Original subtitles

[Aldo, VO] Our planet is under threat like never before.

This shouldn't happen. It breaks my heart.

[Aldo, VO] We lose up to 150 different species every single day.

Oh, my word!

That's actually crazy.

[Aldo, VO] And a million more are threatened with extinction.

But we are on a mission to try and change that.

That is a big drop-off.

[Declan] Keep your eyes forward, mate. You know what I mean?

This is gonna be some ride.

We're entering the unknown.

[Aldo, VO] Our job: to find and film

some of the rarest animals on the planet.

[Vianet, laughing] We got it.

- [Declan] I can't believe it! - [Aldo] Show me!

[Aldo, VO] And help scientists to save them.

- That's the last one. Yeah. - Last one. Yeah.

This is beautiful.

[Aldo, VO] Before it's too late.

That is destroying the entire ecosystem. Look at that.

I'm Dec and I specialize in getting cameras into places...

...where no one else can.

Ooh, that's pretty tight in here.

If a bear comes now, I'm a goner. [chuckles]

I'm Vianet. I connect to these animals through my camera lens.

This is extraordinary. It's looking straight at me.

And I'm Aldo.

Former Royal Marines commando and team leader.

- [Aldo] All right, big man? - [Declan] I'm all good!

[Aldo, VO] It's my job to keep Vianet and Dec safe.

Do you think this will take my weight?

No!

[Vianet laughing]

[Aldo, VO] This might...

be my toughest challenge yet.

- [Declan] All right. - [Aldo] Shall we do it?

Yeah, let's go.

[Aldo, VO] We're on a mission...

Look at this! Absolutely breathtaking.

[Aldo, VO] ...to find the Caucasian leopard...

That's just like a wave of mountains, one after another.

It's absolutely mind-blowing.

[Aldo, VO] ...one of the most endangered animals on Earth.

Yeah, it's pretty beautiful, mate.

This is great. That is stunning.

[Declan, VO] And it lives here, high in the mountains of Armenia.

[Aldo over radio] I don't know how you're gonna find leopards in this.

It's such a vast landscape.

[Declan, VO] This small landlocked country is almost entirely covered

in steep, rocky slopes, and deep, deep gorges.

[Aldo over radio] Vi, just give me a bit of space here,

'cause this is quite a steep bit of track.

Copy that, copy that.

That is a big drop-off.

Keep your eyes forward, mate. You know what I mean?

- Lean that way. - [both laugh]

[Declan, VO] This spectacular landscape may seem peaceful,

but these mountains hide a troubled past.

Armenia bridges the continents of Asia and Europe,

but has been in conflict with its neighbor, Azerbaijan,

for the last 30 years.

So that up there is the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

[Aldo, VO] After decades of fighting,

unexploded landmines remain along much of Armenia's borders.

A threat to both humans and leopards.

You know, for us humans, we draw lines on a map and say,

- "That's one side, this is the other." - Yeah.

Whereas the leopard doesn't know any borders.

[Aldo, VO] We've come here just four weeks after a ceasefire has been agreed

with special permission to film near the border.

An area where leopards are thought to roam.

We need to do everything exactly as we said we're going to do on the permit.

[Declan] Make sure we've got our passports,

press releases, just in case.

I hope mine's in my bag now, thinking about it.

[Aldo, VO] These big cats have already become extinct in 14 countries.

And Armenia could be next.

So we're here to find them.

It's going to be utterly challenging. But, um, I love challenges.

Be good to get up and get our tents up before it gets dark.

[Declan] Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Aldo, VO] We've been given permission to make this ranger station our base.

[Vianet] Soon as the sun sets...

the temperature drops down straight away.

- Absolutely beautiful. - [Aldo] Yeah.

[Declan] Mate, this is nuts.

[Aldo] So, we've got access to pretty much all of this.

Shall we get our tents up just in that section there?

This one, yeah?

[Declan] This one looks nice.

Hands off, man, this is mine.

You better get in it quick, mate. I'll jump in there.

[insects chirping]

- Need a hand, Dec? - Yeah, I'm struggling here.

All I need is a pop-up tent, that's all I wanted.

- [Aldo] Did you read the instructions? - No.

Did it say put up the outside before you put up the inside?

Well, I assumed, like, you hook these to the...

- Ah! Assumption. - You know what I mean?

I done it again, didn't I?

Right. Parfait.

[Declan] So, our first night out here in this beautiful mountain range.

It's giving me a lot of inspiration to work and work hard

and get these traps up.

And, um, yeah, just create some beautiful shots

that are gonna make people... go "wow", you know?

"Whoa, look at that."

Who knew leopards lived in mountains like this? Who knew? I didn't.

Good night.

[wind whistles]

First night in the tent, and it was, uh, great for me.

It's beautiful. The sun's just coming up. I love this. Time to go and get coffee on.

[Vianet] Mm!

- [Vianet] Are you having a coffee? - [Declan] No, I'm fine.

When I'm drinking a coffee, you know I'm tired.

[Aldo] First night's always a bit ropey, isn't it?

- Was anyone snoring? - [Declan] You 100 percent were snoring.

I woke up with dry mouth, I was like...

I was like, "That's definitely Aldo." I know I snore, so I was just, "Oh, well."

[laughs]

[Aldo] I can hear a wagon.

[Aldo, VO] Joining us is a team of experts from the WWF,

a conservation organization.

- [Aldo] Morning. - Morning. We brought breakfast.

- [Aldo] Amazing. - [Declan] Thank you.

- Here? - [Aldo] Yeah, yeah.

[Aldo, VO] Alik, a biologist who's been studying leopards for over 20 years.

And Lilya, a leopard conservationist.

[Aldo] What's on the menu?

[Lilya] Aha. Here we have dried eggs.

- Cheese. - Bit of cheese.

[Lilya] Dried fruit.

- Perfect meal for the mountains. - [Aldo] The mountains, yeah.

Have you guys seen a leopard before here?

[in Russian] I've seen traces, excrement, scratch marks.

[Declan] Wow.

I've been doing this for more than 20 years.

But I've never seen one in person.

Great. Is there a number of leopards in Armenia?

Nine have been recorded.

[Declan, VO] As few as nine leopards

in a country roughly the size of Belgium.

[Declan] Let's go.

[Declan, VO] Fortunately, Alik knows where one was last spotted.

[Declan] Look at that.

Endless.

I think it's gonna be some task trying to trap here.

[Aldo] Yeah.

[speaks Russian]

Just up there is where one of the rangers said he saw a leopard

about four years ago.

And it walked all the way down into the canyon.

What?

Mate, we need to get down there.

[Aldo] So, that's about 130 feet or something.

[Aldo, VO] To hike down on foot could take all day.

[Declan, VO] Luckily, Aldo's got a better idea.

Right foot into there.

- Keep a hold of that. - [Declan] Lucky I lost a bit of weight.

Have you abseiled before?

No. No, I've never had to, like, just go over an edge before.

So, I'm a bit nervous about that, I'm not gonna lie.

- So am I. - Yeah! [laughs]

- I hope you've done your job proper. - [laughs] So do I.

[Declan] Just don't look.

- [Aldo] You wanted a camera trap there. - [Declan] I know.

This is what it's all about.

- [Declan grunts] - [Aldo] Stand up. Don't lean. That's it.

Straighten your legs.

It's quite a tricky abseil because it's not completely vertical.

- I've never seen you concentrate so much. - Oi, oi, oi.

That's some drop, innit?

[Aldo] If you fell from here, you'd definitely die.

[Declan] Just you look after me, mate, and, uh...

[laughing] I'll just keep going.

I can feel it on my... my butt cheeks, my legs. [grunts]

I feel like the cow out of Jurassic Park, just being lowered.

It's gonna be worth it. We're gonna get this leopard shot.

