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If you want to get close to a tiger, get an elephant. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:10 | |
But these elephants carry cameras and with them they have recorded | 0:00:14 | 0:00:18 | |
the most intimate images of tigers ever seen. | 0:00:18 | 0:00:20 | |
In the last programme, they discovered a litter of four cubs. | 0:00:28 | 0:00:35 | |
We watched as their mother protected them from enemies. | 0:00:38 | 0:00:42 | |
We saw how she hunted to provide them with food. | 0:00:50 | 0:00:54 | |
Slowly they started to acquire | 0:00:56 | 0:00:59 | |
the skills they needed for life in the forest. | 0:00:59 | 0:01:02 | |
But nothing had prepared them for the day | 0:01:04 | 0:01:07 | |
that a dangerous stranger arrived at their water hole. | 0:01:07 | 0:01:10 | |
The lives of the cubs are at risk. | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
Their mother isn't at the den and hasn't been seen for days. | 0:01:22 | 0:01:27 | |
A leopard is drinking from a water hole close by. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:31 | |
Leopards kill tiger cubs. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:35 | |
The cubs are now eight months old and they could put up a real fight. | 0:01:36 | 0:01:40 | |
But a full-grown leopard is a formidable adversary. | 0:01:40 | 0:01:44 | |
TIGER GROWLS | 0:01:46 | 0:01:47 | |
Fortunately, it seems that all she wanted was a drink. | 0:01:53 | 0:01:58 | |
With the danger passed, | 0:02:16 | 0:02:17 | |
the cubs have to deal with more routine problems. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:21 | |
What, for example, is the best way to get out of the den? | 0:02:21 | 0:02:26 | |
Not so difficult, after all. | 0:02:44 | 0:02:47 | |
Now is the time for play. | 0:02:50 | 0:02:52 | |
Keeping cool is a major preoccupation. | 0:02:57 | 0:03:01 | |
Damp sand in a shady spot is just the place to do so. | 0:03:01 | 0:03:07 | |
They urinate directly into the pool. | 0:03:12 | 0:03:16 | |
That conceals their scent from predators - | 0:03:16 | 0:03:18 | |
a particularly necessary precaution when mother is away. | 0:03:18 | 0:03:23 | |
TIGER GROWLS | 0:03:23 | 0:03:25 | |
The cubs are still nervous. | 0:03:25 | 0:03:27 | |
They daren't stray far from the den. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:32 | |
The crew with the camera-elephants | 0:03:43 | 0:03:46 | |
are becoming concerned about the mother's safety | 0:03:46 | 0:03:48 | |
and decide to go in search of her. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:50 | |
Methodically, they explore her territory | 0:03:52 | 0:03:55 | |
in the centre of Pench Tiger Reserve. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:57 | |
But it's an area of around ten square miles | 0:03:57 | 0:04:00 | |
and within it she could be anywhere. | 0:04:00 | 0:04:02 | |
The elephants can get to almost any place | 0:04:04 | 0:04:07 | |
that a tigress is likely to reach | 0:04:07 | 0:04:08 | |
and the cameras can be switched on the moment an animal is sighted. | 0:04:08 | 0:04:13 | |
But this is not what they were hoping to find - | 0:04:13 | 0:04:16 | |
another leopard. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:17 | |
A male this time and not far from the cubs' den. | 0:04:17 | 0:04:22 | |
The Indian leopard is notoriously secretive and rarely seen. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:29 | |
But in Pench, they far outnumber tigers. | 0:04:29 | 0:04:32 | |
They're a real threat to any tiger cubs | 0:04:32 | 0:04:35 | |
that have lost the protection of their mother. | 0:04:35 | 0:04:37 | |
Despite the dangers, the cubs spend most of the day out of the den. | 0:04:40 | 0:04:44 | |
Being a foursome seems to give them confidence. | 0:04:44 | 0:04:48 | |
At this age, the two brothers and two sisters get on well together | 0:04:48 | 0:04:52 | |
and rarely squabble. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:53 | |
They've now been without food for many days | 0:04:54 | 0:04:57 | |
and they must be feeling very hungry. | 0:04:57 | 0:04:59 | |
And to make matters worse, their favourite prey appears nearby. | 0:04:59 | 0:05:05 | |
Cubs as young as this haven't a hope of catching such swift prey. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:11 | |
But there's no harm in trying. | 0:05:11 | 0:05:13 | |
It's a chance to try out some of the techniques | 0:05:22 | 0:05:25 | |
they learnt from watching their mother. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
They're making all the right moves. | 0:05:31 | 0:05:34 | |
But they haven't got the patience. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:40 | |
