Original subtitles

Two kittens. Two of them, brilliant!

Lynx are some of the most beautiful cats in the world.

In the wild, they're so shy and elusive,

it's rare to see them at all.

But in Russia, hundreds of these big cats are in captivity.

I want to get these animals out and start this journey

to a better life.

I'm Gordon Buchanan, and I've come to Russia to join a pioneering

scientist in a ground-breaking project.

We're rescuing four lynx from captivity

and giving them the chance of a new life...

..in the wild.

Oh, there you go.

We'll need to make them strong again.

Awaken their instinct to hunt...

Oh, got that.

..and prepare them for freedom.

But after a captive life, can any of these lynx ever learn

to be truly wild again?

Still a baby in many ways.

I'm travelling through the Russian wilderness,

the largest forest on Earth.

These are the Ural Mountains, the border between Europe and Asia.

The Ural Mountains of Russia. Like much of the country,

they contain vast areas of wilderness.

Still home to species now extinct in the UK.

Russia is a stronghold for lynx.

There are more here than anywhere else in the world.

Yet very little is known about their behaviour in the wild.

They are masters of stealth.

Known for their short tails, distinctive ear tufts

and their physical prowess.

These powerful predators can jump four metres straight up in the air

to catch their prey.

I'm on my way to meet Dr Viktor Lukarevsky.

He is a biologist who has devoted his entire life to studying

Russia's big cats.

This year, he wants me to join him

on a potentially ground-breaking project.

Dr Lukarevsky's bold plan is to rescue Lynx from captivity,

rehabilitate them and release them back to the wild.

No-one is more experienced or passionate than Viktor.

You must be Dr Lukarevsky.

Oh, good morning, Gordon.

Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.

Yeah, you too, you too.

This is beautiful.

It's a spring.

Spring in Russia, in wild Russia.

Wildest part of Russia?

Let's do it.

Viktor is taking me to where two lynx are being held in cages.

They're being used to breed kittens to supply a thriving and legal

trade in furs.

Furs that are then made into coats and hats.

The man that has the lynx - is he a hunter or trapper?

What are they captured for?

In the wild, lynx roam far and wide to find prey.

They can cover up to 30km in just one day.

It's hard to imagine them being confined to a cage.

How many years has he had them for?

Four years? Four years.

So they've been taken from the wild and they've been in cages?

For four years.

It's not what I was imagining.

I was thinking it's going to be a little hut out in the woods -

this is right in the middle of the town.

Viktor wants to rescue the trapper's lynx.

They're in poor health.

Oh, aye, aye, ya.

The trapper has been breeding them ever since he caught them

in the wild.

I wasn't expecting just to find them in a garage.

You immediately see how unbelievably beautiful they are.

But then, hot on the heels of that is the horror

that they've been in here for four years without ever being let out.

Incredibly, the male, Miass, who's named after this town...

..and the female, Koshka,

have managed to produce three healthy litters.

But every kitten was taken away from them and sold to pet traders

and fur farms.

There's only one thing that I want to do now, which is to get

both of these animals out of these cages and start this journey

to a better life for both of them.

We coax Miass and Koshka into our transportation crates.

OK, he's moving.

OK, he's in.

From one box into the other, that was easy.

This could be their first step towards freedom.

I don't even know if this is going to be possible,

but I'm full of excitement and full of hope for both

of these two amazing cats because, you know, they have a chance.

There's a slight chance that we can get them back to the place

that they...they should be in the wild.

That's the easy part in the weeks and months to come.

We're taking Koshka and Miass on a journey of over 2,000 kilometres,

to Viktor's recovery enclosure near his family home

in Alenino.

The whole project is in three phases.

The first phase is a recovery enclosure.

It's where Miass and Koshka can feel safe and secure,

while getting the round-the-clock care they'll need

to bring them back to full health.

When they're ready, phase two will be a few kilometres away,

in a much larger forest enclosure.

This is as close to the wild as captivity gates.