- [Declan over radio] Aldo, are you there? - Yeah, I'm good.

Is that you on the deck? Over.

Hello, mate, it's all done. Roger.

Roger that.

[Aldo] I'm going to teach you how to use a radio properly.

[Declan] Legend, legend, see you in a bit.

[Aldo, VO] Now it's time to show Dec how commandos do it.

Fair play. I can't get over how quickly you got down there.

[Aldo grunts]

What's in this bag?

Bits and bobs, mate. I give you the heavy bag as always, you know the crack.

[Declan, VO] The slopes of the canyon are steep...

[Declan] I'm glad that weren't me what fell. Imagine!

[Declan, VO] ...so we've got to watch our step.

- [Aldo] So, we'll head up there, yeah? - [Declan] Yeah, I think so...

There's just something about that. It looks cool.

Look, here's a trail, look. It goes all the way down there,

comes up here.

Yeah, look, this is all trail, this is great.

[Declan, VO] We've hit a prime location

because leopards looking for a meal stalk their prey along cliff trails.

- See how there's a little dip behind you? - [Aldo] Yeah.

If we put the triggers behind there,

the leopard might come in and out of the dip.

- I think it could look lovely. - All right.

[Declan] I really want to get that whole view in, you know?

- [Aldo] Leopard's height? - Oh, that looks great.

- Yeah, I think you look perfect. - Yeah?

[Declan] Give us a purr.

- [Aldo purrs] - [laughs] You look great, mate.

This is definitely one of the oddest things I've done.

[Declan chuckles] That's part of camera trapping, mate.

You always have to be an animal. Someone has to do it.

Okay. That's solid.

[Declan, VO] When we leave, our cameras will stay

and maybe get a decent shot.

[Aldo, VO] But getting these big cats on camera is only...

- [grunts] - ...half the battle.

[strains] Oh, he's a big boy.

[Aldo, VO] Any leopards left in Armenia

could be marooned in unconnected wildlife reserves,

unable to meet and breed.

So, there's a plan to link them all together.

This one, called Arpa, will be connected to the Khosrov reserve further north

increasing the chances of any leopards here finding mates

and avoiding extinction.

But the land between the protected areas

is owned by several villages,

and they all need to agree to the project.

[Vianet, VO] And that's where we come in.

Helping show local communities

that leopards are still in these mountains

and worth saving.

[Vianet] I'm around about 6,000 feet.

[panting] I can barely breathe.

There's not enough... [panting] air here.

[continues panting]

[Vianet, VO] We'll need the best quality shots we can get.

And leopards are shy.

I'm going to need peace and quiet,

and that means getting far away from the other two.

[Vianet] Look at that. [pants]

It's right on top. It's so beautiful up here.

And I'm extremely excited.

You know what? I can see some goats already.

[goats bleating]

Those wild goats, these are top prey for the leopard.

This is exciting.

With the hide, you, basically, are less conspicuous to any animal.

You become a part of nature. They see you as a rock.

[quietly] This is gonna be my house for the next ten days.

I'm super happy with this spot.

Key thing is to get a really good 180 degrees...

field of view.

[Vianet, VO] Leopards are more active after dark.

So, I'll be taking the night shift.

My thermal imaging camera picks up heat from any warm-blooded animal...

[goat bleating]

...no matter the size.

[goats bleating]

[Vianet] The reason why I'm trying to keep my eyes on the goats

is because a hungry leopard

is gonna come and grab one of those.

And if there's a sudden movement, a sudden rush,

that could be a leopard.

Whoa!

That was a large bird. Really large.

It just flew and then all the goats just, sort of, got into panic mode.

[bleating]

[whispering] I'm in my... element in the hide.

[normal voice] It's pretty much where I belong.

[toothbrush scrubbing]

I thought I could hear something outside my tent last night.

And...

What we've got here is...

bear poo.

Bear poo.

My tent.

So, uh, there we go. We are living in the wilds.

[drone whirrs]

[Aldo] Morning, mate.

Morning, mate, how's it going?

Somewhere out there is a leopard.

It's time to get the traps out, get working, get moving.

Hopefully we can find the best spot.

Let's bring it on.

I used to be a sniper, so this is part of the old job.

Just have to be patient.

[Declan] Here.

[Aldo, VO] When we're done for the day, Vi is just getting started.

[Vianet] A fox. This... is gonna be an interesting night.

- [Aldo, VO] And while he sleeps... - [Vianet snoring]

...we keep going.

Lot of lugging gear. [breathes heavily] Heavy bags.

[Declan, VO] Covering 100 square miles of remote wilderness.

[drone whirrs]

- There's loads of little trails. - Ah! There it is. Got it.

You've got it? Right. Sweet. Let's do it.

[engine starts]

Nothing, nothing, nothing. Nothing's moving.

[Declan] Okay, I'm happy with that, mate.

[cameras beep, shutters click]

[Aldo] Making the famous Burley stew.

The stew my mother used to make.

Salt, pepper. I'll get the potatoes going.

We'll be ready to rock, I reckon.

It's pretty chilly, isn't it? Wonder how Vi's doing in his hide.

You know what? I bet he's not even thinking about the cold.

[insects chirping]

It's freezing cold. [sniffs]

I can't feel my feet anymore.

For the time being...

let's endure.

[wind whistles softly]

What is this?

This is a bear. This is a bear.

[chuckles]

This is not your normal brown bear.

This is the Syrian bear.

But it's ever so slow.

Oh, no, it's really limping.

Oh, poor bear.

At first, I thought it was just a... a little injury.

But now that I get to see, his left paw's missing.

The whole thing is missing.

[Vianet, VO] It's a horrible reminder,

this close to the border, the bear could have been injured by a landmine.

It's having to rest every three to five meters.

Poor bear. Poor bear.

Come on, mate, you can do it. Come on.

Let's go find this hide, then. See where Vi is.

[Aldo] It's daytime. He might be sleeping.

- [Declan] Shake him up. Hello? - [Aldo chuckles softly]

We don't want to catch him sleeping on his camera.

- [zipper rasps] - Oh, he's not even in here.

- [Aldo] Is he not? - [Vianet] Yo!

- [Declan] There he is! Hey! - [Vianet] Who's in my house?

[Declan] Just jumped in your hide for a minute.

Who's messing around in my office?

[Vianet, VO] I've asked the boys to come over.

I want to show them the footage I filmed last night.

- [Vianet] There we go. - [Aldo] Oh, yeah.

- Look. He's limping badly. - [Declan] Yeah.

If that's its front paw, if it stood on an anti-personnel mine,

it would also have other shrapnel damage on its...

probably on the side of its face and its chest.

- This was just over here? - Yeah. About 800 meters.

Images like this, it's just linking conflict and wildlife.

They get the impact, even though they have nothing to do with it.

[Aldo] Mm.

That is the sad part.

[Declan] It's such a powerful image, really.

[Aldo, VO] The plan to link Armenia's reserves

could keep wildlife safe

by allowing animals to roam free and away from borders.

But only if landowners in between the protected areas...

- [car honks] - [cows mooing loudly]

...agree to lease their land to the project.

[indistinct chatter]

[Aldo] We're here to try and find and film Caucasian leopards.

Have you seen any leopards here before?

[man in Armenian] I've heard about them

but I've never seen one with my own eyes.

Never seen it.

[in Armenian] I haven't seen one but I've heard about the leopard.

It does live around here, but I haven't seen any.

[Aldo, VO] The more villagers I meet...

I'm Aldo.

[in Armenian] Once, once, but long ago.

[Aldo, VO] ...the clearer it becomes.

These people are being asked to allocate land for an animal

that's little more than a rumor.

We think there's a leopard here in these hills just behind, uh, the village.

[in Armenian] I haven't seen it. I've seen goats though.

