Original subtitles

A century ago, there were more than 100,000 tigers.

Today, there are only 4,000,

with 70% of them found in India...

..mostly in protected areas, such as Bandhavgarh.

Indian conservationists, like Krithi Karanth,

are concerned about the challenges facing these reserves.

Unlike parks in Africa and the Americas,

parks in India are extremely small,

so tiger populations

in these tiny parks are under huge pressure.

There is a real danger

that we could see this amazing cat go extinct.

Bandhavgarh is home to over 80 tigers,

but as director Theo Webb discovers,

they're not easy to find.

I just saw a tiger which turned out to be red sand.

I'm the stupid one today.

Even the real thing is almost invisible.

So, right here is one of the problems

why we can't find tigers, because they're so well hidden.

If you look in here,

they are so well camouflaged,

especially in this dense undergrowth.

Her stripes blend in exactly with the bamboo.

It's almost impossible to see them.

Local guides have told the crew of a tigress they call Raj Bhera,

who is expecting cubs.

If they can find her, she will be the perfect tiger to follow.

The guides listen for other animals' warning calls.

Monkey giving alarm.

That's a sign that the tiger's right there. OK.

The team can then home in on the tiger.

So we've just come across this tigress.

We heard alarm calls, followed her here,

and it could be our female that we've been looking for.

We've done a comparison between two photos -

one we know is her, and one of our sighting just now.

They're looking similar.

It's pretty much her. Yeah.

It's Raj Bhera.

But where is her den?

A tigress will choose the most inaccessible place to give birth,

impossible to follow in a vehicle.

But the Forest Department have elephants

to help protect the animals against poachers.

And while patrolling the forest, they also search for dens.

Two weeks later, Raj Bhera's den has been discovered.

She's chosen one of the most inaccessible spots

in the whole park to make her den,

which is kind of sensible if you're a tiger.

Now they need to film the family without disturbing them.

Cameraman John Brown positions a remote controlled camera

away from the den.

The specially designed tripod allows John

to retreat even further to minimise disturbance.

He's finally rewarded with an extremely rare view -

cubs just a few weeks old.

Today's been absolutely incredible.

We've had a completely unique view into the life of tigers.

It's been one of the most amazing moments of my career.

I never thought we'd get it, actually,

but I didn't tell anyone else that.

Once the cubs leave the den,

the family disappears into the forest.

Now the crew have to switch to a new technique.

Camera traps, used regularly by the park authorities.

They stake out likely locations, including water holes.

Plenty of the forest's inhabitants turn up...

..but no tigers.

A few weeks later, Theo discovers

that one of the camera traps has somehow become flooded.

Wow.

Oh, my God.

Mystery solved.

And at last, intimate shots of the cubs...

..and eventually, even of their father.

For another nine months,

the crew are able to follow the life of the family

as the cubs grow up.

But then, suddenly, they witness

a very different side to the story.

So, somewhere over here is our tiger.

In order to find food,

she's coming to these really risky areas

to hunt cattle, dogs, whatever she can find.

So this is really scary for her

and, to be honest, for us as well.

There is no other tiger reserve within 50 miles,

so whenever a tiger leaves the park,

it's inevitable that it will encounter people.

The Forest Department take control.

Raj Bhera is tranquillised and taken to safety...

..and next day, is returned to her territory.

We've been filming this female for two years

and we've got attached to her.

You know, we've seen her with these two-week-old cubs,

we've seen her lose one cub

and now we've seen her outside the park.

This is the life of a modern tiger.

It's not easy. It's not how it used to be for them.

We need to create more space for tigers to move, breed and disperse.

It is our responsibility to make sure

that future generations of children, including my own,

get to see tigers in the wild.

All the animals we've seen in this series need space in which to live,

and loss of space is a great threat to their survival,

as it is to virtually all other species.

We ourselves, one single species,

have taken over vast tracts

of the habitable surface of the planet.

Surely we should allow those other creatures we share the planet with

to retain some part of their ancient heritage.