spot
0:14:12 > 0:14:14just up the hill a bit. Over.
0:14:19 > 0:14:25OK, Gordon the thing that I could see which is a white spot ran or moved very quickly
0:14:25 > 0:14:31to the right and then back again to the left, and I think it was a smaller animal on a tree branch.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34OK, I'm going to pull out of here.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37I shall see you in a minute.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41If it was a leopard Gordon saw, it seems to have moved off.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45But he's barely back in camp when the herders' dogs
0:14:45 > 0:14:50pick up something the team's high-tech cameras have not.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52The ponies sense it, too.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Some have broken their tethers and have strayed close to the tree line.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05There's a distinctive shape on the thermal camera.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09We've got a cat. Gee. Oh, we've got...
0:15:09 > 0:15:12a cat following one of the ponies.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16It looks like a leopard. It looks like a leopard.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19The ponies that we're using to help us with our equipment,
0:15:19 > 0:15:24they just go off and they start foraging in the trees close by.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Unbelievable.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Unbelievable. It's still coming, it's still coming.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37We are right in the middle of camp.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40This is the first night here up in the mountains and we have a big cat.
0:15:43 > 0:15:44Look at that.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Just absolutely bold as brass.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54It's not as thick-set as a tiger.
0:15:57 > 0:16:04You know, these cats living up here will not be that used to seeing horses,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07and this one's just taking full advantage of it.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Oh, I've just lost him. No, I've lost it.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16There's nowhere in the world that you can just show up,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20drop out of a helicopter and see leopards. Nowhere.
0:16:23 > 0:16:29Has this night been a one-off or are Bhutan's mountains a refuge for other rare cats?
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Finding leopards at this altitude
0:16:37 > 0:16:40is no guarantee that tigers also exist here.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Steve is trekking towards Tiger Mountain,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50along paths made by generations of remote Himalayan tribes.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56He's not finding the big prey he'd hoped for.
0:16:56 > 0:17:03Just caught a flash of golden colour, and having taken a few minutes just to look around me,
0:17:03 > 0:17:09I've seen that this hillside is absolutely covered with marmots.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Marmots are very good at taking care of themselves.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19If one of them senses the presence of a predator, they'll let out a big alarm call like a whistle,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23and all of them will just dive for burrows instantly.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27Leopards will eat marmots, but they're probably too small to be tiger prey.
0:17:32 > 0:17:33Ah, there they go.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Two males letting off steam.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Almost like all-in wrestlers with each other.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48I guess because now is a time of plenty,
0:17:48 > 0:17:54and marmots don't have to worry so much about laying down fat reserves and gathering stuff for hibernation,
0:17:54 > 0:17:55they're just letting off steam.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00It's hilarious to watch.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Gordon is heading for the top of the mountain
0:18:11 > 0:18:15to check camera traps he set out at the very start of the expedition.
0:18:18 > 0:18:25Thick bamboo and the punishing gradient reminds him how unlike classic tiger habitat this is.
0:18:34 > 0:18:40Considering how much effort it takes me to walk round here, it's going to have an effect on the tigers.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42At the moment, I just think...
0:18:43 > 0:18:47it seems just ridiculous that they might even be here.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53If it wasn't hard enough, the altitude, even at this height, really kicks in.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Going downhill's fine.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00As soon as you start coming up, it really hits you.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03And it's really steep here so you're having to work 10 times as hard.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Oh, gosh. I wonder how George is doing.
0:19:08 > 0:19:09BRANCHES SNAP / HE YELLS
0:19:16 > 0:19:18George is still finding his feet.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29His 30 years of field experience will be invaluable in assessing
0:19:29 > 0:19:33whether these forests really can support tigers.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40This stump is just full of this stuff.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43The wood's just rotten away. But what's interesting
0:19:45 > 0:19:51is that I can see no signs of any insect there moving.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Which is sort of surprising. But...
0:19:54 > 0:19:58there's plenty more stumps and plenty more rotten logs.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01But no bugs.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06Even in spring, temperatures drop below freezing most nights.