The main aim of the project is to have separated areas

for wildlife and for people.

But no matter how many times you will tell people,

they won't believe that there is a leopard.

When they see we have this animal in our country,

we have this animal, uh, in our mountains,

they will understand the importance of the project.

[Aldo, VO] I reckon we can convince the locals,

but only if we get leopards on camera.

We're now over a week in.

And although our network of cameras is capturing mountain life,

it's not leopard mountain life.

[Declan, VO] These bezoar goats make up over 90% of the big cats' diet.

As Vi's seen, there's plenty of them here, which could attract the leopards.

We've also filmed golden eagles.

And our first cat, the Eurasian lynx.

[Aldo, VO] After another leopard-free late shift, Vi is back in camp.

[all laugh]

- I had some rodent running around. - [Vianet] A rodent?

- Yeah. But under my tent. - [Vianet] Oh, man!

- Did you not see all the... the holes. - The holes, yeah.

I must have put my tent over a hole, because as I was sleeping,

it got under my head and started doing this.

So, I just woke up, like...

- [Aldo] What was he doing? - He was just bouncing.

He was quite big, so it was just sha-- He bounced my head awake. [laughs]

[Aldo, VO] With just a few days left, we still don't have a leopard on camera.

Time to divide and conquer.

We're in the Arpa protected area.

North of us is the Khosrov reserve

that the WWF want to link it to.

We've decided to search both areas, so Vi is going to Khosrov with Lilya.

[Declan] Take it easy, as always, man. Good luck, good luck.

- See ya, big guy. - Yeah, mate.

[Aldo, VO] And he's taking a few of Dec's fixed cameras with him just in case.

[Vianet] This is my little ritual secret.

When I go to film animals, I like to get a blessing.

[church bells ringing]

Look at that! Wow!

- That is a blessing. - Yeah.

[Vianet] I always like to tap into the spiritual aspect of the place

and the people.

- What's your name? - My name is Vianet.

If you can help me with the spirit of this place, to connect to nature.

[in old Armenian] Blessed be our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

[Vianet] Amen.

Savior and hope of believers, Christ our Lord.

Save, guard, and bless your servant Vianet.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

- Amen. - Guide the work of our hands, oh Lord,

and grant success to the work of our hands.

Merci.

[Vianet, VO] The Congo, where I'm from, is known as the Kingdom of the Leopard.

Where we are heading is also a leopard safe haven.

But it's another 70 miles.

[Vianet] Oh, look at that river!

Oh, my goodness.

Are we gonna be able to cross this?

Wow.

[speaks Armenian, laughs]

He's made it, he's made it!

[Lilya] It looks like a scratch.

[Vianet] Yeah, that looks to me like a cat marking.

It's got to be a leopard. This is definitely a leopard.

Oh, it seems like they left hair here.

[Vianet] That's a leopard. That's a leopard hair, look.

This is good.

If we're lucky, a leopard will be all over this tree.

[Aldo, VO] Back in Arpa, Dec's spotted one last location he wants to rig.

[Aldo] The place is just laced with caves.

[Declan] Yeah, they're everywhere.

- [Aldo] Everywhere. - Everywhere's a cave.

If it's hard for us to get to, the leopards are gonna prefer it, right?

- They're good climbers. - Yeah, exactly.

Let's do it.

[Declan straining]

[Aldo] Nice to see you with a big pack on.

[Declan laughs] It's full of nothing.

Just looks heavy, that's the trick.

[Aldo, VO] The only way to reach the cave is on foot.

- [Declan] You all right, mate? - [Aldo] Yeah.

[Declan] The trick is to only carry one bag, right?

When I was first given this... walking pole, I was kind of like,

"Nah, I don't need that. I'll be all right." [breathes heavily]

I'm not gonna lie to ya.

This walking stick... [breathes heavily]

saved my nut a few times, you know?

[Aldo, VO] And a thousand feet up the cliff, we reach the cave.

[Declan] This is cool.

- You got any marks? - [Aldo] Pug marks here. Too small.

- [Alik] Excrement leopard. - [Declan] Leopard?

- [Aldo] Where? - [Alik] Look. The blood.

[Aldo] Oh, whoa!

[Declan] That is... that is a great sign.

- [Aldo] This is leopard poo, yeah? - [Alik] Yes. And fresh.

Fresh? How old?

[in Russian] Maybe five, four to five days.

That's awesome.

[Declan, VO] I'm not taking any chances.

I'm rigging the cave

and the whole clifftop with cameras.

[Aldo] This is, basically, a no-go zone.

It's about a 200-300 foot straight drop.

[Declan, VO] Leopards can climb these trails in the dark, no problem.

[Aldo] You can see the track runs all the way up here.

- Massive drop on that side. - [Declan] Yeah, this is great.

[Declan, VO] Their night vision is up to seven times better than ours.

But for our cameras to see anything, we need specialist infrared lights.

- [Aldo] Wahey, that is... a huge drop. - [Declan] That's some drop, innit?

[Declan, VO] The only way to make sure they're working...

Right, I'm gonna turn off my light... just so I can get a better view on this.

- [Aldo] My light's off. - Yeah, your light's off.

[Declan, VO] ...is in the pitch black.

- [Aldo] There? - Yeah, that's cool. Let's lock that.

Yeah. I think if a leopard comes through here, it's gonna look sweet.

- Easy, easy. That's some drop, though. - [Aldo chuckles]

- It's like a massive black hole on the... - [Declan] Yeah.

...on the right.

- [Declan] Never to be seen again. - Nice one. Good job.

[Declan, VO] Finally. That's nearly 80 cameras rigged.

All we can do now...

is leave them to do their work.

So we're packing up...

and heading home.

[Declan] That's my toolkit.

- Is that everything, yeah? - [Aldo] Yeah.

[Declan] Shut up shop.

[electronic beeping]

[Declan, VO] And while we're away,

our cameras start to capture a hidden world.

Through winter...

and onto spring...

[birds chirping]

...as the first bears come out of hibernation.

We just gotta hope we've got some leopards, too.

- It's good to be back in Armenia, innit? - It's so good.

[Aldo, VO] It's now May.

We're back to check our cameras.

- The ground is so wet. - [Declan] Yeah.

[Aldo] It's super slippy.

[Aldo, VO] And we've got a deadline.

Because we've been invited to a festival...

[Declan] Go on, mate.

- [Aldo] Come on, you can do this. Oy! - [Declan] That's it.

[Aldo, VO] ...to celebrate ten years of the Arpa protected landscape.

[Aldo] Go on, get up there.

[engine revving]

- Oh, it's so boggy. - [Declan] Yeah, you done it, you done it.

[Aldo, VO] It's the perfect opportunity

to share any shots we might have of leopards

with all the villagers together in one place.

- [Aldo] Hold on. - [Declan] Yay!

[both laugh]

[Declan, VO] And it's being held in a village near our base camp.

But Vi is 70 miles further north in Khosrov

checking on the cameras he rigged.

[Vianet] I remember this place.

[audible exhale]

Last time, there were loads of hairs around here.

Fingers crossed.

Hang on a minute.

Oh. Oh, oh!

What is this?

[Declan, VO] Back in Arpa, Aldo and I left more than 50 cameras here, for six months.

We must have got something.

Oh, no.

Snow all over the camera.

I don't think we've got anything, Alik.

That's annoying. They're no good.

[Declan grunts]

What?

That's a shame. Something's bashed that.

Look.

- Yeah, they're all dead. - [quietly] Alright.

[Declan, VO] Time for the last set up, the cave.

Let's see how many... Ooh!

- What have we got? - Four triggers.

- Shall we press play, see what happens? - [Aldo] Yeah.

- The suspense. - Yeah.

- [gasps] Oh, my God! - [Aldo] What?

Mate!

There's a cat! We... I swear to you! I just... I'm not even joking.

[gasps]

- [exclaims] - [Aldo laughs]

- I can't believe it! - Show me.

- [laughing] Whoa! - It's here, it's here.

I knew this spot had magic.

- Alik! My friend! My hero. - [Aldo] Whoa!

- We caught a leopard. Yeah! [laughs] - [Alik laughs]

[Aldo] It was worth all that hassle of rigging into the night.

[Alik laughs]

- [Aldo] Wow. - [Declan] Wow.

[Aldo, VO] With all the cameras collected, it's time to check the footage.

First up, Dec.

Jeez. Look at that. [laughs]

- [Aldo] A nice, big male leopard. - [all laugh]

- Wow. You guys are very spoiled. - Yeah. [laughs]

- Great stuff. - Yeah. It was a great little spot.

[low growl]

Nice, dry, protected.

[Declan] Look, he's curling up!

He's just falling asleep in front of the camera. It's just nuts.

Getting a real front-row seat into his life.

[Declan, VO] So, there's at least one leopard here in Arpa.

Would you like to see some of the stuff I've got?

Definitely, man.

[Vianet] So, we sort of saw a...

- Ooh, what's that moving? - What is that?

It's a shadow.

- [gasps] - [Aldo] Wow!

Yes!

- [Aldo and Vianet laugh] - Wow.

- So that's where you were? - [Vianet] Yeah.

[Declan] So that's a different cat, completely?

[Vianet] Completely different.

[Aldo, VO] With so few leopards left in the whole of Armenia,

we've caught not just one, but two, on camera.

We know there's one up in Khosrov,

which means that protected area is all the more important, then.

- [Declan] Yeah. - It's just good to know

- that there are leopards... here. - Yeah.

[Aldo, VO] The safe passage connecting Armenia's reserves feels vital.

So, let's hope our footage helps persuade people

to lease the land between them.

- [lively chatter] - [traditional music playing]

- Ah, big turnout. - Look at the amount of people.

[Aldo] Yeah, look over there, we've got the ranger team.

[Declan] Everyone's here.

[Declan, VO] We're at a celebration

to show the local communities what we've found.

And we're up next.

[music fades out]

[Aldo] We were invited here to find and film

one of the rarest leopards on the planet.

and we not only did that, but we helped in a small way and filmed two.

[in Armenian] Please enjoy the film.

[applause]

[audience murmurs appreciatively]

[Aldo, VO] Most people here have never seen a leopard with their own eyes.

It's so cool.

[film narrator in Armenian] There are now fewer than ten in our whole country...

and soon we could lose them forever.

[audience gasps and murmurs]

The entire community is so engaged.

[film narrator in Armenian] But together, we can create safe space for leopards.

[snarls softly]

[film narrator in Armenian] We have the power to save this beautiful cat

from going extinct.

[audience whoops and claps]

- [man] Bravo! - [man 2] Bravo.

Hello.

[Declan] What did you think of the film?

[in Russian] I shed tears, to be honest.

I've seen this through from the very first day,

along every trail.

This is superb, incredible!

[laughs]

[Aldo] We couldn't have done it without you, Alik.

[Vianet] And Lilya as well.

[Alik speaks Russian]

[Declan, VO] It looks like our footage has gone down well.

[Declan] Thank you.

[in Armenian] We didn't know about all this.

Thanks to all of you, for coming to Armenia.

- Ah, thank you so much. - [Aldo] Thank you.

[Aldo] Paper, rock, scissors, see who goes first.

[Aldo, VO] Next time, central Africa, and it's personal.

Vi's back home, he loves these roads.

This is like my back garden.

Let's do it.

[Aldo, VO] Searching for gorilla troops...

[whispering] We're moving super, super quietly.

[Aldo, VO] ...never filmed before.

We're gonna keep going until we find where they are.

[quietly] Gorilla poo, but it's been here a while.

[whispering] The trackers have heard the gorilla vocalizing.

It might be our only chance.