They'll be able to hide themselves away and hunt for their own food.

Finally - if all goes to plan - in phase three,

our cats will be released into the wild.

OK. Whoa.

It's time to get phase one under way.

24 hours over the Ural Mountains.

And how are you guys?

They're very quiet.

It is OK?

I hope?

You going to look?

GROWLING

That's the noise we want to hear.

It's Koshka, the female, who's most vocal.

OK, there's noise coming from this one,

and there's movement coming from this box.

Miass, the male, is quieter...

..and first to be moved.

Just nice and easy.

Is it level?

We should maybe just move a bit. Good.

Now it's Koshka's turn.

OK.

These lynx will soon see the outside world

for the first time in four years.

HUSHED: Oh, look, look, look...!

OK...

She's having a little look around.

KOSHKA PURRS QUIETLY

You would think if that were you or I, you'd be desperate to get out,

but that is a place where she feels secure.

Everything outside is new, it's different,

and it's going to make her worry.

LOW GROWLING

After years locked in a dark garage,

this is Koshka's first taste of snow.

And the first rays of sun on her fur.

For Miass, too, it's been a long time

since he felt fresh earth underneath him.

I'm really hopeful about this.

I can say with absolute certainty that both of these cats

look happier than they've been in a very long time.

It's always been a dream of Viktor's to rehabilitate captive lynx.

In the wild, lynx are solitary...

..but Miass and Koshka clearly have a strong bond -

a legacy of being held together for so long in cages.

They're also too comfortable with humans.

It's one of the things we need to change

before they can be released back to the wild.

We don't want either of these two lynx

to feel comfortable with people.

Beyond finding food in the wild,

for any lynx, the biggest threat comes from us.

Whether that's being trapped or hunted, knocked down by a car..

..erm, yeah.

We're really the biggest danger that they face.

As the lynx have been settling into their new home,

Viktor has noticed problems with their health.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. Miass seems like an old man.

Up until now, I haven't actually been able to see how they move,

because they haven't had the space to move.

Miass has problems with his legs.

His muscles have wasted away.

Not surprising, after living in a tiny cage for so long.

Every footstep he takes, there's no certainty to it.

He looks a long, long way away from a wild lynx.

An adult lynx should be able to sprint at 60km an hour.

They can hunt prey as large as deer four times their size.

SNEEZING

The years of confinement have affected Koshka too.

SNEEZING

The cats' condition is a challenge...

SNEEZING

..but Viktor is undaunted.

SNEEZING

There's a lot to do before Miass is back on form.

Good food and exercise will return strength to his legs.

If all that we do is just give these cats all the food that they need,

it's not going to take them anywhere closer to being back in the wild.

But by setting them little tests, trying build up their strength,

trying to sort of hone that instinct - that's what it's going to take.

That's what they need to do.

OK, here he comes...

OK, this is what we want. So...

Oh, look at you, you beauty...!

Is that all that he's capable of?

Come on!

It seems as if Miass knows what to do,

but his weakened muscles are holding him back.

Come on, boy, you can get this.

You have to be cruel to be kind,

it feels like I'm teasing Miass with this piece of meat.

But he knows now that if he wants to eat,

he's going to have to make a bit of effort.

OK...pull it down, pull it down.

OK, he's got a taste of it.

Nice swipe there!

This is good.

There you go.

You're an optimist.

We're making progress here...

..but I worry whether it's going to be enough.

I think no matter how uncertain the future is for them,

we are trying to do something that is going to better their lives,

and even in such a short space of time, we've already done that.

The life of Koshka and Miass are better today

than they were yesterday.

And it's all a process of taking one tiny step after another tiny step

to hopefully get them back into the wild.

For now, they look happy where they are.

I'm heading home to see my family,

leaving the lynx in the expert hands of Viktor.

He'll do all he can for them while I'm gone.

I'm back in Russia. Viktor has been in touch.

He's told me that there's been a very unexpected,

very exciting twist in the Koshka and Miass story.

Hello!

How are things?

HUSHED TALKING

Miass...he looks very different,

now that he's lost his winter coat.

And there are other changes in Miass too.

His legs are MUCH better.

It's Koshka just coming through the bushes.

She looks great, she looks really healthy.

And dare I say it, she looks a lot like a wild lynx.

Koshka's lung infection has also cleared up.

But none of this is what's got Viktor so excited.

Wow...!

They are beautiful, look at that.

Oh, stunning...!

You can see that there's a little depression, they've been using it

quite a long time because the grass is all flattened down.

KITTEN SQUEAKS

Oh, yeah, right there!

Look at you...!

You beauty!

That is something that is rather special.

Look at that face...!

It's even got little ear tufts!

At barely a few weeks old,

the kittens have only just opened their eyes,

and their movements are clumsy and uncoordinated.

We just wanted to make sure that they're OK,

and now, pull out and let Koshka come back to them.

Amazing. I think that is possibly

the two most beautiful creatures I've ever seen.

Incredibly, female lynx are only fertile

for three days in every year.

So for Koshka and Miass

to have conceived at all is a minor miracle.

The arrival of the kittens is a massive boost to the project.

You can put here.

It was Viktor and his son

Svyatoslav who first discovered them in the undergrowth.

Is this for me? It is for you, yes. Thank you very much.

That's so exciting.

Do you think Koshka's a good mum?

If we're to stand a chance

of releasing this family back to the wild,

we'll need to keep a close eye on them.

Easier said than done, now the enclosure is like a jungle.

I'm installing a remotely controlled camera so we can monitor them.

I want to see if all those years of captivity

have harmed Koshka's maternal instincts.

I've set up this monitoring station

about 40, 50 metres away from Koshka and the kittens,

it's just on the edge of Viktor and Svyat's vegetable patch.

And I've got the camera up and running.

Just going to have a look around.

OK, here she is.

She's here, she's here.

OK. Do you know what?

She is not remotely bothered by the camera.

There's something about watching...

..young animals in this way.

It's really discreet, we're not affecting their behaviour at all.

They're able to move around, oblivious to the fact that...

..I'm watching them.

It's beautiful, it's really...

I'm so pleased.

Being locked away may have traumatised Koshka...

..leaving her less able to cope with her kittens.

It's actually quite a sad story,

because every other set of kittens that she's had,

she's had them taken away from her.

Whether she makes it back into the wild or not,

it's undeniably a wonderful thing to let her be a mum.

But Koshka has got her work cut out for her.

At around 20 days old, a lynx kitten has only just learned to stand up,

and still relies on Mum for everything.

The kittens are still suckling.

Koshka's milk will give them the antibodies they'll need

to stay healthy.

It will only be a matter of weeks

before they've outgrown this small recovery enclosure.

Half an hour's drive away, bigger things are afoot.

We've come off the main road,

and we've come into some really beautiful forest,

and situated in this forest is the new enclosure for the lynx.

This is a pine forest, it's a lot more open,

and it looks really, really beautiful.

The forest is where the crucial second phase of the lynx journey

back to the wild will play out.

It's a vast area that's as near to being a wild habitat as possible.

It's going to be interesting to see where the lynx like to hang out.

For me, this is the perfect spot.

Yeah.

And now this is the castle.

Yeah. That's great.

There's no way of telling

where the lynx are going to feel most comfortable.

But time will tell. Once they're in here, we'll see exactly

how they use this new space.

They're going to look for the places where they can remain hidden -

that's what they do in nature -

and although they've been in captivity for such a long time,

that's still an instinctive part of what they are.

And this is great because it does give them all that privacy,

all of that space that they need,

and they can move around and explore.

That's what this enclosure represents.

It is going to be their territory for the next month or two.

This forest allows Viktor to scale up his rehabilitation project.

Encouraged by Miass and Koshka's progress, Viktor now wants

to rescue two more lynx from captivity and bring them here.

But these lynx aren't from fur farms.