0:20:08 > 0:20:14There are far fewer animals here than in the tropical forests the team's just left.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24George will have to use every trick to find out what lives here.
0:20:24 > 0:20:31Each discovery will be included in the scientific report he's compiling for the prime minister of Bhutan.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Oh! Look.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Wow.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40These chicks have just hatched.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42To find out what kind of birds they are,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45George will have to wait for the adults to return.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52OK, that's the female back, and she's got a beak full of earthworms.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55My goodness, that's a lot of worms.
0:20:55 > 0:21:01It's really great to be having a really good view of these chicks and actually see what they're being fed.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06Which is the only way of finding out, to sit here and actually watch them.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11Obviously those birds are a lot better at finding
0:21:11 > 0:21:15earthworms and insects than I am.
0:21:15 > 0:21:21But then I'm not a white-collared blackbird. There we are.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28Gordon's approaching the camera traps he set at 5,000 metres.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36At this altitude, it's too harsh, even for trees.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47Can tigers really have adapted to such an extreme environment?
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Gordon's camera traps may hold the answer.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57They've been recording everything that moves past them.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05First one.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Come on, please, we've got to get something.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12We've got to get something.
0:22:12 > 0:22:18Often the case is with camera traps you get every animal apart from the one that you're actually after.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Oh, look, is that choughs?
0:22:22 > 0:22:23Yeah, these birds have set it off.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Actually, when I was up there, I saw the choughs flying about over that ridge.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29OK, you can see what's triggered this.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Heavy snow. Even though it actually looks like rain.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Oh, fox! Wow!
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Great. Red fox.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Oh, you're beautiful. Look at that.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46Oh, it's posing perfectly for the camera as well.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Gosh, that is lovely.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52They're the same red foxes that we get in the UK. They're amazing.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56They really are amazing animals, the fact that they can make a living
0:22:56 > 0:23:02from the dustbins outside our houses and they can make a living here, high up in the Himalayas.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Oh, what was that? What was that? What was that?
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Jesus, is that a snow leopard?
0:23:11 > 0:23:14You ratbag! It is!
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Snow leopards are incredibly rare and elusive.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Oh, wow.
0:23:20 > 0:23:26No wonder hardly anybody sees these cats, they're just so well camouflaged.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30You could literally walk past that within four metres and not see it, easily.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32It looks like it's a cub.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36And the reason it's staying there for such a long time, I'm guessing,
0:23:36 > 0:23:40is that its mother has left it there while she's gone off hunting.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Oh, wow.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47That is just stunning.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Oh, it's come right up to the camera.
0:23:54 > 0:24:00That is one of the most exquisite-looking animals I've ever seen.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Snow leopards are an exceptional find.
0:24:13 > 0:24:19But maybe 5,000 metres is just too high for tigers.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27Gordon decides to intensify his search lower down the mountain.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34He's brought extra camera traps from the old base camp in the south
0:24:34 > 0:24:39and sets them out across the mountain side, from the tree line at 4,000 metres...
0:24:39 > 0:24:43right down to the bamboo forest near their new camp.
0:24:49 > 0:24:56While Gordon's on the trail of majestic big cats, George has found something less appealing.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03These are flesh flies.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04There is an animal in here somewhere.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07There is something...
0:25:07 > 0:25:09There is something here that is not right.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14BUZZING
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Blow flies have found their way into the tent where the expedition's meat is stored.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21If you don't have a refrigerator,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24you have to eat dry meat or dry fish.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28And that does attract a lot of flies.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32There are more insects in this tent than I've found in the entire forest.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Mind you, it's only one species.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Look at that, in there.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39That's fly eggs!
0:25:39 > 0:25:44Within hours, these fly eggs will hatch into maggots.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47I've suddenly become a vegetarian.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54In the far north of Bhutan,
0:25:54 > 0:26:0115 kilometres from the border with Tibet, Steve's almost in sight of Tiger Mountain,
0:26:01 > 0:26:03where local legends say tigers roam.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09This is probably our best chance of seeing things. We're just at the tree line
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and, all around us, the hillsides are open.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14So we can see for a long, long way.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Oh, hang on!
0:26:18 > 0:26:22That's a huge herd of animals.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27I mean, I reckon there's got to be 40 or 50 there.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32They are called blue sheep because they have a kind of slatey blue-grey coat.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34And there's...
0:26:34 > 0:26:38I can see one adult male
0:26:38 > 0:26:41with huge horns.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46They're totally at home out here, in this steep-sided, barren land.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49They're incredibly graceful and nimble over the rocks.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54But if the tiger really is living in this sort of area, or anywhere near here,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57that's what it's going to be feeding on. Blue sheep.
0:26:57 > 0:27:03For an ambush predator like a snow leopard or a tiger, this is kind of easy game.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09Large herds of blue sheep would be perfect prey for a tiger.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12But science says tigers don't live at these heights.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Steve will need to find concrete evidence to prove the textbooks wrong.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24The first step is to meet the people of Laya.
0:27:24 > 0:27:25Hello, hello.
0:27:25 > 0:27:31It's one of the highest villages in Bhutan and the gateway to Tiger Mountain.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39If there are tigers living at 4,000 metres, surely the villagers will know?
0:27:49 > 0:27:55This would have to be just about the most spectacular spot on earth to build a village.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59The houses are just exquisite.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04All of the wood is beautifully painted.
0:28:05 > 0:28:12Journeys like this are all about auspicious signs in Buddhism, and you don't get much more auspicious than
0:28:12 > 0:28:16that beautifully painted image of a tiger.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Tigers decorate every house.
0:28:20 > 0:28:26Steve's keen to find out if they're imagery from local folklore or a picture of real life around here.
0:28:31 > 0:28:371,000 metres below, Gordon is trying everything to get hard evidence of tigers.
0:28:37 > 0:28:42He's looking for a vantage point in the bamboo forest to set up a hide.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Whoa, look at this. It's all bare.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Lots of signs of signs of animals having used this area.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51Wonder if they're sheltering.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54The big rock overhang, here.
0:28:54 > 0:28:55Oh, some dung here.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Oh, do you know what I think this is? Look.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04I bet you it's a salt lick.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06Let me just see.
0:29:08 > 0:29:09Yeah.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12It's very salty.
0:29:12 > 0:29:17Deer and other plant-eating animals don't get enough salt in their diet.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21Sooner or later, they have to visit salt licks.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26Gordon hopes tiger prey will be drawn out of the forest and tigers won't be far behind.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33All he has to do is sit in his hide and wait.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37# At the back of my mind
0:29:37 > 0:29:44# I was only hoping that I might just get back... #
0:29:47 > 0:29:53Up in Laya Village, Steve has been invited to the home of a village elder and his family.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57Kuzo zangpo la.
0:29:57 > 0:29:58Oh, look at that.
0:30:02 > 0:30:03- I'm Steve.- Yes.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05Pleased to meet you.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07HE SPEAKS HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE Kinle? Steve.
0:30:07 > 0:30:13Kinle has spent his whole life in Laya, and will know about the animals found here.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17Oh, wow.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19Sit here?
0:30:19 > 0:30:24Before Steve can ask any questions, his hosts prepare him a medicinal drink.
0:30:24 > 0:30:29It's supposed to give him strength for his onward journey.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Oh, wow, look at that.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37This is the famous Cordyceps fungus.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42It is essentially a fungus growing out of a caterpillar.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46How anyone came up with the idea that this could actually become
0:30:46 > 0:30:50a sort of panacea, a medicine that could cure all ills,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52is totally beyond me.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57But it does have to be one of THE great, weird,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00grotesque miracles of nature.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04You can still see the almost intact, if somewhat desiccated,
0:31:04 > 0:31:07body of the moth caterpillar.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09This is its head up here. And the fungus,
0:31:09 > 0:31:14the fruiting body of the fungus, has erupted clean out of the head.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17That is just bizarre.