Cubs have to go for long periods without food, | 0:05:46 | 0:05:49 | |
but if the mother doesn't return soon | 0:05:49 | 0:05:52 | |
they will rapidly lose condition. | 0:05:52 | 0:05:54 | |
The next day, the crew hear alarm calls from deer nearby. | 0:05:58 | 0:06:03 | |
That might mean there's a tiger around, | 0:06:03 | 0:06:05 | |
so the elephants set off to investigate. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:08 | |
As they close in on the calls, | 0:06:08 | 0:06:11 | |
the elephant-cams are switched on remotely. | 0:06:11 | 0:06:14 | |
Trunk-cam, the first on the scene, finds the tiger. | 0:06:17 | 0:06:21 | |
But it's not the cub's mother, it's a male. | 0:06:21 | 0:06:24 | |
If he's a stranger he might well kill the cubs. | 0:06:24 | 0:06:29 | |
Trunk-cam can film from either the elephant or on the ground. | 0:06:29 | 0:06:32 | |
And it moves even closer under its own power. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:37 | |
It's good news. | 0:06:39 | 0:06:41 | |
This is Charger, the cub's father and therefore their protector. | 0:06:41 | 0:06:46 | |
He gained his name from his habit of charging elephants. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:57 | |
But now he merely warns them off with a few growls. | 0:06:57 | 0:07:00 | |
A fearless father is exactly what the cubs need right now. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:09 | |
He will keep away any rival males who might harm them. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:12 | |
But the cubs' problems are by no means over. | 0:07:21 | 0:07:25 | |
Their mother has never left them for as long as this before. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
Next day, the search for her continues. | 0:07:39 | 0:07:42 | |
The elephants separate and fan out across her territory. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:46 | |
Then a breakthrough. | 0:07:47 | 0:07:49 | |
Fresh pug marks, not far from her cubs. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:52 | |
Footprints can identify an individual tiger. | 0:07:53 | 0:07:57 | |
The mahouts who ride the elephants | 0:07:57 | 0:07:59 | |
say these look like the cubs' mother's. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:03 | |
They're certainly very fresh. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:05 | |
And there is a female tiger. | 0:08:09 | 0:08:12 | |
She's scent-marking, | 0:08:17 | 0:08:19 | |
which suggests that this is indeed her territory, | 0:08:19 | 0:08:23 | |
but only a closer view will confirm her identity. | 0:08:23 | 0:08:26 | |
She is the mother. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:35 | |
Why she left is a mystery. | 0:08:37 | 0:08:39 | |
The mahouts say that a strange male has been seen in the reserve | 0:08:43 | 0:08:48 | |
and think that she may have left | 0:08:48 | 0:08:50 | |
to try and lure him away from the cubs. | 0:08:50 | 0:08:52 | |
The family is reunited. | 0:08:54 | 0:08:57 | |
Although leaving them was itself a risk, | 0:09:04 | 0:09:08 | |
it was probably the lesser of two evils. | 0:09:08 | 0:09:11 | |
Licking and grooming not only helps clean the cubs, | 0:09:14 | 0:09:17 | |
it gives them much needed reassurance. | 0:09:17 | 0:09:20 | |
The tigress has done a remarkable job in raising all four cubs, | 0:09:28 | 0:09:33 | |
but they're still very much at risk. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:35 | |
Half of all tiger cubs born | 0:09:35 | 0:09:38 | |
die before they are a year old from one cause or another. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:41 | |
The leopard is back. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
Will she risk coming down for a drink | 0:09:49 | 0:09:51 | |
now that the tigress is back in residence? | 0:09:51 | 0:09:54 | |
She thinks better of it. | 0:10:23 | 0:10:25 | |
And then we see that the leopard has her own family to protect - | 0:10:35 | 0:10:40 | |
two five-month-old cubs. | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
She leads them away to a less dangerous part of the forest. | 0:10:44 | 0:10:48 | |
To record the lives of some of the other inhabitants of the forest, | 0:11:01 | 0:11:06 | |
the elephants use other kinds of spy-cams. | 0:11:06 | 0:11:09 | |
Log-cam can be put on the ground and left to operate by itself. | 0:11:14 | 0:11:18 | |
It will turn itself on whenever anything large moves in front of it. | 0:11:18 | 0:11:23 | |
Many of these cameras are placed around the tigress's territory | 0:11:23 | 0:11:27 | |
and carefully positioned. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:29 | |
Spotted deer are regularly caught by these candid cameras. | 0:11:41 | 0:11:46 | |
They're one of the favourite foods of tigers. | 0:11:46 | 0:11:49 | |
With hungry cubs to feed, the tigress must find a meal quickly. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:58 | |
But there are no deer nearby. | 0:11:58 | 0:12:00 | |
Now, as she searches for prey, the cubs often travel with her. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:19 | |
That way she can visit distant parts of her territory | 0:12:19 | 0:12:23 | |
where the deer have not been hunted for some time, | 0:12:23 | 0:12:25 | |
so are less on their guard. | 0:12:25 | 0:12:27 | |
Spotted deer often share lookout duties with monkeys. | 0:12:31 | 0:12:36 | |
That suits both parties. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:38 | |
But at the water hole, it's different. | 0:12:38 | 0:12:40 | |
There, not every monkey is a friend. | 0:12:40 | 0:12:44 | |
Log-cam reveals that macaques actually chase deer away. | 0:12:45 | 0:12:49 | |
Even the biggest stags retreat. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:58 | |
BARKING | 0:13:00 | 0:13:01 | |
With the deer having taken fright, | 0:13:05 | 0:13:07 | |
the macaques have to rely on their own surveillance skills. | 0:13:07 | 0:13:11 | |
-MACAQUE BARKS -A tiger spells danger. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:16 | |
MACAQUE BARKS | 0:13:19 | 0:13:20 | |
Two tigers are clearly a terrifying sight. | 0:13:20 | 0:13:24 | |
MACAQUE BARKS | 0:13:25 | 0:13:27 | |
And five must surely be every monkey's worst nightmare. | 0:13:27 | 0:13:31 | |
BARKING CONTINUES | 0:13:35 | 0:13:38 | |
The spotted deer hear the commotion. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:46 | |
But the tigress is not particularly perturbed. | 0:13:49 | 0:13:52 | |
This old teak forest teems with life. | 0:13:55 | 0:13:58 | |
If she keeps moving, she'll get lots more chances. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
Here there are plenty to choose from. | 0:14:15 | 0:14:18 | |
She's got one! | 0:14:44 | 0:14:46 | |
Tigers are generally said to succeed just one time out of ten. | 0:14:48 | 0:14:53 | |
But this tigress kills on average every third try. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:56 | |
She needs to be good. | 0:14:56 | 0:14:58 | |
Her cubs have already got huge appetites | 0:14:58 | 0:15:00 | |
and by the time they leave her they will weigh eight times as much. | 0:15:00 | 0:15:04 | |
Even at this size, | 0:15:06 | 0:15:07 | |
each cub consumes around two kilos of meat at a single sitting. | 0:15:07 | 0:15:12 | |
The camera elephants take a bath every day. | 0:15:15 | 0:15:18 | |
They work for five hours at a stretch | 0:15:18 | 0:15:21 | |
and then the rest of the day is their own. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:23 | |
In the sweltering summer, | 0:15:35 | 0:15:37 | |
this daily ritual brings much needed relief from the heat. | 0:15:37 | 0:15:41 | |
The cubs also like a cooling dip. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:48 | |
But the pool by the den is not large | 0:15:48 | 0:15:51 | |
and when their mother joins in things can get a little crowded. | 0:15:51 | 0:15:55 | |
In spite of the heat | 0:16:21 | 0:16:22 | |
summer is a good time of year for some of the forest animals. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:27 | |
These are among the rarest - | 0:16:29 | 0:16:31 | |
sloth bears. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:34 | |
They only venture out during the day in the most secluded places, | 0:16:34 | 0:16:38 | |
but spy-cam was there to record them. | 0:16:38 | 0:16:42 | |
They're feasting on fallen fruit. | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
Wild boar are also partial to fruit. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:14 | |
Most animals fear sloth bears, | 0:17:18 | 0:17:21 | |
but not, apparently, wild boar. | 0:17:21 | 0:17:24 | |
At least, not when there's food around. | 0:17:24 | 0:17:27 | |
Although there is plenty for all, | 0:17:40 | 0:17:43 | |
it's sometimes necessary for the bears to show who's boss. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:47 | |
BEAR GROWLS | 0:17:47 | 0:17:49 | |
The bear cubs are working out where they stand in the pecking order. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:57 | |
They're aggressive creatures by nature | 0:17:57 | 0:18:00 | |
and will face down even the biggest predators. | 0:18:00 | 0:18:02 | |
But they must show no fear. | 0:18:02 | 0:18:04 | |
Even so, for the youngsters, | 0:18:15 | 0:18:17 | |
things sometimes get just too much and it's time to retreat. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:21 | |
The tigers have moved from their small and shrinking bath tub | 0:18:27 | 0:18:31 | |
to a more commodious bathing pool - | 0:18:31 | 0:18:34 | |
a reservoir built by the local people | 0:18:34 | 0:18:36 | |
that provides them with water throughout the year. | 0:18:36 | 0:18:39 | |
It's a great place to cool down. | 0:18:39 | 0:18:42 | |
The sambar deer are feeling the heat too. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:49 | |
The wild boar also enjoy a mud bath, | 0:19:01 | 0:19:05 | |
and combining a wallow with a meal just doubles the pleasure. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:09 | |
Mud bathing is clearly enjoyable, | 0:19:20 | 0:19:23 | |
but it also helps an animal to get rid of ticks | 0:19:23 | 0:19:26 | |
and other skin parasites. | 0:19:26 | 0:19:28 | |
The tigress hasn't yet found the perfect spot. | 0:19:39 | 0:19:44 | |
The cubs opt for shade. | 0:19:44 | 0:19:46 | |
Tigers are one of the few cats that actually enjoy swimming | 0:19:53 | 0:19:58 | |
and they usually pick den sites close to water. | 0:19:58 | 0:20:01 | |
As they travel around their territories during the summer, | 0:20:01 | 0:20:04 | |
they move as quickly as possible through the drier parts | 0:20:04 | 0:20:07 | |
to get to the hunting grounds that have good bathing pools. | 0:20:07 | 0:20:10 | |
As June comes to an end, the heat becomes really hard to bear. | 0:20:17 | 0:20:22 | |
Midday temperatures can reach 45 degrees in the shade. | 0:20:22 | 0:20:26 | |
But after a bathe, the water evaporating from the fur | 0:20:26 | 0:20:30 | |
cools the body and brings enough relief for the animal to snooze. | 0:20:30 | 0:20:35 | |
When the monsoon finally arrives it's not a moment too soon. | 0:20:36 | 0:20:42 | |
As well as bringing a welcome drop in temperature, | 0:21:12 | 0:21:15 | |
the rains replenish the park's dams and pools. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:19 | |
There is greenery everywhere. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:29 | |
The giant two-metre webs of golden orb spiders hang between the trees. | 0:21:33 | 0:21:39 | |
These are the biggest spiders' webs in the world. | 0:21:46 | 0:21:50 | |
Their silken guy ropes sometimes stretch across six-metre gaps. | 0:21:50 | 0:21:55 | |
The elephants are bound to barge through them. | 0:21:55 | 0:21:59 | |
The spiders themselves have a span as wide as a human hand. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:09 | |
But they are of no consequence to an elephant. | 0:22:09 | 0:22:14 | |
Their web is strong enough to catch a small bird, | 0:22:16 | 0:22:20 | |
but the spiders in fact feed only on insects. | 0:22:20 | 0:22:24 | |
The cubs are just over a year old | 0:22:26 | 0:22:29 | |
and they have an appetite to match their size. | 0:22:29 | 0:22:32 | |
But there has been a significant change in their behaviour. | 0:22:35 | 0:22:39 | |
Their play now includes mock hunting with mother serving as a target. | 0:22:39 | 0:22:45 | |
This is stylised fighting. | 0:23:08 | 0:23:11 | |
It looks dangerously aggressive, | 0:23:11 | 0:23:13 | |
but the cubs keep their claws fully sheathed throughout. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:17 | |
Mother never takes part in their fighting games, | 0:23:22 | 0:23:26 | |
but indulgently tolerates the cubs' boisterous behaviour. | 0:23:26 | 0:23:30 | |
They spend a lot of time travelling. | 0:23:50 | 0:23:53 | |
Five nearly full-sized tigers on the move together | 0:23:53 | 0:23:57 | |
is a rare sight indeed. | 0:23:57 | 0:24:00 | |
They are a formidable force. | 0:24:08 | 0:24:11 | |
Nothing stays around to challenge them. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:14 | |
Even though it's now cooler, | 0:24:30 | 0:24:32 | |
they still bathe at the hottest part of the day. | 0:24:32 | 0:24:35 | |
Water is difficult to resist. | 0:24:35 | 0:24:38 | |
The cubs take no notice whatever of the elephants, | 0:24:53 | 0:24:57 | |
so it's possible to get really intimate shots | 0:24:57 | 0:24:59 | |
from the camera held in the trunk. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:01 | |
Progress through the forest is slow, | 0:25:11 | 0:25:14 | |
because they linger at almost every pool or stream. | 0:25:14 | 0:25:18 | |
They're not alone in relishing the abundance of water. | 0:25:33 | 0:25:37 | |
The langur monkeys and their babies | 0:25:41 | 0:25:43 | |
seem to have not a care in the world. | 0:25:43 | 0:25:46 | |
But for some babies drinking isn't the most comfortable of times. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:12 | |
Unlike macaques, langurs are the friends of spotted deer. | 0:26:19 | 0:26:24 | |
They share the task of keeping a lookout for their greatest enemy. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:29 | |
The time has come for the tigress to make a determined hunt. | 0:26:33 | 0:26:38 | |
One of her cubs decides to go with her to get some personal tuition. | 0:26:44 | 0:26:49 | |
The rest prefer to take it easy. | 0:27:02 | 0:27:05 | |
They're now starting to behave as individuals. | 0:27:05 | 0:27:08 | |
Each making its own decisions about what it should do. | 0:27:08 | 0:27:12 | |
The tigress doesn't need to look far for a meal. | 0:27:19 | 0:27:23 | |
She is one of the most productive parts of her territory. | 0:27:23 | 0:27:26 | |
She hasn't been here for some time, | 0:27:26 | 0:27:28 | |
so she has more chance of catching her prey off guard. | 0:27:28 | 0:27:32 | |
The lush undergrowth gives her plenty of cover. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:37 | |
Her prey seem quite unconcerned. | 0:27:59 | 0:28:02 | |
-But not for long. -CUB GROWLS | 0:28:02 | 0:28:04 | |
The cub has still to learn that this sort of behaviour | 0:28:07 | 0:28:11 | |
is not what is needed when mother is trying to hunt. | 0:28:11 | 0:28:14 | |
DEER BARKS | 0:28:14 | 0:28:16 | |
LANGUR BARKS | 0:28:20 | 0:28:21 | |
The langur sends a warning far and wide. | 0:28:21 | 0:28:25 | |
But still the cub doesn't calm down. | 0:28:33 | 0:28:36 | |
The cub is now testing his mother's patience to the limit. | 0:29:01 | 0:29:05 | |
She warns him that enough is enough. | 0:29:05 | 0:29:08 | |
TIGER GROWLS | 0:29:08 | 0:29:11 | |
The rest of the cubs are content to wait until she's caught something. | 0:29:14 | 0:29:19 | |
That shows just how well fed they are. | 0:29:19 | 0:29:22 | |
Her prey soon relax. | 0:29:29 | 0:29:32 | |
The pools are beginning to dry. | 0:29:32 | 0:29:35 | |
Gaur, the rare wild Indian cattle, | 0:29:41 | 0:29:44 | |
are big enough to push most others drinkers out of the way. | 0:29:44 | 0:29:48 | |
Spotted deer are given their marching orders | 0:29:57 | 0:30:00 | |
by the more dominant sambar deer. | 0:30:00 | 0:30:03 | |
The mother makes another start. | 0:30:17 | 0:30:21 | |
But she'll have to get rid of her over-enthusiastic cub. | 0:30:21 | 0:30:25 | |
This time, he gets the message. | 0:30:32 | 0:30:35 | |
The cub is beginning to understand his mother's changing demeanour. | 0:30:40 | 0:30:45 | |
Every posture has a special meaning. | 0:30:45 | 0:30:47 | |
When she has a target in her sights, | 0:30:54 | 0:30:56 | |
nothing will break her concentration. | 0:30:56 | 0:30:59 | |
She has taken her prey completely by surprise. | 0:31:32 | 0:31:36 | |
She brings it down. | 0:31:36 | 0:31:38 | |
It's a sambar deer. | 0:31:40 | 0:31:42 | |
She partially throttles her victim, but doesn't kill it. | 0:31:47 | 0:31:52 | |
She will use this one to give a lesson to her cub. | 0:31:52 | 0:31:55 | |
The mother leaves him to get on with it. | 0:32:00 | 0:32:03 | |
But he is not quite sure what to do. | 0:32:03 | 0:32:06 | |
The throttle hold is one of the most important things he has to learn | 0:32:11 | 0:32:15 | |
and he's making a good start. | 0:32:15 | 0:32:18 | |
Giving half-killed prey to a cub like this | 0:32:26 | 0:32:30 | |
seems heart-breakingly cruel | 0:32:30 | 0:32:32 | |
but learning to deal with live prey is a vital step | 0:32:32 | 0:32:36 | |
on the path to becoming an independent hunter. | 0:32:36 | 0:32:40 | |
The mother has returned to find the other cubs. | 0:32:47 | 0:32:51 | |
She can remember exactly where she left them | 0:32:59 | 0:33:02 | |
and they greet her with head butts, | 0:33:02 | 0:33:04 | |
a gesture that is used by many cats, large and small. | 0:33:04 | 0:33:09 | |
The chase took her a long way from her cubs, | 0:33:30 | 0:33:33 | |
but she knows the forest so well | 0:33:33 | 0:33:35 | |
that she's able to lead them directly back to the kill | 0:33:35 | 0:33:39 | |
by the shortest possible route. | 0:33:39 | 0:33:41 | |
The cub meanwhile is making the most of having the kill to himself. | 0:33:46 | 0:33:52 | |
By the time his brother and sisters arrive | 0:34:01 | 0:34:04 | |
he's starting to feel it's his. | 0:34:04 | 0:34:06 | |
The cubs are beginning now and then | 0:34:14 | 0:34:16 | |
to be aggressive towards one another, | 0:34:16 | 0:34:18 | |
particularly when there is food around. | 0:34:18 | 0:34:21 | |
As the newcomers wait their turn, | 0:34:52 | 0:34:54 | |
they dispel their frustration with a game of chase. | 0:34:54 | 0:34:58 | |
The carcass is too big for one cub to consume on his own | 0:35:18 | 0:35:21 | |
so eventually they will all get their fill. | 0:35:21 | 0:35:25 | |
The cub pulls the carcass into the shade of a lantana bush | 0:35:34 | 0:35:38 | |
and things start to calm down. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:41 | |
While the cubs relax, the elephants leave them | 0:36:04 | 0:36:08 | |
and set off to look for other tigers. | 0:36:08 | 0:36:11 | |
There are reports that the cubs' father, Charger, | 0:36:25 | 0:36:28 | |
is back in the neighbourhood. | 0:36:28 | 0:36:30 | |
Trunk-cam spots him first | 0:36:30 | 0:36:33 | |
and discovers that he has made an extraordinary kill. | 0:36:33 | 0:36:37 | |
The high view from elephant-back reveals just what he's eating. | 0:36:42 | 0:36:46 | |
A sloth bear. | 0:36:46 | 0:36:47 | |
Killing a sloth bear shows just what a strong individual he is. | 0:36:56 | 0:37:01 | |
Bears are formidable animals | 0:37:01 | 0:37:03 | |
and have even been known to attack tigers. | 0:37:03 | 0:37:06 | |
The bear must have been difficult to kill | 0:37:18 | 0:37:21 | |
and plucking it certainly took some time | 0:37:21 | 0:37:24 | |
for the result looks like a rug on the forest floor. | 0:37:24 | 0:37:28 | |
Although Charger has not gone far away, | 0:37:35 | 0:37:38 | |
he rarely spends time with his family. | 0:37:38 | 0:37:41 | |
But his presence in the neighbourhood keeps away | 0:37:41 | 0:37:44 | |
young males looking for territory who might attack the cubs. | 0:37:44 | 0:37:48 | |
The male cubs are already becoming distinguishable from their sisters | 0:37:49 | 0:37:53 | |
by their more powerful build. | 0:37:53 | 0:37:54 | |
The male on the left has a broader head than his sister on the right. | 0:37:55 | 0:38:00 | |
Until now the cubs have behaved in a largely similar way. | 0:38:02 | 0:38:06 | |
Eventually, however, their paths will diverge. | 0:38:07 | 0:38:10 | |
The females will each take up a territory close to their mother. | 0:38:10 | 0:38:14 | |
But the males will move much farther away | 0:38:14 | 0:38:17 | |
to find, and if necessary fight for, territories of their own. | 0:38:17 | 0:38:22 | |
For now, however, brothers and sisters stick closely together. | 0:38:22 | 0:38:26 | |
They still have a lot to learn. | 0:38:32 | 0:38:35 | |
Both sexes have to know how to fight, | 0:38:35 | 0:38:38 | |
the females to protect themselves from unwanted advances, | 0:38:38 | 0:38:41 | |
the males to take or defend a territory. | 0:38:41 | 0:38:44 | |
And siblings make excellent sparring partners. | 0:38:44 | 0:38:49 | |
It looks violent, but it's quite disciplined | 0:39:11 | 0:39:15 | |
and no blood is ever drawn. | 0:39:15 | 0:39:18 | |
Fighting adults use exactly the same moves, but with claws unsheathed, | 0:39:29 | 0:39:35 | |
and then the results from bouts like this can be fatal. | 0:39:35 | 0:39:39 | |
But paradise doesn't last forever. | 0:40:07 | 0:40:09 | |
There has been a disturbing report of a second adult male. | 0:40:09 | 0:40:14 | |
The cubs' play-fighting may soon need to be | 0:40:14 | 0:40:17 | |
something far more serious. | 0:40:17 | 0:40:19 | |
Then, at the edge of the cubs' territory, | 0:40:29 | 0:40:31 | |
the strange male is spotted. | 0:40:31 | 0:40:34 | |
He's obviously not used to seeing elephants. | 0:40:34 | 0:40:37 | |
Tigers may travel more than 130 miles | 0:40:43 | 0:40:46 | |
looking for a place to establish a territory of their own. | 0:40:46 | 0:40:50 | |
Such a stranger will kill cubs if given half a chance. | 0:40:50 | 0:40:53 | |
The cubs are now big enough to put up a fight, | 0:40:58 | 0:41:01 | |
but having a strange male around is nonetheless a worrying development. | 0:41:01 | 0:41:06 | |
Tigers often use dried-up riverbeds as roads through the jungle | 0:41:09 | 0:41:13 | |
and the family immediately detect | 0:41:13 | 0:41:15 | |
that another tiger has been using the same path. | 0:41:15 | 0:41:18 | |
The fact that it has sprayed so high suggests that the visitor is a male. | 0:41:18 | 0:41:23 | |
The tigress puckers up her face | 0:41:25 | 0:41:27 | |
so that the scent passes over a specially sensitive organ | 0:41:27 | 0:41:31 | |
in her nose which enables her to analyse the smell. | 0:41:31 | 0:41:34 | |
Spraying enables all the tigers in the district | 0:41:41 | 0:41:44 | |
to be aware of one another's presence. | 0:41:44 | 0:41:46 | |
Prominent trees act as messageboards | 0:41:46 | 0:41:49 | |
and an unfamiliar scent is quickly noticed, | 0:41:49 | 0:41:52 | |
so the family know that a stranger has arrived. | 0:41:52 | 0:41:55 | |
It's rare to see such an intense reaction. | 0:41:57 | 0:41:59 | |
The mother overlays the stranger's scent with her own | 0:41:59 | 0:42:02 | |
to make it clear that she's very much in residence. | 0:42:02 | 0:42:06 | |
In her eagerness to scent-mark she gives the cub a face-full. | 0:42:11 | 0:42:15 | |
Every tree is scent-marked in turn. | 0:42:22 | 0:42:25 | |
The tigress leads her cubs up the riverbed | 0:42:38 | 0:42:41 | |
away from the area as fast as possible | 0:42:41 | 0:42:44 | |
but that is where the stranger went. | 0:42:44 | 0:42:47 | |
She could be leading them into danger. | 0:42:47 | 0:42:49 | |
There are scent marks even here. | 0:42:53 | 0:42:55 | |
With a strange male around, | 0:42:59 | 0:43:01 | |
the elephant crew check on Charger, the cubs' father. | 0:43:01 | 0:43:06 | |
He seems in good heath, | 0:43:06 | 0:43:07 | |
although quite subdued for a tiger with such a reputation. | 0:43:07 | 0:43:11 | |
Then, on his side, signs that he has been in a fight. | 0:43:11 | 0:43:16 | |
His right flank shows puncture marks, | 0:43:19 | 0:43:22 | |
most likely made by the claws of a tiger. | 0:43:22 | 0:43:25 | |
He also seems uncharacteristically nervous. | 0:43:32 | 0:43:36 | |
The tigress and the cubs have moved far from the riverbed | 0:43:47 | 0:43:51 | |
and now have other things on their mind. | 0:43:51 | 0:43:53 | |
They have reached a part of the teak forest | 0:43:53 | 0:43:56 | |
where deer are particularly abundant. | 0:43:56 | 0:43:59 | |
This open woodland has some of the highest densities of prey in India. | 0:44:01 | 0:44:06 | |
The family is fortunate indeed to have it in their territory. | 0:44:06 | 0:44:10 | |
But with four energetic cubs to feed she really has to hunt | 0:44:12 | 0:44:16 | |
at every opportunity, otherwise they will start to lose condition. | 0:44:16 | 0:44:20 | |
The long grass allows her to get close very quickly | 0:44:47 | 0:44:51 | |
and without being seen. | 0:44:51 | 0:44:53 | |
As usual the cubs are behaving in a boisterous way | 0:44:55 | 0:44:58 | |
that is bound to catch the attention of the deer. | 0:44:58 | 0:45:01 | |
They seem to have forgotten that their mother's trying to hunt. | 0:45:03 | 0:45:07 | |
DEER CALL IN ALARM | 0:45:17 | 0:45:19 | |
But unknowingly the cubs are acting as excellent decoys, | 0:45:20 | 0:45:25 | |
deflecting the deer's attention away from their mother. | 0:45:25 | 0:45:28 | |
She still hasn't been seen. | 0:45:31 | 0:45:33 | |
For once, the cubs' games are a help. | 0:45:37 | 0:45:40 | |
The deer just don't know how many tigers there are around. | 0:45:40 | 0:45:43 | |
At last their mother is within range. | 0:45:50 | 0:45:53 | |
She's got one. It's a sambar. | 0:46:04 | 0:46:07 | |
Time and again she picks these out. | 0:46:07 | 0:46:09 | |
They're bigger than spotted deer and therefore make more of a meal. | 0:46:09 | 0:46:13 | |
She doesn't need to call her cubs. | 0:46:20 | 0:46:22 | |
They saw what happened and immediately stopped playing. | 0:46:22 | 0:46:26 | |
She makes a half-hearted attempt to conceal the body | 0:46:32 | 0:46:36 | |
to hide it from vultures and other scavengers. | 0:46:36 | 0:46:39 | |
Clearly she's intending to leave it. | 0:46:39 | 0:46:42 | |
She must have killed this one just for her cubs. | 0:46:52 | 0:46:56 | |
The first on the carcass is one of the females | 0:47:01 | 0:47:04 | |
and she immediately takes possession. | 0:47:04 | 0:47:07 | |
Once again there is a chance to practise | 0:47:07 | 0:47:10 | |
what is needed to be a hunter. | 0:47:10 | 0:47:12 | |
The later arrivals are at a disadvantage. | 0:47:15 | 0:47:17 | |
Finders is keepers. | 0:47:17 | 0:47:20 | |
The tigress strolls away to take a rest after all that exertion. | 0:47:28 | 0:47:34 | |
She is proving to be a very remarkable mother, | 0:47:34 | 0:47:37 | |
able to kill so easily that she herself doesn't need to feed | 0:47:37 | 0:47:42 | |
at many of her kills. | 0:47:42 | 0:47:43 | |
Her daughter is behaving as if she's killing the deer all over again. | 0:47:56 | 0:48:02 | |
Her sister and brothers seem content to sit it out, | 0:48:34 | 0:48:39 | |
and she makes sure they realise whose prize it is. | 0:48:39 | 0:48:42 | |
Opening such a big carcass is not easy on your own, | 0:48:45 | 0:48:49 | |
so soon she lets one of her brothers join her. | 0:48:49 | 0:48:52 | |
Rivalry disappears as together they struggle to cut through | 0:49:02 | 0:49:06 | |
the deer's tough hide. | 0:49:06 | 0:49:08 | |
After a day full of action, the elephants take a break. | 0:49:30 | 0:49:34 | |
But the next morning the tigers have disappeared. | 0:49:36 | 0:49:40 | |
It's three days before the elephants find them again. | 0:49:44 | 0:49:48 | |
They are some distance away from where they were last seen | 0:49:52 | 0:49:56 | |
and moving very purposefully. | 0:49:56 | 0:49:59 | |
The elephants must travel fast to keep up, | 0:49:59 | 0:50:02 | |
although that doesn't prevent them from snacking on the move. | 0:50:02 | 0:50:06 | |
All the cubs are here. | 0:50:13 | 0:50:15 | |
But there's no sign of the mother | 0:50:15 | 0:50:17 | |
and it's unusual for them to move so far without her. | 0:50:17 | 0:50:21 | |
As the elephants get closer to them | 0:50:31 | 0:50:33 | |
there seems little to be concerned about. | 0:50:33 | 0:50:36 | |
The cubs are still in a playful mood. | 0:50:36 | 0:50:39 | |
The next day breaks with a deceptive calm. | 0:50:51 | 0:50:55 | |
When the cubs are found they're still alone. | 0:51:08 | 0:51:11 | |
They have arrived at one of the park's dams, | 0:51:12 | 0:51:16 | |
a favourite source of fresh water for much of the year. | 0:51:16 | 0:51:20 | |
These dams, scattered throughout the park, | 0:51:23 | 0:51:25 | |
are invaluable in the drier months. | 0:51:25 | 0:51:28 | |
Even at this time of year tigers find them irresistible. | 0:51:28 | 0:51:31 | |
As usual, the cubs use them as lavatories, so concealing the signs | 0:51:36 | 0:51:40 | |
that might reveal their presence to another tiger. | 0:51:40 | 0:51:43 | |
With their mother absent, they are very vulnerable. | 0:51:43 | 0:51:46 | |
They find a toy, a log, | 0:52:05 | 0:52:08 | |
but their play is rather subdued. | 0:52:08 | 0:52:10 | |
When their mother's not around, the cubs behave very differently. | 0:52:17 | 0:52:21 | |
They're quieter and far less confident. | 0:52:21 | 0:52:24 | |
They avoid deliberately drawing attention to themselves | 0:52:32 | 0:52:36 | |
and usually stay in the same place. | 0:52:36 | 0:52:38 | |
The fact that they're still on the move | 0:52:38 | 0:52:40 | |
suggests that they have been disturbed. | 0:52:40 | 0:52:43 | |
It's three days since the mother was last seen. | 0:52:51 | 0:52:56 | |
The elephants begin another search for her. | 0:53:01 | 0:53:04 | |
Like the tigers, the wild game in the park is totally undisturbed | 0:53:08 | 0:53:13 | |
by the presence of the elephants. | 0:53:13 | 0:53:16 | |
In spite of their great size, they can be surprisingly quiet. | 0:53:16 | 0:53:20 | |
The elephants are accepted | 0:53:26 | 0:53:28 | |
as just another harmless inhabitant of the forest. | 0:53:28 | 0:53:32 | |
But some creatures here are far from harmless. | 0:53:34 | 0:53:38 | |
A strange male has been sighted again. | 0:53:47 | 0:53:51 | |
He's a young tiger who's probably looking for a territory of his own. | 0:53:54 | 0:53:59 | |
The cubs are not far away | 0:54:07 | 0:54:10 | |
and they seem to have picked up the male's scent. | 0:54:10 | 0:54:12 | |
With Charger injured, the intruder is probably confident enough | 0:54:17 | 0:54:22 | |
to leave his own mark. | 0:54:22 | 0:54:24 | |
This is a dangerous situation for the cubs, | 0:54:27 | 0:54:30 | |
for their mother is nowhere to be seen. | 0:54:30 | 0:54:33 | |
The elephants set out once again | 0:54:45 | 0:54:47 | |
to see if they can find the cubs' mother. | 0:54:47 | 0:54:50 | |
At last, they discover her at one of her old den-sites. | 0:54:58 | 0:55:03 | |
This is very reassuring. | 0:55:03 | 0:55:05 | |
But something seems wrong. | 0:55:11 | 0:55:13 | |
She is unusually subdued. | 0:55:13 | 0:55:16 | |
Then we find out why. | 0:55:21 | 0:55:23 | |
She has a wound in her chest that is obviously causing her some distress. | 0:55:23 | 0:55:28 | |
Such a cut could have been caused by the horns of her prey | 0:55:40 | 0:55:44 | |
or from a fight with another tiger. | 0:55:44 | 0:55:46 | |
It's fresh and obviously a serious injury. | 0:55:46 | 0:55:49 | |
She's in a bad way and desperately needs rest. | 0:55:51 | 0:55:55 | |
This explains why she left her cubs alone. | 0:56:00 | 0:56:04 | |
The cubs are still on the move | 0:56:06 | 0:56:08 | |
and they've reached the dammed river in the centre of the park. | 0:56:08 | 0:56:12 | |
Cubs rarely wander far from where their mother left them, | 0:56:19 | 0:56:23 | |
but, perhaps realising that they're now very much on their own, | 0:56:23 | 0:56:27 | |
they seem anxious to keep moving. | 0:56:27 | 0:56:29 | |
They're still too young to survive without their mother, | 0:56:40 | 0:56:44 | |
so their future will depend on her making a quick recovery. | 0:56:44 | 0:56:47 | |
They do everything they can to avoid being detected. | 0:56:57 | 0:57:01 | |
But it's all in vain. | 0:57:06 | 0:57:08 | |
The strange male has appeared | 0:57:22 | 0:57:24 | |
not far from where the cubs found scent marks. | 0:57:24 | 0:57:27 | |
This is too close for comfort. | 0:57:27 | 0:57:29 | |
Their only option | 0:57:37 | 0:57:39 | |
is to put as much distance between them and him as possible. | 0:57:39 | 0:57:44 | |
The cubs have survived against the odds. | 0:57:54 | 0:57:57 | |
But now they're in great danger. | 0:57:57 | 0:57:59 | |
With both parents injured and a rogue male on the loose, | 0:58:00 | 0:58:05 | |
they will need a miracle to pull through. | 0:58:05 | 0:58:08 | |
In the next Spy In The Jungle we will find out if their luck holds. | 0:58:12 | 0:58:18 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:58:50 | 0:58:53 | |
E-mail [email protected] | 0:58:53 | 0:58:56 |