They're part of Russia's flourishing pet trade.

Some people in Russia have a wild animal

living and growing inside an apartment in a city?

Yes, yes.

So, you can go online, in Russia, and find lynx for sale?

And you don't need a licence or anything?

How old do you think these are?

So, for just less than £1,000,

you could have one of these big cats in your house.

Lynx kittens are easy to handle,

but some owners struggle to cope with them when they're fully grown.

Do you think it's possible for a lynx kitten that's born

in captivity, has never lived in the forest - do you think it's possible

to actually rehabilitate a cat like that?

In a small city six hours away, two young lynx are advertised for sale.

They've been living in an apartment with their owner.

There's a male who's two and a half years old,

and a female who's just one and a half.

Though still young, they've become too big for the owner to control,

and he wants rid of them.

Viktor has decided to buy them.

The alternative would be life in a cage or a fur farm.

The two young lynx have arrived.

And we're putting them straight into the forest enclosure.

The male is called Bryansk,

and he seems pretty relaxed.

But Dasha, the female... GROWLING

..is another story.

She's more aggressive, while he's not aggressive at all.

It's a really big exciting moment for both of these youngsters.

Now they've got the opportunity, for the first time ever,

to explore a real bit of the forest, a huge area.

Do it? Yeah, let's do it.

OK, door's up.

He's super nervous, look at him.

You can go wherever you want,

anywhere you choose.

If he was a wild lynx...

..he would have bombed for the cover, he would have wanted

to get away from us and gone to the densest vegetation.

He's not at all concerned about the open space,

which is completely contradictory to a lynx's true nature.

But Bryansk has never seen a tree or forest before.

Everything he SHOULD know...

..is completely alien to him.

Now for something a little bit different.

It's time for Dasha.

That is wonderful.

And off she goes.

It is quite easy to feel...

..connected and attracted to the male, because he's quite docile,

he's not acting adversely to us.

She, on the other hand,

clearly has no interest in being close to us.

That's not necessarily a bad thing.

I'm checking back in on Koshka and the kittens.

If they're showing signs that they're ready,

we're hoping to move them to the new forest site.

Here is a kitten, right in the middle of the frame.

And what I'm hoping is...

..that where one kitten goes, the other will follow.

And where both kittens go, Koshka will follow.

This is great.

This is exactly what we want to see with Koshka and her kittens -

this strong bond.

Because when we move them to the forest site...

..that is something that's going to completely change for her.

She's going to be in a new place, she might feel anxious,

she might feel more vulnerable.

And we want to be absolutely certain that she's got that kind of strong

connection with her two youngsters.

While the kittens rely on Koshka,

they also benefit from being with each other.

Tussling for their mother's milk and play-fighting teaches them

the skills they'll need to hunt when they're older.

At the moment, it's absolutely fine, it's just a picture of harmony.

But what might happen as they get older is that element of competition

is introduced, and that one kitten

becomes more dominant than the other.

And that's quite a hard cycle to reverse,

because the more dominant you are,

the more food you get and the stronger you become.

And that's when you can get this disparity from one young animal

doing very well and another one suffering.

So that's something we'll have to keep an eye on,

because at the moment they're even-stevens.

Back in the forest, Bryansk, who was a pet,

never had a mum or siblings to teach him anything.

Hey, fella.

You're such a weird character.

He definitely actively seeks out company.

He doesn't seem to want to be by himself.

That's probably because he's still...

Still a baby in many ways.

And, naturally, he'd still be with his brothers and his sisters

and his mum at this age.

So although I'm not a lynx...

..he seems to make do with me as a surrogate lynx.

There's a more urgent concern, though -

Bryansk is struggling to drink enough water.

He's not recognising the natural water sources in the enclosure.

But then, in the past, he's only ever drunk from a bowl.

If I sit over here...

..I think he'll come over.

Right, OK, some water.

I think he needs a drink.

There you go.

That's what you want.

I think you're very thirsty.

There's two things we have to be mindful of.

One - that, in time, he has a distrust of people.

But before that - and more importantly - we need to make sure

that he's got the skills that he needs to survive in the wild.

So I'm not worried about this relationship right now.

I want you to know that you can trust me.

What we're going to have to do is just find that

little wild spark inside you and ignite it properly.

But you don't look as if you've got much of a wild spark at the moment.

Big pussycat.

I don't need to worry about the young female, Dasha -

she couldn't be any more different.

She's super cautious.

Every single time she moves, she goes for the thickest cover.

Having to cross over these open areas, she's super nervous.

It's interesting to see how different two cats -

two lynx of a similar age - can be.

But the instincts to stay out of people's way,

to remain hidden, is great.

THUNDER RUMBLES

The heavens have opened.

At the recovery enclosure,

my first thoughts are for Koshka and her kittens.

THUNDER RUMBLING

That's not good.

At least I've got some cover here.

Koshka and the kittens don't have any.

Until now, Koshka's been making all the right moves as a mum.

But it seems she's chosen the wrong bedding site.

The kittens don't have any waterproofing on their coat.

They're like little sponges at the moment.

And if this continues, they're just going to get wetter and wetter.

They can't run around and move around to generate heat.

The kittens can't maintain their own body temperature,

so Koshka needs to keep them warm if they're to survive.

The only warmth that they're getting at the moment

is from Koshka.

And just when they need her most...

..she takes off.

SOFT SQUEAKING

I don't know why she's...

..she's left them.

In these conditions, that's when she should be sticking with them,

keeping them sheltered.

But she's gone.

Oh...they're getting absolutely soaked there.

Yeah... Yeah, that's not good.

If left any longer, the kittens will become hypothermic...

..and could die.

She's back, she's back, she's back.

Right, she's picking up....

Yeah, she's picking up the kitten.

And off she goes.

She can't carry both kittens at the same time,

so she'll have to put one of them in a safe place,

come back and get the other one.

Finally...Koshka's back.

It took her a while, but at last

she's found some proper shelter

for her kittens, in a hut that Viktor provided.

The success of Viktor's project

rests on these lynx having wild instincts.

By the looks of things, Koshka's maternal instincts are blossoming.

In the forest enclosure,

we're having to take a more hands-on approach with Bryansk.

Let's see if I can find...

..our young male in the same place as he was before.

They have been fed ground beef, minced-up meat,

so they don't know what to do with something that's got fur on it.

So what I want to do... I've got a piece of chicken.

I think we need to make sure that they're feeding properly

before we start the next phase of their training.

Hey, you.

Do you want that?

Come on, there's some food there.

Unbelievable. He didn't even pay the slightest bit of attention to it.

Come on, you.

Are you not interested? Come on, pal.

I would have got a better reaction from a domestic cat.

Bryansk must be really hungry...

..so his inability to recognise food is staggering.

Get your claws into it.

Come on...it's moving.

That's a boy, that's it...!

Just ignore me.

Have this.

It's just a bit worrying, his lack of response,

or lack of interest in anything.

Ordinarily with a predatory animal, if you get something

that twitches and moves, especially for a cat...

..they should want to engage with it.

He's kind of plodding about like he's...

..one of my best mates.

Bryansk is more used to a carpet, a sofa,

and the sound of a TV on in the background than this.

You can't blame him for being confused.

He's got a long way to go if he's

ever to be released into the wild.

I'm really excited by the prospect

of being involved in a project

like this, that's taking cats

from lots of different scenarios,

all pretty horrible, and putting them in the place that they

should be, which is out in the forest.

Free animals.

But it's not all easy.

During her stay in the recovery enclosure,

Koshka's shown she's a good mum, and the kittens are strong.

Viktor thinks it's now safe to move them all to the forest site.

We're hoping using this piece of prime beef,

maybe we'll be able to get them into the box.

Do it quickly, do it as quietly as possible,

trying to minimise the stress.

We're rigging up an automatic release system.

So when Koshka goes in to the box, we pull this string,

the pin comes out, the door drops down.

OK, she's coming, she's coming.

OK, I'm getting ready.

OK, in you come. Come on, come on.

Yes!

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Well done.

Fantastic.

Miass will be moved later.

For now, the priority is the little ones.

We're going in to find the kittens, they'll still be in the same place.

It's pretty dense and we have to be super quick.

This is the first and only time we'll ever touch them.

They're both there?

Yep, he's got one, Viktor's got one.

Svyatoslav's got one.

Success.

Look at you, you little beauty.

You stunner.

Here we go, I've got you, OK.

I've got you. It's OK, it's OK...

KITTENS FUSS

I've got you... Shush, shush, shush, shush...

Their little hearts are beating.

KITTEN CALLS OUT Shush, shush...

We've not got long, but there's something we need to check...

..while we still have the chance.

What do you think?

A little boy and a little girl.

Perfect.

Pretty critical that we get the kittens and Koshka

to the forest site as soon as possible.

Let's go.

We need to minimise the time Koshka and her kittens are separated.

If she gets stressed, she could stop producing milk,

or even abandon them.

HISSING

So we've got the kittens here.

And then we're going to get Koshka into position.

Open the kittens first so that when she comes out,

she'll hopefully see them.

She's a lot heavier than two kittens.

We just need to do this very quickly, because if we leave

the kittens on the ground, they're going to crawl away.

So what we want is for Koshka

to come out and see the kittens straight away.

Ready? Right, Koshka's coming.

OK, here she is. Come on, girl.

Good girl, perfect.

Perfect.

Koshka has no idea where she is.

She doesn't know this enclosure is safe.

She'll be worrying about potential threats, like bears and wolves.

Koshka will only settle once she's found a safe place for her kittens.

It's stressful for us.

It's stressful for both kittens.

It's stressful for Koshka.

What we're going to do is just pull out.

We all move back, take this box away, and let her settle

and do exactly what she wants to do herself.

We don't want to add to the stress,

so we're leaving the enclosure.

It's a hard thing to do, but from this moment on...

..we have to leave it to Koshka to make all the decisions.

Small cameras are in place to capture the moment

she returns for the second kitten...

..but they can only record for one and a half hours.

KITTEN SQUEAKS

We're all worried.

Maybe this move has been too much for her.

And I feel sorry for her, because all she wants to do

is to keep those kittens safe.

KITTEN CALLS OUT

Today, there's nothing more we can do.

We have to trust Koshka.

KITTEN SQUEAKING

SQUEAKING CONTINUES

It's been a night of strong winds and heavy rain.

At first light, we hurry back.

With all of this upheaval,

we have to make absolutely sure

that the kittens are with Koshka.

The box is empty,

so both kittens have gone.

Erm...but we have to make sure that they're all together.

THUNDER ROLLS

Either Koshka did come back last night to collect her kitten,

or it's wandered off.

In this weather, it may not have survived the night alone.

We'll breathe easily once we have found her,

and make sure that they're all OK.

Over there, that's where she is!

Koshka's just visible in the long grass...

..but I still can't see the kittens.

I've got a clearer view of Koshka, and I'm...

..fairly sure that I saw some movement in the grass

just to her left.

And that movement, I'm hoping, is one of the kittens.

Come on, little guys.

I can see the grass moving, but I can't actually see the kitten...

Oh, there's a kitten, there's a kitten! Oh!

Two kittens. Two of them, brilliant!

You beauty...! That's great!

Phew! That's amazing.

Aw, that is tremendous.

Koshka and the kittens are safe and sound.

This extraordinary lynx family can now enjoy their forest home.

We struggle to bring Bryansk up to speed...

OK, he's enjoying his reward.

But I don't think he worked for that at all.

Koshka's hunting takes off...

Wowzers!

And the kittens take on more than they can handle...

That must be about eight, ten metres up?

My God, look at that. There's a lot of danger.