Episode 1 Operation Snow Tiger

Deep in the frozen forests of Russia lives a hunter.

It's one of the world's rarest animals.

He's right in there. Right there, less than 300 metres.

More scientists have been to space than have seen it in the wild.

THEY GASP

Now an international team are tracking this elusive predator.

Wow! Tiger!

They're dedicating their lives to protecting it.

He's really struggling, watch out.

In this series, we enter the hidden realm of this legendary big cat.

The Siberian tiger.

My name is Liz Bonnin.

Before I started working in television,

I was a wildlife biologist.

I've studied Bengal tigers in India and Nepal

but the Siberian tiger and its habitat here in the Russian Far East

are completely new to me.

I've been invited to Russia to help a team of scientists.

We're trying to uncover the secret life

of this mysterious and rare big cat.

I've come at a crucial time.

Some scientists believe there could be as few

as 300 Siberian tigers left in the wild.

I've travelled 5,000 miles, across ten time zones,

to reach one of the Earth's last great wildernesses.

I'm heading to a remote base where I'll be meeting the team.

I'm a little bit concerned about the conditions.

It gets to minus 30, minus 40 on a bad stormy day,

and these Russians are tough and they know this place

and they're fast. Hopefully I'll do OK.

HE SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN

The research team is led by Dr Victor Lukarevsky.

He's been tracking tigers here for five years.

All my life is connected with big cats.

Victor believes research holds the key to the future

of this endangered predator.

I am absolutely convinced it is possible to save the tiger.

Joining the team is American biologist, Dr Dale Miquelle,

from the Wildlife Conservation Society.

I've already invested 20 years of my life trying to understand

and save the Siberian tiger.

In recent years the numbers are declining, but we've got

the combined resources of Russians and all kinds of scientists here

to make sure there's a future for this animal in the Russian Far East.

So what's our best tactic? Where shall we start?

I've also brought cameramen with me, including wildlife specialist

Max Hug-Williams.

My role as a wildlife cameraman is really to try

and get any shots of the last remaining Siberian tigers.

There's only a handful of non-Russians who've even seen

these big cats so it's going to be super-tough.

It's been three months since Victor was last here.

He's worried that some of the tigers

in this area may have fallen victim to poachers.

I know that probably the most extraordinary animal on the planet

is in very real danger of becoming extinct here,

so I'm really keen to get to know the people who are trying

to stop that from happening and help them with their research

in any way that I can, but mostly I want to find out

if it's even possible to save the tiger here,

and if enough can be done before it's too late.

Right, come on, Victor. No more talking, here we go.

It's minus 28 this morning, really feeling it.

This cold is so severe everything gets covered in ice.

Even if there's a semblance of heat in this engine,

everything around it still freezes absolutely solid.

The scientists working in these extreme conditions are poorly funded.

Every morning their well-worn vehicles have to be coaxed back to life.

Another small problem in the Russian Far East.

We brought equipment to help the scientists here

capture more information about an animal that's rarely seen.

We're starting our search for Siberian tigers

in Ussuriysk Reserve, Victor's main study area.

In the past, Ussuriysk has been a safe haven for up to eight tigers.

It served as a breeding ground, producing young

that go on to populate the surrounding area.

With poaching on the increase,

Victor doesn't know which tigers are still alive.

Something we hope to help him find out.

Victor, how big is the protected area?

47,000 hectares.

So 470 kilometres squared.

Completely closed to the public for over 80 years,

the reserve is full of tiger prey.

We start our search by driving the reserve's roads.

Tigers like to use them too.

It's all about conserving energy out here and this is an easier road

to travel than in three feet of snow inside the forest.

We're looking for clues that tigers have been here.

Have you seen something?

Oh, my God, there's scratches all over the tree.

Yes, of course.

Hair. Look at all that hair. Tiger hair everywhere!

Siberian tigers mark trees to communicate with their neighbours.

Oh, you can see the mark, right, and it smells, you can still smell it.

But then you look up and inevitably

there's going to be that scratching of the tree

letting other tigers know, "I'm here."

Tigers do not meet face to face very often,

but they interact to such a high level with all of these signs.

It's just so thrilling.

It just shows that they're here, in this forest.

My heart is beating really fast!

It's brilliant news.

One of Victor's tigers is alive.

But which one is it?

How big is that to rub its head that high up?

It's a big cat, it is a big cat to reach that high.

The DNA in these hairs will tell Victor which tiger was here.

The remote cameras we've brought can also help identify individuals

and provide important information about their behaviour.

Where do you think...

-you want to put?

-Yes, yes.

-Are you putting the camera trap here?

-Yes, yes, I think.

On the left, huh?

For Victor, it's really important to get footage

so we're here to just provide camera traps to hopefully get him

evidence of tiger activity here.

The footage could even help him assess

whether the tigers are breeding,

and therefore if there's a future for the vital Ussuriysk population.

We are stuck. I mean, it's too steep

and you know, we're 15 miles from the nearest town,

we've got no sleeping bags or anything and it's minus 25 degrees.

I'm starting to understand how tough these Russian scientists are.

If we can't get this out, we stay here tonight,

that's for sure. What do we need to do?

Jeez!

I nearly got run over!

The car was coming at me in the snow!

Never mind getting stuck overnight! Getting run over!

When we finally get back to the safety of our cabins,

the work isn't over.

Facilities here are basic.

Heating and water come straight out of the forest.

The bowls are frozen together!

Oh, la-la-la-la! That's strong. How do you say strong in Russian?

Ochen krepko.

-Ochen krepko.

-Ochen...

-Krepko.

-Ochen krepko.

-You're doing great, Liz.

Five days later, and no further signs of tigers.

Fresh snow might change our luck.

So the snow has stopped falling for about 18 hours now.

If we're really lucky, there should be some nice fresh tiger tracks.

Siberian tigers are so elusive even Victor has only seen them

four times in the wild.

But that doesn't mean they're not here.

Do we still stay in the car?

'Correct, stay in the car.'

We've just driven up about 300 or 400 metres up the track

but we've all been told to stay in the car

because the tiger's a little bit behind.

We're even hearing the sound of crows being disturbed.

In previous years, Victor managed to trap a few tigers

to fit them with radio collars.

Right now he's getting a signal...

and it's close.

How far do you think the tiger is?

150...

That's it. 150 metres.

Not more.

God, guys, that's unbelievable.

And there are his tracks walking into the forest.

It's clear that it's moved in there because it's heard our cars

and it's quite possibly looking at us right now.

Now obviously it would be hugely foolish to follow these tracks forward.

The other somewhat disconcerting thought is that, er,

that tiger's tracks were heading straight down the path

that leads us to one of our cabins.

We won't be having lunch there today!

We've confirmed at least one tiger is in the reserve.

But a single tiger doesn't make a viable population.

Ussuriysk only has a future if tigers are breeding here.

We need to find more.

Russian technology helps us deploy more camera traps across the reserve.

We set cameras where Victor thinks tigers could pass.

But it's not just tigers that trigger them.

Over several days, we continue to put out cameras

and scour the forest for signs.

Finally we get together to see what we've captured.

OK, guys, are you ready? Here we go.

Just goes to show that the camera is actually working.

OK. Moving on quickly.

This man is going to have a heart attack

if I don't show him something interesting.

Then our first glimpse of the animal we've been looking for.

Stop, stop.

-Oh!

-Look at it.

-Oh, my God!

This footage is incredibly rare and it's the first time

many of the Russian researchers have seen shots like these.

What, sorry! Repeat, show him again.

Look at that face!

It's Banzai, a male tiger previously collared by Victor.

Away from his usual area, Victor thinks

he could be searching for a mate.

Amazingly, a nearby camera has filmed another male.

Also known to the Russian team, this is Luke.

Males found so close together will be competing for territory,

food, and females.

But even with 30 cameras out there not a single female has been found.

Finding those incredible camera trap images is really good news

but so far we haven't found any females

and without breeding females here, then this precious protected area,

this important potential source of new tigers is just going to waste.

So it's vital that we find evidence of females here.

Without female tigers, Ussuriysk's males could disperse,

leaving this all-important reserve empty.

Then we get a very disturbing call.

It's so important we're diverting from our main mission.

It looks like a tiger cub has been orphaned.

It's a bit sketchy, the news we're getting,

but it sounds like it's a cub that killed a dog in a village

and it got caught but needless to say we've turned the car around

and we're going to head right there to check out what the situation is.

We've been told the cub was spotted without its mother.

It's been brought to a wildlife rehabilitation centre nearby

and Dale is already on the scene.

So we've got a young, about four-month-old cub

-in this cage right here.

-She's four months old?!

About four months old.

-I'll show you, you can take a look at her.

-OK.

-Seriously?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's OK.

My heart is beating so fast, not in nerves, just in excitement.

Sorry, guys, I'm being...

If you look there, she'll be looking right at you.

Get your eyes accustomed.

Oh. Oh, my God, there she is.

Oh, my gosh.

She's a cutie.

She's absolutely beautiful and she's just lying there,

dazed and confused.

This is my first glimpse of a Siberian tiger.

It's a shame it has to be in these circumstances.

Dale thinks its mother has been killed.

So, no sign of the mother?

No sign of the mother.

And from your experience, that's it, it's poaching, yeah?

If the mother was around, she'd be gone.

Just not old enough to be able to make it out in the forest.

The Russians have named this cub Businka.

She needs to be moved into the warmer enclosure quickly.

Easier said than done.

GROWLING

Businka will be looked after

until she's ready to be returned to the wild.

She'll be here for a year at least.

It's a long uncertain road ahead but for now she's safe.

Businka wasn't alone.

Her mother had three cubs.

Dale's been sent footage filmed by a ranger showing the cubs

soon after they were discovered.

It's just amazing footage, take a look at this.

Look at them, three of them.

Three cubs along the road here. The snow's coming down.

It's just spectacular footage. It's really something.

I've never seen anything like this, you know, in this type...

In Russia, to be able to see this is just, just incredible.

So what does it look like? Two?

It's hard to tell but it looks like one a little bit smaller

-and then two a little larger.

-Yeah, so probably two males.

So three four-month-old cubs just sitting there for all to see

in the middle of that track in the snow

and that's the first they caught sight of them then?

This is the first time anyone's... Well, there's been a few sightings

but nothing like that.

These cubs represent almost 1% of the entire wild

Siberian tiger population.

This really brings home just how vulnerable this cat is.

Is their behaviour slightly unusual since they're so young?

-It is unusual. Usually a tiger would be gone.

-They would bolt.

They just don't hang around. But they're young, inexperienced.

They don't know they're supposed to be afraid so they're just all sat down together.

Look at this, there's two huddled together.

Oh, my gosh, and that one is looking really curiously.

That is mind-blowing.

One cub is safe, but two are still out there without their mother.

We assembled a team to study Siberian tigers

and to try to understand why they're disappearing.

But now we've got to split up to help with the cub rescue.

I'll continue to work with Victor in the reserve

and wildlife cameraman Max is joining a search party

looking for Businka's siblings.

Well, it's a pretty crazy day in Siberia.

We literally dropped off our bags,

grabbed the camera kit we could, and came out here

when we heard the story of the cubs out here on their own.

And we're just going to have to go with the flow and see what happens.

Max is with a crack team of Russian rangers.

Many are ex-military.

They're experts in forest survival and tracking.

OK, looks like we're off. Are you jumping in with us or are you...?

They're heading to the spot where the cubs were last seen.

With every hour that passes, the chance of finding them alive fades.

So, look at this. Tiger tracks all the way along here.

Look at that. You can see it's definitely one of our cubs.

Small tracks.

The guys are pretty sure they probably bedded down overnight

somewhere just up here, so I am going to try and stay with them.

These forests are dangerous.

A rogue bear injured a hunter here last night.

I'm trying to stay behind the guy with the gun

because I think that's the safest place to be.

But I'm not sure what I'm more scared of -

this bear that apparently someone's in hospital after being

attacked by a bear, or the two tiger cubs, and there's definitely

tiger tracks all around here so they could be pretty close.

Sasha Rybin, a biologist from the Wildlife Conservation Society

has found an important sign.

So what time do you think they came through here then?

What, the two tracks went a different way?

They're alone, yeah.

The cubs have separated.

Now they're on the trail of just one.

It's three or four o'clock now so we're running out of light.

I think they're talking about calling it a day.

But the two cubs have split up now.

So they're having a bit of an argument about which way

to go at the moment!

So, Sasha, we're not having much luck. What are we going to do now?

So there's poachers around here who will shoot the cubs? Really?

-So you've got the find them before the poachers?

-Yeah.

With the light fading, the cubs still haven't been found.

The team hope they'll find them tomorrow before the poachers do.

Again, it's a stark reminder that poaching is still

as prevalent as ever, isn't it?

Yeah, it's just an indicator that poaching is really the major threat

for tigers, not just here in Russia, but really across all of Asia.

It's the number one factor.

Poaching hasn't always been a problem.

Back in the days of the Soviet Union, stricter management

of the landscape and its wildlife saw tiger numbers rise.

But when communism collapsed, so did the economy.

People turned to the forests for food.

As capitalism took hold, borders opened

and the illegal trade in animal parts for Chinese medicine took off.

A Siberian tiger carcass could be worth up to 50,000.

Tiger numbers declined dramatically.

With tigers outside the reserve at risk,

it's vital that Ussuriysk's population is breeding.

But so far we've only found males.

So it's going off the road, into the forest.

How old do you think? Two days?

Yeah, two days ago. Definitely a male.

Absolutely, I am sure because it's big.

Very big pugmark. OK.

-Going back onto the road.

-Back onto the road, yes.

So it does a loop. Oh, nice! Nice pugmark.

-Oh, it's huge!

-It's huge, yes.

I mean, you can totally tell the difference between that

and a female pugmark, much bigger than a female.

In hope of confirming which male it is,

we check the nearest camera traps.

-OK, here we go.

-Left, back.

-Here we go.

SHE GASPS

Ooh! Hang on a second. It's stopped.

Huge paws!

It's Banzai again!

He's using the eastern part of the reserve

where Victor has never found signs of him before.

Three in the afternoon,

just strolling around in the wide open area.

He's beautiful, but he's not the female the reserve needs.

So what do we do next?

More camera traps.

Up north, Max is still looking for the two orphaned cubs.

They've been without their mother for five days now.

The trail has led him

to a place where a BBC camera crew are definitely not welcome.

OK, this is slightly random, slightly weird.

We're at a Russian military base.

It feels a bit like something out of James Bond.

But we've been told we've got to put all the cameras away

so we're just trying to give a little update.

Basically, one of the cubs has just been seen in the military base

so we've rushed over here, but they've told us

no English people are allowed anywhere near

this secret military base, so we're just having to wait in the car.

But it's definitely something out of the Cold War.

There's razor wire everywhere

and the two guards on the post in their Russian hats smoking away

are looking over here

so we should probably actually put the camera away.

Some of the Russian rangers have been allowed inside the base.

They've got the tiger?

They did get the tiger. Hang on a sec.

SHE SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN

Just go straight.

Tiger!

Somehow I'm now driving along, trying to find the guys.

Apparently they are 500 metres down here but I don't know

whether I'm just imagining things.

Some soldiers are looking at us

and we've got someone following us now, it's all slightly bizarre.

-Where are we going now, left or right?

-Turn right, turn right.

So that car literally followed us

-until we left the zone.

-And did they turn round?

And then they turned round, yeah. Is that them down there?

Before Max's imagination can run riot,

they're overtaken by one of the Rangers' jeeps.

Follow these guys.

Just trying to see if they bring us to the tiger cub.

Baptism of fire.

-Well, we're through anyway.

-Congratulations.

I guess this is where the road ends.

Here they are, look, look, look. The guys with the tiger!

To capture this second cub, Sasha's had to sedate it.

It's freezing and half-starved.

It's just bones.

Sasha's team have got to get this male cub

into the warmth as quickly as possible.

They're saying that he's, you know, touch and go

whether he'll make it because he is so weak.

He was obviously coming back in to try and get some food

and he's really just nothing but skin and bones.

The rehabilitation centre is five hours away,

so they have to improvise at the nearest village.

There's no vet here and the cub needs a warm, dark place to recover.

The only solution is a cupboard in a local house.

This is animal hospital, Siberian-style.

Sasha's team have done all they can do to help the second cub.

Now they must wait to see if they caught it in time.

Back in Ussuriysk,

we've been scouring the reserve for tiger tracks.

But we still haven't found any sign of females.

Oh, my gosh!

Now that's a beauty, that looks... Is that a front?

-That looks like a front.

-Looks...yes.

The size and shape of this track looks promising.

This camera we put up is very close to that pugmark we saw.

So we're going to see whether there's footage of a tiger on it.

Shall we put it on Victor's little computer?

-Oh, are you nervous?

-Yes.

Oh, what was that, what was it?

She was here, there was, she was!

Was it...?

She was here.

This is great news.

Oh, my God!

It's a tigress Victor has collared before.

We just got Serga on video, play again.

We got Serga on film.

Just beautiful, just watching her move just makes your eyes water.

Oh, my gosh.

Shake my hand. I am so happy.

Are you happy? I am happy.

We need to drink vodka tonight.

This is our most important discovery so far.

It means the males are less likely to disperse into unprotected areas.

And Serga could have cubs, the future of this reserve.

Up north, the tiger in the cupboard has come round.

The Rangers have named him Kuzya, and he's woken up hungry.

HE GROWLS

Sasha wants to transport him to the rehabilitation centre.

A piece of meat lures him into the crate.

It's his first meal in nearly a week.

In a few hours, he'll be reunited with his sister.

Two precious tiger cubs have been saved.

The last one could still be alive out there,

alone and fighting for its life.

The next day, Kuzya has arrived at the rehabilitation centre.

He's been placed in an enclosure with his sister.

If they're ever to be released into the wild,

they must have minimal human contact.

But a camera allows me to check how they are.

Take a look at this.

But look at that face, look at that face.

A wild Siberian tiger,

just the most beautiful thing alive.

I would give anything to be in there having a look

but obviously this is all about making sure that these little fellas

who are only four months old can survive rehabilitation

and can be released in about a year's time.

To be able to fear man and to hunt properly

and to be as wild as they possibly can

at this early stage of their lives.

And ever so slowly, the second cub comes up.

It really is lovely to think that two of the cubs have been reunited

and hopefully, fingers crossed, if everything goes well up north,

they'll able to bring the third cub to join its siblings.

And right now it's about getting them to relax a little bit

because they've really gone through a lot.

It's vital to just get them to calm and to feed and to drink water.

These cubs needed to stay with their mother for up to two years

to learn vital survival skills.

Orphaned at just four months,

Businka and Kuzya will need a lot of help

to prepare them for release next spring.

There's no guarantee it'll work.

For now, they're in safe hands.

I head back to the reserve to help Victor,

and Max has started searching for the last cub.

This is a bit of a challenge now.

He may well have already died but we can't give up hope.

Every one of these tigers counts.

There's only 400 left in the wild

and if we can get these three cubs down to the rehab centre,

who knows, one day they may be released back into these forests.

We are going to have to leave the truck here

because that is definitely going to go through the ice.

You can see over here little pools of water.

Tiger track.

You can see, look. Bit of snow on top so it's probably from yesterday.

Has he gone across the river, Sasha?

Is he trying to lose us? Look at this guy!

The rangers have marched ten miles today and show no sign of easing up.

I've no idea what these Russians had for breakfast but, look,

they have either got much longer legs than me...

They're walking along, I'm virtually jogging

and I can't bloody catch up with them!

There's a reason the Russians are moving so fast.

They've got to try and catch this last cub before tonight.

Basically, the snow's coming in for three days, a massive storm

and they don't think it will survive out here. The last cub

we picked up was just skin and bones, they haven't eaten

for ten days now, and so we're just going to keep following.

We've got to get him by the end of the day.

After seven exhausting hours, the tracks lead them

back where they started.

These tracks are going towards where we caught the one yesterday so...

-So we might have done one big circle.

-Yeah, unfortunately.

Oh, what a day! The weather is closing in now.

You can see the clouds and snow,

heavy snow is forecast.

So we really have a race against time to find this last cub

and get him down to join his brother and sister

before he just perishes in the cold.

While Max is searching for the last cub up north,

I'm in Ussuriysk helping Victor.

We've only found one female in the reserve, Serga.

From studying the camera trap footage, Victor thinks

there's a chance that Serga could be pregnant.

To find out, we need a different type of evidence,

so we're following her trail.

Perfect pugmark, perfect pugmarks in the snow.

An experienced tracker like Victor can piece together

a tiger's story in the snow.

-Wait, wait.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Wait, wait, wait.

-Wait, wait, wait.

Because she can go here, because these tracks.

Ah, she's OK.

-Well, what are they, they look like tiger tracks?

-It's OK.

It's her going this way, she went off here for a bit though, huh?

These tracks are 36 hours old,

but Victor can still gain a lot of information.

So where has she gone now?

We will see, don't worry. We will find.

I'm getting impatient. Learn from the master.

-Victor, this is going that way.

-Yes.

This is going that way.

I tell you that she turn back in the same.

She walked back in her own footsteps.

-Is the same track.

-Why?

And she put the legs in the same...

Unbelievable. So this pugmark, there's the pad, there are the toes.

Liz, we'll stay here.

She's going this way.

This lady walked back in her own footsteps.

Why would a tiger bother to do that?

Victor has the answer.

Look! She sleep here. She was sleeping here.

Oh, God, Victor.

Serga left the track to find a place to sleep.

-It is the tail, it sleep here, it's the...

-Head.

-The head is here.

-Look, paws?

-Yes, yes.

It's amazing, just amazing.

Because Serga's spent the night here, she may have left

evidence which could tell us about her breeding condition.

OK.

Now I'm going to do a urine sample in this one, yes?

-Yes, yes.

-You have a pen for marking?

Analysing this frozen urine sample could answer

whether Serga is pregnant.

Following her tracks uphill reveals more clues.

Look. Here she stayed like a dog.

Ooooh!

She was looking for her prey.

She sat on her hind legs and she looked over her kingdom!

In Russian, this position, the name position sphinx.

Sphinx! The Sphinx position.

Not to be disgusting but that's part of, you know, faecal matter,

which indicates that she's old, do you think?

I think the female is old.

She's old.

It's bad news.

Incontinence can be a sign of illness or old age.

Victor is beginning to suspect that Serga will not have cubs again,

which would leave this important reserve without a breeding female.

Back up north, Max is still searching for the missing cub.

A blizzard has begun and hope is fading fast.

Snowed about two foot overnight

and I've got no idea what the cub's doing in this weather.

Sasha's really worried that unless it's really hunkered down,

it's going to die because it's just skin and bones.

Look at this, I mean it's... Yesterday there was next to no snow

and now it's almost up to my knees.

It means that all the tracks are covered up, we've got no idea

where the cub is and we're going to have to wait

until someone sees, if we hear any news that someone sees

any tiger tracks, but it's not looking good.

Sasha, do you think in this weather the cub is going to have any chance?

-Chance for what?

-Surviving.

It's not nice, is it?

In these conditions, finding tracks of the last cub

is virtually impossible.

I suppose they could be covered up already!

Any track could be covered already.

All they can do is wait for the blizzard to clear.

It's not looking good for this last cub.

We've been working the roads all day,

getting stuck in the vehicles

and looking for fresh tracks to no avail.

The snow is up to my waist in places

and I think any cub trying to move around in this would need a snorkel.

It's really a race against time now.

Sasha thinks that the cub's probably got another 24 hours,

if that, before it's just going to die of cold and exhaustion.

It probably hasn't eaten for eight to ten days now.

We can only hope, and just really hope,

we catch up with him in the morning.

Let's check this one.

Back in Ussuriysk, I'm checking the latest camera trap footage

with Victor and Dale.

-OK, here we go.

-Left.

-Fox!

-Oh, wow, nice.

Beauty. What's he hunting, Victor?

It's a mouse or squirrel.

Look at that, here we go, here we go.

-That's brilliant!

-I love that.

Oh, my gosh, he's gorgeous.

Nice deer action.

One, two, three...oh, and a fourth one. Good reproduction here.

This is great, a nice big group of red deer.

You usually don't see them in such big groups.

They're all very healthy.

Then these superb daytime shots of Serga, our resident female.

Victor!

Serga is the only female Victor has confirmed

here in Ussuriysk in the last year.

The reserve should act as a breeding ground,

bridging the last populations of Siberian tigers on each side of it.

Ussuriysk badly needs a fertile female.

But so far, it's not looking good.

So Victor has been looking at the camera trap footage of Serga

in more detail and also based on her behaviour

as we're tracking her, he's pretty sure that she's not pregnant,

and obviously that's really bad news

and you know Serga is old now, I mean, she may not breed again,

so the outlook really isn't good unless Victor can find

evidence of other breeding females in this protected area.

So really it's hugely important to put all our efforts

into finding out whether there are any other females in the reserve.

That is really the key now.

Up north, the blizzard has cleared.

Max has lost hope that the third cub is still alive.

Then, a local reports something worth checking out.

OK, this is the area we were driving around in yesterday

and we couldn't see any fresh tracks, then the guys have

seen this track probably from last night coming across the road.

Dale has travelled up overnight to lend his expertise.

So we've driven around, driven a circle around

this little island of habitat and we know the tracks didn't go

out of that circle, so that at least right now this cub is in this area,

about a kilometre wide by three or four kilometres long.

From a distance, it almost looks like a human track from the road,

but you can see getting closer, paw prints, look at that.

That's definitely a tiger.

There's a whole series of tracks in here,

trying to make sense of them. He's done a number of circles in here.

Look, tiger, tiger.

What's happening, Dale?

-OK. We've got the cub down here.

-You've got the cub.

It's a tiger. OK.

What's going on?

OK, it's right underneath the snow, right there, see?

Siberian tiger cub just here.

It's coming out! It's coming out.

Out here, sticks are the only way to capture the cub without hurting it.

We've got the last cub, it's so good to see him alive.

They're just immobilising him now.

I can't believe he's seen it through the storm.

And I'm this close to a growling cub. He's moving a bit.

He's moving.

The cub is given a calming sedative.

Just waiting for the drug to take effect.

It can take up to ten minutes.

When there's this many people around, it's more stress,

it's harder for the drug to take effect, he's fighting it.

I just can't quite believe we've got him.

You know, every one of these cubs is so important,

there's only 400 in the wild

and we really thought he'd died, this one.

I don't know how he lasted for about ten days on his own.

Without his mother, without his brother and his sister,

and now hopefully he can join them at the rehab centre.

and one day come back into the wild.

This is great. This is what we wanted. To get this guy.

He's got a second chance now.

Which is all we can do, give him a second chance.

The sedative stops the cub from blinking.

A gel protects its eyes from drying out.

They've got to get this weak cub somewhere warm

as quickly as possible.

This tiger's life is hanging by a thread.

Next time.

We find out if the last cub survives.

We step up the search for breeding tigers.

Just to get one glimpse, you know, just a flash of orange.

And we investigate how we can save the Siberian tiger.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd