0:00:44 > 0:00:48I remember distinctly the last time I saw him.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52We started hearing the alarm calls, we thought he's coming, he's coming, he's coming.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Broken Tail came around the corner
0:01:00 > 0:01:03and he came walking directly towards me,
0:01:03 > 0:01:09and I just kept rolling and rolling, and rolling and he looked as good as he had ever looked.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14Big, powerful, relaxed and arrogant and confident.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24He walked up towards me, towards me, closer and closer
0:01:24 > 0:01:26and I was just so excited and I turned to Salim
0:01:26 > 0:01:28and he was just shaking his head going, "Yes."
0:01:28 > 0:01:33He knew, he knew I'd nailed the shot and then I turned to look back,
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Broken Tail was gone.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38And I never saw him again.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Ranthambhore, it's a magical place.
0:02:20 > 0:02:26There's a fort on top of a hill, which looks out onto these lakes and very ancient hills.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Extraordinary landscape. There's no place quite like it in the world
0:02:33 > 0:02:35because you have all these ruins of where people used to live.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38They've all been abandoned over the years.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42And now, the tigers wander through these places.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49It's their patch and they're the King of the Jungle now.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04These, without doubt could be the last of their kind.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09When you think of how many there were once here, they seemed limitless.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17They're having to really battle to stay alive and they shouldn't have to.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22I know it's a cliche but you know if tigers ever do disappear, that's it.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24They'll never come back.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33I was sent here as a budding wildlife cameraman
0:03:33 > 0:03:36and this was my first real break, this was my first big opportunity.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Go out there, find a tiger and get me a story.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54I found myself driving into Ranthambhore one morning with Salim, who I'd just met,
0:03:54 > 0:03:58neither of us tiger experts.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Salim used to bring tourists into this area
0:04:02 > 0:04:07but Salim didn't have much of a clue, really, and I certainly didn't have a clue about tigers.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10Now it's working.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Ranthambhore had to teach us about tigers.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24How fresh do you reckon these pug-marks are?
0:04:24 > 0:04:25They're from the morning.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55- My God!- Oh, my God!
0:04:57 > 0:05:02Once you see your first wild tiger, it's an experience that stays with you.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05You shouldn't have an apex in evolution.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09but if there was one, it's got to be the tiger.
0:05:45 > 0:05:46Cut.
0:05:49 > 0:05:55We had to explore the area, get to see where the tigers were moving and then choose a tiger.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59So we started following this tigress that we called, Machali.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06And because we spent every day on her trail, she became very tame.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Let's go, come on, lets keep moving.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15She's getting a bit close.
0:06:15 > 0:06:21I remember coming up to Christmas and Machali started acting strangely.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24We thought, Salim and I, she must be looking for a man.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31And on Christmas morning,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34the sun was just coming up beautifully over the hill.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Machali came walking up with her suitor.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40He was a great big male called Bomburam.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48They spent the next few days together mating continuously.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Sure enough out came these two little bundles.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14The bundles that we were going to call Broken Tail and Slant Ear.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33Broken Tail was just special, he was adventurous,
0:07:33 > 0:07:40exuberant, kind of full of life, charismatic, arrogant, fearless...
0:07:40 > 0:07:45Totally fearless, he would chase our car some days we thought he was going to come into the car sometimes.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50Never seen that in a tiger before. For a male tiger they are normally more reserved.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Salim and I had the unique, literally unique experience.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13I don't think anyone had ever done what we had done before.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18We spent 600 days in Ranthambhore, from dawn till dusk, every day,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21following the one tiger family.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29I remember my father used to call me "The Bee" and that's because
0:08:29 > 0:08:33I was always as busy as a bee, pretty much getting up to no good,
0:08:33 > 0:08:39things I shouldn't be doing and, in that way, I guess Broken Tail mirrored me as a child.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Broken Tail was always the ringleader, mischievous,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50playful, so confident.
0:09:18 > 0:09:24What did he think of us? Couple of eejits following them all the time.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28Sitting out in the sun when he was sitting in the shade.
0:09:28 > 0:09:34In reality if he doesn't want to eat you and you're not threatening him you, sort of, don't matter.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45I followed him steadily until he was about two-and-a-half.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50I think I knew Broken Tail as well as I knew my own daughters.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02He was going to become a really important tiger in Ranthambhore.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06You felt like one day he was going to dominate that area.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08He was going to be "the man".
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Sadly, it wasn't to be the case.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Something happened after that, we don't know what.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46We weren't finding Broken Tail's pug-marks at all.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Broken Tail was gone.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Where's Broken Tail?
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Where is he?
0:11:10 > 0:11:12I'd love to see him again.
0:11:14 > 0:11:15I hope we do.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37GROWLING
0:12:33 > 0:12:35I couldn't believe it.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42To see this amazing animal I'd spent so much time with,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46that this is how it ended up.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Killed by a train.
0:12:52 > 0:12:58In the middle of the night in this God forsaken, barren place where no tiger has a right to be.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11I went to bed that night.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Talking to Salim the next day and he said he couldn't sleep,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18he just kept thinking about how tragic that this happened.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24WALKIE TALKIE: Probably only a couple of miles...
0:13:29 > 0:13:32What was he doing there? That's the thing I couldn't understand.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39How on earth did he get from Ranthambhore,
0:13:39 > 0:13:43this wonderful sort of tiger paradise as it were,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47to this place called Darra that I had never heard of. How did he...?
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Everyone used to say to me,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53absolutely impossible and Broken Tail had done it.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57So immediately there was a mystery, although his death was sad
0:13:57 > 0:14:01it opened up lots of questions that I felt I had to answer.
0:14:07 > 0:14:12We felt we owed it to Broken Tail in some way to retrace his journey.
0:14:12 > 0:14:18That's the only thing we could do for him was to somehow benefit his kind by undertaking this journey.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28We hope to fill in what happened on those last days.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30We didn't know how long that journey had taken him.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Had anyone witnessed any part of that journey?
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Where did they see him?
0:14:36 > 0:14:40We felt by doing it we were going to learn something
0:14:40 > 0:14:45important that could ultimately help in tiger conservation.
0:15:04 > 0:15:10The story of Broken Tail is really the story of the modern Indian tiger.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14All tigers in India are born into these island reserves,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17but they're isolated all over the country.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20They were once part of this great population that stretched
0:15:20 > 0:15:23right across India and throughout the subcontinent.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40Human pressure around Ranthambhore is massive, about a quarter of a million people living right on its borders.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Almost like an invading army waiting to come in.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Every little inch of that land is in use.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Watch where you put your feet now.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53As soon as you come out, that's what you see.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58BELLS TINKLE
0:16:02 > 0:16:07All you can hear is goats and all those goats, they're eating Ranthambhore National Park.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21We've only been on the road about ten minutes, I'd say, and already we've hit this devastated landscape.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33They're blasting these mountains.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36This is the problem when you have island reserves,
0:16:36 > 0:16:41as soon as you draw a line on a map people start fraying away at the edges.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44You have to assert your influence otherwise year on year people are
0:16:44 > 0:16:48just going to move further and further into the park.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55How on earth did Broken Tail manage to handle this sort of stuff?
0:17:05 > 0:17:08He didn't know he wasn't in Ranthambhore any more.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14He never made a decision to leave.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16He just wandered.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26In the night you just cross, no problem?
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Yeah, no problem at all to cross.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32As we set off on our journey we were thinking why did he leave?
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Was he kicked out of the reserve?
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Was he getting interference from people... Poaching?
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Mogyas shoot quite a few tigers in this valley right here.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27We're just paying a surprise visit to a guy called Lackan.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31He belongs to a group, a tribal caste of Mogyas or traditional
0:18:31 > 0:18:37hunters and poachers and we reckon he has killed tigers in the recent past.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Lackan?
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Oh, Lackan.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52THEY SPEAK IN DIALECT
0:18:58 > 0:19:03I suppose the straight question, has he been directly or indirectly involved in killing tigers?
0:19:03 > 0:19:05HE ANSWERS IN DIALECT
0:19:13 > 0:19:15He used to be a hunter.
0:19:15 > 0:19:22He has done a lot of hunting, he has killed a lot of animals for hunger, but hunger is still there.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25I stopped that work but hunger is still there.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28And did you make a lot of money from killing tigers?
0:19:28 > 0:19:33He says if I had made good money, I'd have nice buildings here.
0:19:33 > 0:19:40Only I fill my stomach with that money, otherwise I don't make much money.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42How much money would he get personally for one animal?
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Sometimes 6,000 sometimes 5,000 rupees.
0:19:46 > 0:19:495,000 rupees?
0:19:49 > 0:19:52How much is that? 100 dollars?
0:19:52 > 0:19:53Yeah, not more than that.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00Yeah, you see these guys, they're not the guys making the big money, obviously.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07Somehow puts things in perspective a little bit when you meet the guy and you have this preconceived idea,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09they're going to be real nasty kind of people,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13but of course he's just a bloke who doesn't have any money.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17You do look at the kids and once you're a father yourself you kind of think...
0:20:17 > 0:20:19"I'd do anything for my kids,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23"I wouldn't let them go hungry no matter what."
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Something about having kids yourself it just makes you
0:20:26 > 0:20:28look at other people's in a different light somehow.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Lovely little kids.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Even Mogya kids play Ring A Ring A Rosie.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05It's not just Lackan here and this little group.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Every village in this entire belt has got Mogyas living there.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12So every village in this entire area has people who have the knowledge,
0:21:12 > 0:21:17the capability and sometimes the opportunity to kill tigers.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21So Broken Tail was really threading a fine line walking through here.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26People have referred to this area in the past as being a killing zone for tigers.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27Tigers don't get through here.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31If ever they leave the park, this is where they get hammered.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35So Broken Tail was an exception to the rule.
0:22:28 > 0:22:34I think people sometimes make the mistake of saying, "It's tigers or people!". And sometimes you think,
0:22:34 > 0:22:40well, are there so many human problems in India that why should they bother about tigers?
0:22:40 > 0:22:42But the tiger is a human problem.
0:22:44 > 0:22:51The bottom line is that without tigers, the forests of India will disappear.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55The only well protected forests are those that have tigers.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59As soon as tigers disappear the political eye is removed
0:22:59 > 0:23:02from that forest and it quickly starts to degrade.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07If you lose those watersheds,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11everyone living along this mountain range is going to have a serious problem.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15It's not just about saving fluffy animals.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Every person who lives along these mountain ranges
0:23:18 > 0:23:22actually depends on tigers too, they just don't all realise it yet.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29So you reckon more likely cross out of the park, head onto this ridge.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Any water up there?
0:23:31 > 0:23:34There is some water holes. Spring water holes, kind of thing.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36- Is that flat on top there? - It's flat on the top.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39So he could've gone all the way along the top?
0:23:39 > 0:23:40Yes. It's possible.
0:23:42 > 0:23:43It's beautiful.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53It seems like Broken Tail passed through this landscape almost like a ghost,
0:23:53 > 0:23:59but he couldn't remain invisible all the time, there were just so many eyes out here that could spot him.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06We've heard that someone in this village might have seen something.
0:24:06 > 0:24:13He go to graze his goats, he's a shepherd and he saw tiger.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18- Big, big head.- Quite big? Quite big head? And where exactly did he see him? Right on top.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27In the daytime he saw... If ever a tiger is going to walk in the middle of the day
0:24:27 > 0:24:31in the middle of, you know, people around and goat herders, that'd be Broken Tail.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36This could be Broken Tail because the time he's saying, the time Broken Tail left Ranthambhore.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39- That is really something, isn't it? - This is exciting, yeah?
0:24:39 > 0:24:41Because we weren't even totally sure if he'd come this way,
0:24:41 > 0:24:46- we were guessing he was coming as far as here. We guessed right. - Now we have evidence.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50I've actually got some photographs of Broken Tail that we took in Ranthambhore.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52This is when he was a little cub.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56More and more I've come to realise that the people you really have to convert,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59if you want to save tigers, are the people who are living with them.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03People who live in Rajasthan have never seen a tiger.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06They don't have any books to look at them, they don't have TVs to see them on TV.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10They're actually just not a part of their lives, in any way.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21We got to know him extremely well.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23As the months went by
0:25:23 > 0:25:28you'd think you could go up and stroke him, but you'd be dead if you did.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31He'd get up to all sorts of mischief.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47He'd be the one to break cover, you know, when the tigress goes hunting
0:25:47 > 0:25:51it's very important that the cubs stay absolutely quiet.
0:25:53 > 0:25:54As she would leave,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57she'd make a little noise that would mean stay there,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00shut up, be quiet until I come back.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Give it half an hour, an hour, Broken Tail would start moving around
0:26:05 > 0:26:07and he kind of dragged Slant Ear into problems.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Of course they had no chance of actually catching anything. The exuberance of youth.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47Great times, great times.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Oh, I bet that feels good.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06I bet that feels good.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Dickie Boy! Hope you brought some food.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Mr Colin and Mr Salim.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32- How are you guys doing?- Good, good.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34- You guys have been riding long? - Yeah, it was a long day.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Oh, my backside, man, I tell you.
0:27:37 > 0:27:43We started the Project Tiger in 1973 because we thought things had reached such a bad place
0:27:43 > 0:27:46that there are less than 2,000 tigers in India
0:27:46 > 0:27:50and it's 2009 now and there are less than 2,000 tigers again.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Probably lower numbers then there were when Project Tiger started.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56And they still call it a success story.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00An India without tigers would be
0:28:00 > 0:28:03an India sitting on
0:28:03 > 0:28:05the brink of an environmental disaster.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10A huge disaster, which is inevitable.
0:28:10 > 0:28:18You are talking about a large chunk of India's population would go from being poor to really poor.
0:28:18 > 0:28:25The problem is we will probably see this five or ten years after the tigers have gone or maybe longer,
0:28:25 > 0:28:2915 or 20 years after the tigers and we don't think that far ahead.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33A problem is that a poor man does not think very long term.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36If he could get some benefits now
0:28:36 > 0:28:40and maybe pay a huge price for it 20 years later, he'll take the benefits.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44Basically the whole system stinks.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49And if it stays on like this we are kind of looking at a dead end.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52It's going to come very soon.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55Do you think we're looking at the end of the tiger?
0:28:55 > 0:28:58Yes, yes.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02We've got five more years to change the entire system.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Things won't disappear in five years,
0:29:04 > 0:29:09but if we don't fix what's wrong we might have tigers for another 30, 40 years in a few
0:29:09 > 0:29:15zoo kind of reserves, but as far as evolution goes,
0:29:15 > 0:29:16tigers would reach an end.
0:29:18 > 0:29:19Morning.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55I sometimes wonder why he never turned back.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00You'd think he'd somehow have that sort of homing instinct
0:30:00 > 0:30:04but there must have been something, something was driving him forward.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Maybe something he didn't understand.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11Something compelled him every day to keep moving.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15That was the smell of a tigress.
0:30:15 > 0:30:21He was at an age where essentially all he was thinking about was girls.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26Meeting girls and making babies.
0:30:36 > 0:30:41The scent of tigers behind him is sort of gone
0:30:41 > 0:30:46and so he just sort of kept moving, kept moving kind of getting into deeper and deeper water,
0:30:46 > 0:30:53but maybe still hoping that he'd come to a place where he could settle down.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Broken Tail never got that moment
0:31:14 > 0:31:16because there was no-one else out there.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24There were no other members of his kind anywhere on that route.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39- Do anything like nilgai or wild boar come in the mustard crops?- They do.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41They do? They can eat them too...
0:31:41 > 0:31:44So that's where the Mogyas are going to be?
0:31:44 > 0:31:46They guard this field.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58Sometimes, I think both Salim and I wonder what
0:31:58 > 0:32:02we're doing on this journey, on this trail of a tiger
0:32:02 > 0:32:06that left his forest home only to be killed by a train.
0:32:06 > 0:32:12But already I feel I'm beginning to understand that the landscape
0:32:12 > 0:32:15is not as hostile as I thought it would be.
0:32:15 > 0:32:20I'm beginning to understand how he actually managed to make this journey.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26Good girl! Good girl!
0:32:26 > 0:32:30How far do you reckon we've come today? 20 Ks or so?
0:32:30 > 0:32:32About 20km, yeah.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Didn't you do well?
0:32:35 > 0:32:38I'm not going to get back on you today, OK?
0:32:50 > 0:32:54- That's some spot.- Wow! Look at this.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57That was worth the walk, huh?
0:32:57 > 0:32:59This is the place. This is the place.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03Look at that.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20- Perfect for tonight. - Would you like some tea first?
0:33:20 > 0:33:24I'd love it! No point two people making tea I always say.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54Look at tiger here.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57It is a tiger.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01People with bows and arrows, they're chasing away the tiger.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04Look at that,
0:34:04 > 0:34:08she's got a cutlass, a machete or something that one.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17How old do you reckon these paintings are, Salim?
0:34:17 > 0:34:20They are definitely thousands years old.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24This place must have been full of tigers when these were drawn.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30Tigers are absolutely on the edge.
0:34:30 > 0:34:37They have reached critically low numbers and for the most popular animal in the world, if we lose them,
0:34:37 > 0:34:42what a sad indictment that is for the human race.
0:34:44 > 0:34:49We have knowledge now, knowledge, easy ways of accessing knowledge around the world. We know this.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53And to allow it to happen on our watch with that knowledge,
0:34:53 > 0:34:57how could you possibly explain that to people in the future?
0:34:57 > 0:35:00How could you sit down a classroom full of kids in 50 years time and
0:35:00 > 0:35:06explain to them, "Oh, yes, we knew, that tigers were on the edge, oh, but we let them go!"
0:35:06 > 0:35:12How could you possibly rationally explain that to anyone in 50 years time? You just couldn't.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30Broken Tail and Slant Ear were growing up.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35We were constantly worried
0:35:35 > 0:35:40that a male was going to turn up and do damage to the cubs.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43Their father was hardly to be seen
0:35:43 > 0:35:47and new males were moving in as a result.
0:35:47 > 0:35:53Now that's a dangerous thing because if a new male moves into an area he can kill the cubs.
0:35:53 > 0:35:59The female will come back into cycle and he will father his own cubs.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01So there was always this tension.
0:36:05 > 0:36:06And then there was a day
0:36:08 > 0:36:09when we met Machali,
0:36:09 > 0:36:13she was acting strange again, she was acting nervous.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17And we had seen male prints in the area and we realised the male prints
0:36:17 > 0:36:19hadn't left the area, so he was still there.
0:36:25 > 0:36:30This day obviously she decided he meant business and they fought.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54It didn't last very long because they can't last very long
0:36:54 > 0:36:57because it's very dangerous for both animals.
0:36:59 > 0:37:04The cubs were safe. She was a great mother, great mother.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39Broken Tail must have had a real search for water,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41particularly summer time.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45It's a mystery how he even managed to find the water.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52I wouldn't mind jumping in there myself!
0:38:54 > 0:38:57I'm picking up some of it, but I can't get it all.
0:38:57 > 0:39:02He's saying there about three or four kilometres from that village, Manak Chauk, there is a small bridge
0:39:02 > 0:39:04- over the small nala, and there is a water hole.- Yeah.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08He was coming back from the Bundi and he saw a tiger crossing a road.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11And he get shocked, you know?
0:39:11 > 0:39:16It was very close to his motorbike, and...
0:39:16 > 0:39:21- This big tiger is walking in the royal style.- Like he owns the place.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23Broken Tail puts the "royal"
0:39:23 > 0:39:28in "royal Bengal tiger". Do you think he stopped at the water hole?
0:39:28 > 0:39:30THEY SPEAK IN DIALECT
0:39:30 > 0:39:35He don't see that. He turn around and run away.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41And for ten kilometres he's feeling like he's having a loose motion.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43THEY LAUGH
0:39:43 > 0:39:47I'm not surprised!
0:39:51 > 0:39:56That's the thing about India, people do have a great respect for living things.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59Can you imagine in Europe allowing
0:39:59 > 0:40:02a great predator to wander freely around the country?
0:40:02 > 0:40:04It wouldn't happen.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16I'm just staggered that he'd be that calm out this far.
0:40:22 > 0:40:23I mean, so far from the park
0:40:23 > 0:40:26I thought he'd have become like a fugitive.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32And he's still behaving like he's a real Ranthambhore tiger.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56It's been great to see what it's like,
0:40:56 > 0:41:01the India outside the reserves, outside the protected areas.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49Whoops a daisy. You're going that way?
0:41:49 > 0:41:51OK. Good idea. Good idea.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11This is an old maharajah's place.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14- It must have been a hunting lodge or something.- Looks like.
0:42:14 > 0:42:15See the holes everywhere?
0:42:15 > 0:42:17It is for the gunshots.
0:42:17 > 0:42:23If Broken Tail had gotten here and there was a female here, he'd still be alive today. He'd never have left.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Why would you want to leave?
0:42:26 > 0:42:29He could be living happily here now.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33Empty place.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38Just listen to the sounds.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41This is the quietest place I've ever been to in India.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49And when you have an area that's remarkably quiet, it means there are few people living there.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51And when you have few people living in a place,
0:42:51 > 0:42:55it means you have an opportunity to protect that area for wildlife.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57And we have to find all the bits of India
0:42:57 > 0:43:02that still exist that are like this, grab them now, grab them quickly and put the focus on these places.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05Having a little island like Ranthambhore, it has no long-term future.
0:43:05 > 0:43:12You have to connect it to another area, and Broken Tail is showing us the way.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16'Tiger hunting in India takes on pomp and ceremony...'
0:43:16 > 0:43:19This place was owned by the Maharaja of Bundi,
0:43:19 > 0:43:25and he entertained all sorts of people, from, you know, Errol Flynn to Lord Mountbatten.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27All the Hollywood set used to come here.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30That's what people used to do for fun in those days.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32These guys shot so many of them.
0:43:32 > 0:43:38I mean, they wiped out tens of thousands of tigers all over India.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48'Good work! One shot did it!
0:43:48 > 0:43:52'He was a big fella, but all fight was gone out of him now.'
0:43:52 > 0:43:57They would shoot as many tigers as they could lay their hands on.
0:43:57 > 0:44:03They would blast as many as they could, and they'd boast about it.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08In some areas, they drove tigers into local extinction.
0:45:17 > 0:45:21I remember the last time that the family were together.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26Machali had left the cubs and she'd gone hunting.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31A couple of hours later, she came back and she started roaring.
0:45:31 > 0:45:33She was calling the cubs.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37Then we heard a rustle in the bushes behind us,
0:45:39 > 0:45:42and she lay down on the road.
0:45:57 > 0:46:02And Broken Tail and Slant Ear both came out of the bush
0:46:02 > 0:46:05and then started suckling from her.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14Of course, she hadn't had milk for well over a year.
0:46:14 > 0:46:21This was some sort of amazing bonding behaviour that no-one had ever seen before.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24Extraordinary to see these two male tigers
0:46:24 > 0:46:27bigger than her suckling from her.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43That was the last time we saw the family unit together.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54Was there an incident, a natural incident, with a male tiger?
0:46:54 > 0:46:56Was there an incident with a poacher?
0:46:58 > 0:47:02Maybe Slant Ear was shot and that's why the family split up.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08We'll just never know.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49How the heck did he get across here?
0:47:52 > 0:47:56Never seen anything like this in India before, Salim.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58I can't imagine him swimming across this, can you?
0:47:58 > 0:48:01No.
0:48:01 > 0:48:06I'd say he got here, went down some sort of river bed,
0:48:06 > 0:48:10tracked along it and came to some shallow area.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14There must be some shallow areas. We should go and see that.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17Poor old horses, though. They haven't enjoyed this rocky ground.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21- Wouldn't want to push them too much more.- Either we can walk and...
0:48:21 > 0:48:25You can walk? I've only ever seen you walk to your car!
0:48:41 > 0:48:47We're getting close to Darra, where Broken Tail spent his final days.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51It's going to be a strange feeling to see this place at last.
0:48:54 > 0:48:59All that's there is a train track, a village,
0:48:59 > 0:49:02and a forest that has somehow managed to survive.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07Does he remember the tiger being killed by the train here?
0:49:07 > 0:49:10HE SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:49:15 > 0:49:18There is old lady in the village, Darra village.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21They might have seen tiger when they come to collect the wood.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24Is she still around, or can we find out...?
0:49:24 > 0:49:27WOMAN SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:49:32 > 0:49:38I think I can understand. She was out woodcutting, picking sticks off the ground, and when she cracked one...
0:49:38 > 0:49:40She crack one of the sticks and tiger hear that.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44Because tiger was not expecting this lady, so suddenly he heard sound,
0:49:44 > 0:49:48and he's shocked to see them, so he run away and she run away.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50THEY LAUGH
0:49:50 > 0:49:54SHE SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:49:54 > 0:50:00They says, "We really felt very bad when we get to know about the tiger being killed, because
0:50:00 > 0:50:04"he never make any harm and he's such a beautiful animal."
0:50:04 > 0:50:10She says, "We trust the tiger like we can trust a human in the house."
0:50:10 > 0:50:13And can these ladies put a date on when they last saw him?
0:50:13 > 0:50:17SHE SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:50:17 > 0:50:20She knows when the tiger killed by the train here.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25In the daytime she saw him, and the next morning they found him dead.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30So you were the last person to see Broken Tail alive, probably.
0:50:44 > 0:50:50This is the same chain of hills that stretches all the way to Ranthambhore,
0:50:52 > 0:50:55200 miles long,
0:50:55 > 0:50:58and this is where Broken Tail ended up.
0:50:58 > 0:51:03Every so often you can hear a train. It's quite a busy train track.
0:51:03 > 0:51:08He knew that sound so well, but he didn't know to avoid them.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11He hadn't learnt that lesson.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14Travelled so far. He must have learned so much.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17And even for me it was quite a journey.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19But he sort of did it all by himself.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21He'd no mate.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23That's kind of sad.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36But to have made it this far,
0:51:36 > 0:51:39he was some tiger.
0:51:39 > 0:51:40He really was some tiger.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54What number did that guy say?
0:51:54 > 0:51:58He said this was between 870 and 871.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04This could have been the very spot where he came down.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08870...
0:52:12 > 0:52:14This was the place, Colin.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17He jump out from here and...
0:52:17 > 0:52:18fall down here.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32Why didn't he just jump up there?
0:52:32 > 0:52:36He tried to save himself. Maybe he don't have enough time, or...
0:52:36 > 0:52:39I've seen tigers jump walls that high,
0:52:39 > 0:52:41- many times.- They do that.
0:52:41 > 0:52:46Just think, after all he went through - after his journey, after all the...
0:52:46 > 0:52:51hardships he must have faced generally in life - pity that it all ended here.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55I shall do some Puja in the memory of...
0:53:13 > 0:53:18It was really very sad this time, because he was such a young and such a healthy tiger.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22One could not imagine that he would have been killed by that way.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24But the tiger, the King of the Forest,
0:53:24 > 0:53:29died with the Rajasthan Express, the super-fast train of the country, fastest train.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41Everybody was just weeping, nothing to say.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51Even doctor was not comfortable doing postmortem, because it was such
0:53:51 > 0:53:56an intact body, such a shining body. It was difficult to believe.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09It has to be burnt.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11So it was given to the flame.
0:54:12 > 0:54:17Everybody touched his foot and said, "Good journey to you".
0:54:17 > 0:54:20This is really interesting, you know. When somebody dies in India,
0:54:20 > 0:54:25human being, they touch the feet before they cremate the body.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28So it's the same thing they did with Broken Tail.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31And it's really sad for me also.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33You know, I am feeling now...
0:54:33 > 0:54:35the memories.
0:54:35 > 0:54:40He spent the days in front of my vehicle, all day playing and doing...
0:54:40 > 0:54:41It's like you are missing
0:54:41 > 0:54:46one of your really close friend or family member.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48That is really sad. Really sad.
0:55:02 > 0:55:09I'd hate to have heard of this, you know, emaciated tiger being found 200 miles away
0:55:09 > 0:55:13that kind of wandered into a village because he hadn't found water,
0:55:13 > 0:55:16that would've been an awful thing to kind of hear about.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18But that's not what I heard about.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22I heard about a tiger that had been killed by a train.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26And when he died, he was in his absolute prime.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30And that gives me a lot of comfort, I suppose.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01I'd prefer not to dwell on his death,
0:56:01 > 0:56:04but more on how exciting his life was
0:56:04 > 0:56:09and how much pleasure he gave to Salim and I, and so many people.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35I think Broken Tail's death, in the end
0:56:35 > 0:56:40will be one of the most important things he ever did - the way he died and where he died.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45Broken Tail has shown us the way.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48This is what tigers do, this is what they need, this is where they move to.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52They need zones, whole areas that they can wander through.
0:56:52 > 0:56:58We need prey in those zones, and I think Broken Tail might end up being an extremely important tiger
0:56:58 > 0:57:03that we look back on in years to come and say, "That's the one who started all this.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06"That's the one who changed our mind about how we should protect tigers."
0:58:00 > 0:58:03Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:03 > 0:58:06E-mail subtiting@bbc.co.uk