0:31:19 > 0:31:27Right. So she's just put one of the caterpillar in with some of this distilled wheat liquor.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29And then drink? SHE SPEAKS HER NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:31:29 > 0:31:34And it's good for stomach? Yeah? OK.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38Right, if I actually drank all of this, forget about the caterpillar,
0:31:38 > 0:31:45I would not only be hanging drunk but I think very, very sick, particularly at this altitude.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49So I've just got to figure out how much I can take and be polite.
0:31:49 > 0:31:50Oh, dear.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59CROAKILY: That's good!
0:31:59 > 0:32:01THEY LAUGH
0:32:01 > 0:32:03HE COUGHS AND SPLUTTERS
0:32:06 > 0:32:10Yeah, it's good. I'd like to say I can feel it working,
0:32:10 > 0:32:12but I'm sure that's just the booze.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22But it's Gordon who needs the hit.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29The last six hours at the salt lick have passed very slowly indeed.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35Oh, what's that?
0:32:37 > 0:32:39Nothing.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43There's nothing.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48This is so time-consuming, just sitting here, waiting.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51Waiting, waiting, waiting.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53You just feel a bit silly,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56sitting in a hide, waiting,
0:32:56 > 0:33:00in the hope that a tiger's just going to amble past
0:33:00 > 0:33:02in the short time that I have to spend in here.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04That's the great thing about the camera traps,
0:33:04 > 0:33:06you just put them in and leave them.
0:33:06 > 0:33:11You put ten camera traps out and they can stay there 24 hours a day,
0:33:11 > 0:33:13daytime, night-time,
0:33:13 > 0:33:18functioning, always watching, always ready.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21Unlike me in a hide.
0:33:24 > 0:33:30George has discovered some curious holes near camp and he's gone to investigate.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Put that in there.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36Woo-hoo, nice.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40Right, let's see what we've got in here.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42A voyage into the darkness.
0:33:42 > 0:33:47HE HUMS THE THEME FROM THE A-TEAM
0:33:47 > 0:33:49Clearly been used.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51It's quite clean.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54That is definitely working.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00(Ah! It's a pika.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03(They're very similar to rabbits and hares.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05(Look at it.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11(Let's see if I can get closer to it.
0:34:13 > 0:34:19(I think he might be getting a little bit annoyed about the fact that I'm trampling across his burrow system.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23(This is just... I never thought I'd get this close to a pika.)
0:34:23 > 0:34:26HE CHUCKLES
0:34:26 > 0:34:27(I'm going!
0:34:30 > 0:34:33(I've heard they like flowers as a bit of a treat.)
0:34:33 > 0:34:37George wants to tempt a pika even closer.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54(I could have touched it.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02(Oh, my God.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04(It's eating the white ones.
0:35:04 > 0:35:05(I don't believe it!
0:35:05 > 0:35:09(Look.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11(I'm actually...) HE LAUGHS
0:35:11 > 0:35:17George is discovering this mountain habitat is far richer than it first appeared.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19It's a case of knowing where to look.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21(This is very difficult.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25(This whole bank has been burrowed away, it's very soft. Oh!
0:35:25 > 0:35:26(Oh!
0:35:27 > 0:35:30(Ah! Oh, my God.)
0:35:36 > 0:35:40In Laya, Steve's welcoming ceremony is over.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44He can start asking direct questions.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47HE SPEAKS HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:35:47 > 0:35:54Kinle is a farmer. This is kind of ideal for us, because to find someone who does travel right across
0:35:54 > 0:35:59the full range of altitudes here, he could have really good handle
0:35:59 > 0:36:01on what's going on with the big cats here.
0:36:01 > 0:36:07Kinle, what wildlife, what animals do you see here?
0:36:07 > 0:36:10HE SPEAKS HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:36:13 > 0:36:18The first things he said he sees as far as wildlife goes were things you'd expect.
0:36:18 > 0:36:24Then, he said he also sees tiger. Sometimes they'll see the footprints, the pugmarks in the snow.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28And also the carcasses of animals that have been killed by tiger.
0:36:28 > 0:36:33How big would you say a tiger footprint would be normally?
0:36:33 > 0:36:35HE SPEAKS HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:36:38 > 0:36:44I completely assumed that Tiger Mountain was a name purely out of mythology.
0:36:44 > 0:36:49But Kinle is telling me, the reason it got this name is because there are tigers there.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52If that's true, then that's a really big deal.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56Because the base of Tiger Mountain is well above the tree line
0:36:56 > 0:37:00and much higher than tigers are actually thought to ever go.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05Any real evidence we can find that this is true is a major, major discovery.
0:37:07 > 0:37:12Steve has his first real lead that tigers might be living up here.
0:37:14 > 0:37:20To check out these stories, he will leave Laya and continue on towards Tiger Mountain.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26Kinle will set him off on his journey.
0:37:26 > 0:37:32These are prayer wheels. You see them very often in Buddhist culture. And you have to spin them clockwise.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35It's auspicious, particularly for a journey.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38Oh, there's a big one. Yes, yeah.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41BELL RINGS
0:37:49 > 0:37:53If Tiger Mountain is home to a secret population of tigers,
0:37:53 > 0:37:59living at over 4,000 metres, it won't just be exciting new science.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03It would prove that tigers live throughout Bhutan.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08The country could become a heartland within the proposed tiger corridor,
0:38:08 > 0:38:13from which they could spread out and repopulate the whole region.
0:38:20 > 0:38:26In the bamboo forest near camp, Gordon has given up on the hide.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29He's keen to see if the camera traps have had more luck.
0:38:35 > 0:38:40This one's here, still here, which is good.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Oh, come on. Please, please, please.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47Undetected, the remote cameras have been quietly
0:38:47 > 0:38:51filming everything that moves past them in this secret forest.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57A rare golden cat that almost nothing is known about in the wild.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05A bizarre-looking serow.
0:39:06 > 0:39:11Herds of takin on their summer migration to high alpine pastures.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15Langur monkeys.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19A rare glimpse of the shy red panda.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23Huge Himalayan black bears.
0:39:28 > 0:39:33And, most amazing of all, a leopard, scent-marking its territory.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37Probably the same cat that stalked through camp on the first night.
0:39:39 > 0:39:45I'm absolutely astounded by the numbers of animals living here,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48compared to what we're seeing.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53And these little camera traps, they're giving us a little kind of peek through a keyhole
0:39:53 > 0:39:59into a very rich environment, a place that is more than capable of supporting tigers.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Come on, just once, I don't even want a whole tiger.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06I just want a tail.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11A stripe. An ear. Just something to tell me that tigers are here.
0:40:13 > 0:40:14Time is running out.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25Steve has finally reached the foot of Tiger Mountain.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29This is where the Layap tribe say they have seen tigers.
0:40:32 > 0:40:39We've been going for six days now and we're coming right up to the northernmost extreme of Bhutan.
0:40:39 > 0:40:45Up there is Tiger Mountain, and there's some of the wildest,
0:40:45 > 0:40:51most beautiful country you'll see anywhere in the world.
0:40:52 > 0:40:58The thing is that, even though we're at 4,300 metres, there's still cover, there still is trees here.
0:40:58 > 0:41:03I really didn't think that we'd have tiger anything like this kind of height, but it is possible.
0:41:03 > 0:41:08There's enough cover for them, there's potentially prey for them. I don't know.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Maybe the stories the locals were telling are true.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19That's a lammergeier. They're just massive, absolutely huge.
0:41:19 > 0:41:24These birds have sighted a carcass of some kind up there,
0:41:24 > 0:41:29and that really would be very, very exciting because anywhere you find a carcass, you're going to find
0:41:29 > 0:41:33other kinds of scavengers and perhaps even predators. This is fantastic.
0:41:35 > 0:41:41If the animal carcass is fresh, then the vultures may lead Steve to the predator that's still feeding on it.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44Up here, it can only be a big cat.
0:41:45 > 0:41:51Steve follows the vultures. They're circling close to a small stone hut,
0:41:51 > 0:41:54home to a family of yak herders.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01The father is worried for the safety of his small children.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05A wild blue sheep has been killed a few hundred metres behind their hut.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08THEY SPEAK THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:42:09 > 0:42:14Could you show me where this happened and maybe if there is any sign there?
0:42:14 > 0:42:16TRANSLATOR SPEAKS
0:42:16 > 0:42:18HE SPEAKS HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:42:18 > 0:42:20- TRANSLATOR: - He's going to show us the spot.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22OK.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28The kill site will hold clues as to what happened.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31Oh, wow!
0:42:31 > 0:42:33OK.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36This is all rather unpleasant, very, very strong smell.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39It's still, from the waist up, very much intact.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43It's just eaten the back half, and most of the rest of it is gone.
0:42:43 > 0:42:48The herder has found paw prints close to the carcass,
0:42:48 > 0:42:52but they're not big enough to be the tiger Steve was hoping for.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54They belong to something equally elusive.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57Ah, yes.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59He sees here
0:42:59 > 0:43:01the pugmarks
0:43:01 > 0:43:04of the snow leopard, going this way.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06I see, yes, I see.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08Oh, yes, I do see.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11Perfect.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13Those are the toes there.
0:43:13 > 0:43:18That's the pad print, toe, toe, toe and toe.
0:43:18 > 0:43:25She's moved up this gully, around like that, and off in that direction,
0:43:25 > 0:43:29and she probably used this ridge line here to actually hide herself.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34We have a great chance here, probably the best I'll ever have in my life,
0:43:34 > 0:43:37of actually seeing and filming a snow leopard.
0:43:37 > 0:43:44And I think that chance is just to sit and wait up there, and see if it comes back for the remains.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50To avoid spooking the cat, Steve must be alone.
0:44:00 > 0:44:06That's the blue sheep that was killed last night.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08I've put myself in
0:44:08 > 0:44:10under a rocky overhang
0:44:10 > 0:44:14so that my back's protected and nothing can come at me from behind.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Can't pretend I'm not scared.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19I am.
0:44:25 > 0:44:27Venturing out at night is risky.
0:44:27 > 0:44:33But George and Gordon know it's the best time to find evidence of big cats.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37It's so thick in there.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41Just using this spotlight to just see if can pick up any eye-shine.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52George has spotted a pair of eyes reflected in his spotlight.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56Gordon's night-vision camera will give them a better look.
0:44:56 > 0:45:01You see the eye-shine there, just in that fork.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14OK, moment of truth, George.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17Oh, what the...
0:45:19 > 0:45:21It must be a squirrel.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23Kind of hard to tell.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27- Yeah, definitely a squirrel.- Ahh.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29Maybe a flying squirrel.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31Now that is a flying squirrel, see the flaps.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34Oh, look at that, oh, yes.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38- You beauty, you going to do a little flight for us?- Oh, that's amazing.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42See this is one creature that probably wouldn't have much trouble in this forest.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46Imagine just being able to glide from one end of the valley to the next.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48Bit of evolution.
0:45:48 > 0:45:53If I could see him flying, that would be just amazing.
0:45:56 > 0:46:02Gordon continues on, but George is determined to see a squirrel fly.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05The best way is with his thermal-imaging camera.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11Is it going to do anything, I wonder?
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Wow! I don't believe it!
0:46:17 > 0:46:19That's gone straight off the screen!
0:46:19 > 0:46:23That was about 70 metres! That's unbelievable.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26Wow! Look at that!
0:46:26 > 0:46:29That was an absolutely enormous leap.
0:46:29 > 0:46:36Just by having two flaps of skin from the legs, acting as a sort of umbrella, if you like.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54Flying squirrels can stay in the safety of the trees.
0:46:54 > 0:46:55With large predators about,
0:46:55 > 0:46:58the ground is the most dangerous place to be.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06On the slopes of Tiger Mountain, the cold has forced Steve to abandon
0:47:06 > 0:47:11his stakeout, but he's lost his way back to the tents.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18I suddenly feel very exposed, out here on my own.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21If a snow leopard can take down a yak,
0:47:21 > 0:47:24then it certainly wouldn't struggle with me.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27And I don't know where the hell I am.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30DISTANT BARKING
0:47:30 > 0:47:35I don't know if you can hear that, but the yak herder's dog
0:47:35 > 0:47:40is going absolutely mental, just non-stop barking off in the distance.
0:47:43 > 0:47:45That could well be cos he can hear something.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48Steve is definitely not alone.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50A line of prints here.
0:47:53 > 0:48:00Snow leopards, despite being very powerful animals, move very lightly on their feet.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02This print is still settling,
0:48:02 > 0:48:05is still filling with water, you can still
0:48:05 > 0:48:07see it moving around.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12This is really fresh. She was here
0:48:12 > 0:48:14maybe just a minute or two ago.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18She could be watching me right now.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34I've spun myself around now.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36No idea where I am.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38That's where I've just come from.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43There's eye-shine dead ahead of me.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45Oh, there's two.
0:48:45 > 0:48:46No, that can't be right.
0:48:50 > 0:48:54Aww! I just gave myself a fright there.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57It's the yaks.
0:48:58 > 0:49:02Oh, is that...? Oh, that's our toilet tent.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04Oh, thank God for that.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12Next morning, Steve wants to find out
0:49:12 > 0:49:14if last night's encounter
0:49:14 > 0:49:15with a snow leopard
0:49:15 > 0:49:16was as close as it felt.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23So, he came in down here,
0:49:23 > 0:49:25and you can see here
0:49:25 > 0:49:27really clearly
0:49:27 > 0:49:30the exact marks where he's accelerated away.
0:49:32 > 0:49:39Some more here, and they're all scraping away as he sprinted off up in this direction.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43Again, really clear ones here.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46And then he's gone.
0:49:50 > 0:49:55So, I was five metres away from a wild snow leopard.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58I mean, look how close he was to me.
0:49:59 > 0:50:04Despite his close encounter, Steve must leave Tiger Mountain
0:50:04 > 0:50:07without cast-iron proof that tigers live up here.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11Gang Chen Ta has held on to its mysteries.
0:50:18 > 0:50:23George is returning to the capital to present the expedition's findings to the Prime Minister.
0:50:23 > 0:50:28The teams still lacks scientific evidence of tigers living at altitude,
0:50:28 > 0:50:31even though the forest looks like it could support them.
0:50:31 > 0:50:37Wow, look at that pool. That is spectacular.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42I've seen some beautiful places in my time,
0:50:42 > 0:50:46but I don't think I've ever seen anywhere on earth that rivals this.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50A picture just can't grab this.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52It's primeval.
0:50:54 > 0:50:59Soaking it up, because I might not be back.
0:51:02 > 0:51:07What we're going to do is just hang onto as much of this as we can.
0:51:07 > 0:51:14For the largest surviving cat in the world, and one so beautiful...
0:51:16 > 0:51:20..Bhutan seems to be its last hope.
0:51:21 > 0:51:26Because everywhere else, it's hunted and poached and killed
0:51:26 > 0:51:32for skin, for parts, for cures of various sorts.
0:51:33 > 0:51:38The thought that tigers could be gone
0:51:38 > 0:51:39in 50 years...
0:51:41 > 0:51:42..is, um...
0:51:44 > 0:51:46It's just unthinkable.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55Just one image would prove they live up here
0:51:55 > 0:51:58and could help secure their future.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01Gordon's camera traps are the team's last hope.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05Oh, look at this bear.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07Oh, sniffing the camera.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12The camera traps aren't always invisible.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15He's a really healthy specimen as well.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18He'd have to be living up here, it's going to get cold.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21He's going to have to work hard. It's only the strong that survive.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!
0:52:25 > 0:52:29Oh, oh, I don't believe it!
0:52:29 > 0:52:33Oh, God, oh!
0:52:33 > 0:52:36Thank you, thank you, thank you!
0:52:40 > 0:52:42Oh, gosh!
0:52:47 > 0:52:50OK, they're here.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54HE SOBS WITH EMOTION
0:53:04 > 0:53:08You know, it's only one tiger, but the fact that they can live here
0:53:08 > 0:53:12is just so important, not just for this one individual,
0:53:12 > 0:53:16but for tigers in the wild for the future.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19It's just... Oh.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21Oh, man.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25It just walked along this path,
0:53:25 > 0:53:27literally down this path.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32If he was just passing through this area, he would have his head down just powering on through.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35But he's scent-marking quite high up on the rock
0:53:35 > 0:53:40and what he's saying is, "This is my place, this is where I live."
0:53:40 > 0:53:44Finding tigers here is phenomenal, because what it does -
0:53:44 > 0:53:50it just shows that almost every square mile from here down to India is potential tiger habitat.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56Gordon has found tigers at 3,000m and he still has more cameras to check
0:53:56 > 0:53:59a vertical kilometre higher up the mountain.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10How high into the Himalayas are tigers living?
0:54:23 > 0:54:2445 images.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27I wonder what that's of.
0:54:33 > 0:54:34Oh!
0:54:34 > 0:54:37Oh, man alive!
0:54:45 > 0:54:47I'm just completely speechless.
0:54:50 > 0:54:58Gordon's cameras have captured over 30 images of tigers walking along this ridge.
0:54:58 > 0:55:03These tigers are living right in the shadow of the high Himalayas.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06We are above 4,000 metres at this point.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10These are the highest-living tigers in the world.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16There are at least two adult tigers here -
0:55:16 > 0:55:20one male, one female.
0:55:22 > 0:55:28You've got one tiger that's walked through here, scent-marked on that rock.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30A second tiger...
0:55:30 > 0:55:35big male, comes through in the day, stops, sniffs.
0:55:35 > 0:55:40We're watching possibly the precursor to tigers meeting and mating.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44There's a female up here letting the male know that she's around.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50They've probably met and mated by now,
0:55:50 > 0:55:54and somewhere I really believe there is a little cave
0:55:54 > 0:55:58down in one of these valleys that have tiger cubs in it.
0:56:02 > 0:56:08Tigers breeding this high in the Himalayas is totally new to science.
0:56:10 > 0:56:15More importantly, these animals could be central to the tigers' survival.
0:56:20 > 0:56:27If Bhutan stays the way that it is, it just becomes a big machine that produces tigers that will move out.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30It is incredible, just blows me away.
0:56:34 > 0:56:36The expedition is coming to an end.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39But George still has one last important visit to make.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46He's presenting the team's findings to the Bhutanese Prime Minister.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50The report shows that the ancient Kingdom of Bhutan
0:56:50 > 0:56:53holds a significant proportion of the world's wild tigers.
0:56:53 > 0:57:00It will be the heart of the tiger corridor if governments across the region can work together.
0:57:00 > 0:57:06There is our brief preliminary report...
0:57:07 > 0:57:10Thank you very much.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13Thank you very much. This should be very, very useful.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15Tigers must be protected.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19Tiger doesn't belong to us, to this generation alone.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22It belongs to future generations as well.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27Alan's plan to link isolated tiger populations
0:57:27 > 0:57:32and create the world's largest tiger reserve is closer to reality.
0:57:34 > 0:57:35This gives me hope.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37This area holds the key
0:57:37 > 0:57:39for the future of tigers,
0:57:39 > 0:57:44hopefully, for the whole Himalayan corridor, and could serve as a model for the rest of the world.
0:57:44 > 0:57:50The tiger corridor had a big missing link in it, and Bhutan was that.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54Nothing was known about the tigers that may live here.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57We have filled in the final part of the puzzle.
0:57:57 > 0:58:01People have pushed tigers to the brink of extinction.
0:58:01 > 0:58:04This is their last chance.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08Can we save tigers? Absolutely we can save tigers.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11We will save tigers.
0:58:33 > 0:58:35Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd