All language subtitles for Tiger.Spy.in.the.Jungle.S01E01.1080p.NF.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.x264-qpdb_track3_eng

In this film,

elephants take us closer
to tigers than ever before.

They enter the tigers' world
armed only with spy-cams.

Using these new devices,
they help tell the story
of cubs growing up.

They are our spies
in the jungle.

Elephants have been used
for centuries
to search for tigers.

There is no better way
to enter the tigers' dark
and mysterious world.

India's few remaining tigers
live in dense forest,

and that makes filming their
behaviour one of the last
great wildlife challenges.

This is Pench Tiger Reserve
in central India,

one of the tigers'
last strongholds.

Even here, tigers are elusive.

But fortunately,
they often leave their mark.

From these footprints,
the mahouts,
who ride the elephants,

can tell both
the sex of a tiger
and how recently it passed by.

These are fresh.

Time to deploy
a secret weapon.

Trunk-cam is specially
designed to film tigers

in high-definition
while on the move.

It's carried by what must
be the ultimate all-terrain
camera vehicle, an elephant.

These eco-friendly 4x4s
can take trunk-cam
wherever a tiger goes,

and it can start filming
the moment the alarm
calls of prey animals

give away
the tiger's location.

The human camera crew
film from another elephant

and adjust trunk-cam
using remote control.

The elephants give us
extraordinary access
to the tigers.

They are, after all,
natural inhabitants
of the forest,

so the tigers
aren't at all phased by them.

These innovative
filming techniques
have made it possible,

over a period of three years,

to capture the most intimate
portrait of tigers ever seen.

They gave us
astounding insights
into the tigers' private world

and captured behaviour
never witnessed before.

Our story begins
with a tantalising glimpse
of something very special,

a cub, just 10 days old.

Wild cubs as young as this
have never been filmed before.

For their first six weeks,

most cubs usually hide away
in their dens,

hardly glimpsing daylight.

These are unusually
adventurous.

They seem totally
unaware of the dangers.

Although their eyes
are just opening,

they won't see clearly
for another six weeks.

They're the mother's
first litter,

and they're going to be
quite a test for her.

The tigress must pick them up
by the scruff of the neck.

It's a delicate operation.

A little too much pressure
and she'll hurt her cub.

She can bite with the force
of nearly 500 kilos,

but this requires
the gentlest touch.

Tigers usually have
two or three cubs.

Four are quite a handful,

and these already seem more
challenging than most.

The ratio between the sexes
among newborns
is usually equal.

True to form,
two of these cubs
are male and two are female.

It will be rare indeed
for all four of them
to reach maturity.

Many dangers lie ahead.

At this size,
they make a snack for
even the smallest predator.

Their mother must make sure
that everyone
is accounted for.

With two back in the den
and one on its way,

there's only one straggler
left to worry about.

The cub's contact cry
makes sure he's not forgotten.

As long as the cubs call,
their mother is compelled
to keep retrieving them,

but this would try
any mother's patience.

A young cub's life
is very precarious.

Had the mother been away
hunting at a moment like this,

the outcome could have
been very different.

She's clearly
going to be a devoted mother.

But she still has
a lot to learn.

This is not the way to do it.

Filming such behaviour
is unprecedented.

It gives us
an extraordinary opportunity

to follow these cubs
as they grow.

To do that, the elephant crew
will need more spy-cams.

As its name suggests,
tusk-cam is mounted
on the elephant's tusk.

It's smaller than trunk-cam,
so it can be carried
at all times,

perfect for shots on the move.

It's usually the first camera
to film a tiger,

and it now has a local
celebrity in its sights.

This is Charger,
the father of the cubs.

Worryingly, he got his name
from his readiness to charge.

It's clearly a job
for trunk-cam,
a spy-cam with hidden talents.

Charger will attack
without provocation,

but trunk-cam is specifically
designed to look harmless.

Charger reacts
surprisingly calmly
to this motorised tree trunk.

He's less a tiger,
more like a pussycat.

Even the camera's
pans and zooms
provoke little reaction.

But then something strange
catches Charger's eye.

He sees what he thinks
is another tiger.

It could be an expensive time
for a piece of kit

that costs as much as
a small house.

But Charger isn't
easily intimidated,

which is good news
for his cubs.

More cubs are killed
by rival males
than anything else.

But while Charger is around,
his cubs are safe.

The mother and cubs rarely
meet the father

and he never joins her
on the hunt.

Not that she needs much help.

Pench has some of the highest
concentrations of game
in all India,

so this tigress never has
to travel far for a meal.

Even so, bringing up four cubs
is not going to be easy,

especially ones as adventurous
as these.

Some tiger territories
may cover as much as
300 square kilometres,

but in prime hunting country
like this,

as little as
15 square kilometres
can be enough.

Within this, she knows
all the hotspots for game.

Parts of the forest
positively teem with life.

But more prey means
more eyes on the lookout.

Frustration is
all too frequent.

Fortunately,
in this neck of the woods,

there are
plenty of alternatives.

She just has to keep walking.

Her aim is to stalk
within 30 metres
without being seen.

If there's a choice,
she'll select larger deer,
like sambar.

A sambar stag
is the best prize of all.

Most hunts, like this one,
end in disappointment.

While she's on the prowl,
her cubs should be safely
tucked up in their den,

but these are
no ordinary cubs.

Now's he's in great danger.

With his mother away,

any passing predator
would jump at the chance
of such an easy meal.

Leopards kill tiger cubs
without hesitation.

Perhaps they see them
as future competitors.

Pench Park has a thriving
population of leopards.

They far outnumber tigers,
so a lost cub is
in real danger.

His best defence
is to remain still.

Hiding under a leaf
is a somewhat
novel alternative.

Fortunately, mother tigers
never leave their young cubs
for long.

But they don't usually
have such a problem
recognising them.

Her cubs seem to have
a death wish.

If they're to survive,
they have a lot to learn.

We will do our best
to watch them
for the next two years

as they acquire the skills
they will need to survive.

But now the monsoon
brings filming to a halt.

-The park is closed,

and the camera elephants
are redeployed on
anti-poaching patrols.

The monsoon refreshes the land

and refills the reservoirs
that will be so valuable
during the drier months.

The park is transformed
into a lush, green oasis.

But despite the tranquillity,

the heavy rains make this
a hazardous time
for small cubs.

Ten weeks pass
and the camera elephants
return to filming duties.

After a long search,
they find the tigress.

But worryingly, her cubs
are nowhere to be seen.

The elephants follow her
towards one of her
favourite den sites.

It's good news.

At least three cubs
have survived.

And then a fourth.

The cubs are now
three months old.

They have stopped hiding
in their dens
and venture out every day,

but only when
their mother is around.

They sometimes accompany her
on hunting trips,

and they move from
one den site to another

as she travels
around her territory.

Play, it seems,
is never far from their mind.

It's good for practising
hunting skills,

and it's also a lot of fun.

While they get rid of their
surplus energy,

the mother has some time
for herself.

Even at this age,
her cubs can be
quite a handful.

All this play develops their
strength and co-ordination,

and it occupies
a lot of their time.

They're growing fast,

putting on around
three quarters of a kilo
each week.

Although they look small
next to their mother,

they are already
twice the weight
of a domestic cat.

They've just started
to take meat,

but their mother's milk
still provides most
of their nourishment.

With the cubs out and about,

keeping up with them
is a considerable challenge

for the camera team,
but help is on its way.

Meet log-cam,
a small remote camera

that can be deployed quickly
by the elephants themselves.

It can be placed around
waterholes or on
animal paths and tracks.

The camera is triggered by any
movement of a nearby animal.

Left alone,
it can lie in wait for days.

This langur monkey
is transfixed
by her reflection in the lens.

These spy-cams
are now deployed 24/7,

recording everything
that happens in front of them.

Even though some see
through their disguise,

the cameras between them
capture a wealth
of extraordinary behaviour.

Spotted deer and langurs
find safety in numbers and
often travel around together.

Log-cam reveals
just how unruly
the deer's neighbours can be.

Despite the rough and tumble,

sharing sentry duties
makes sense
when a tiger's on the prowl.

Time to get baby on board.

With eyes everywhere,
there is literally
nowhere to hide.

They have a special
alarm call for a tiger,

and it's never too young
to learn its meaning.

These incessant calls follow
the tigress wherever she goes,

making it difficult for her
to launch a surprise attack.

With a tiger in their midst,
monkeys have at least one way
to show their disgust.

As soon as the tigers relax,
the excitement begins
to die down.

The tigers are used to
playing a waiting game.

The forest gradually quietens.

Its inhabitants live under
constant threat from tigers,

so they must make the most
of any periods of calm.

This is the moment the tigress
has been waiting for.

Any film of tigers hunting
is rare,

and forests are
very difficult locations

because the vegetation
obscures the view.

But the elephant cams can film
even in the deepest forest.

Water holes make the perfect
spot for an ambush.

Tigers seize any
hunting opportunity,

but if they are undisturbed,
they prefer to
hunt in the day.

The jungle early-warning
system is back in operation.

The calls put the whole forest
on edge

and make the tigress' job
more difficult.

Faced with a choice,
she favours the larger
sambar deer,

but the monkey alarms
are making them nervous.

As deer have poor
colour vision,

a tiger can be within
sniffing distance,

but still be unseen
in the grass.

She relies on her camouflage,
which breaks up her outline,

but in the midst of the herd,
many eyes are watching.

The sambar signals her unease
to her companions,

but she's still unsure
of what she sees.

All seems lost.

But in thick forest,
the tigress still has
everything to play for.

She uses the river valleys
as cover to cut off
the deer's escape.

For the deer,
out of sight is out of mind.

She's regained the advantage
of surprise.

When running, she can cover
nine metres in each leap.

But even so,
the closer she can get,
the better.

She gets it.

She kills by throttling.

She is already having to
double the number of kills
she makes,

for the cubs have developed
quite an appetite.

The cubs are now 14 weeks old

and need all the meat
they can get.

They can eat over
a kilo of meat each day,

the equivalent of
20 large steaks between them.

It's just as well
Pench Reserve has
such a thriving population

of prey animals.

Because of its value
as a sanctuary for tigers,

this old teak
forestry plantation was
made a reserve in 1992,

and now it has many other
secretive inhabitants,
as the spy-cams discover.

A family of wild boar.

As well as capturing unusual
behaviour of other animals,

the spy cams are able to
film the tigers when
the elephants are off duty.

Indian rock pythons
will eat small cubs.

They also frequent the kind
of rocky outcrops where
tigers make their dens.

At this age, the cubs
are still an easy meal
for every predator around.

It will be nearly two years
before they become
as formidable as their mother.

Very few people have seen
how an adult tiger deals
with a python.

What will be the outcome?

Although the python
isn't protected by venom,
it does have a nasty bite.

They say
curiosity killed the cat.

Tigers aren't used to animals
that bite back.

Filming so much
extraordinary tiger behaviour
in such a short time

has been a triumph.

But it's time
for the elephants
to take another break.

They will be away
for another two months.

It's now December.

The elephants have been back
on duty for five days,

but so far, they haven't found
the mother and cubs.

Then tusk-cam
spots the family.

The cubs are now
five months old

and all seem
in perfect health.

Tusk-cam has
a stabilised camera system,

but when the elephant stops,
he often adds his own support,

turning his trunk
into a monopod,

which steadies
the camera's image.

Then trunk-cam spots something
that could disturb the peace.

A pangolin has blundered
into the tiger's lair.

Despite his
reptilian-like scales,

this rare creature
is actually a mammal.

But his armoured plates
provide little protection
against tigers.

The pangolin senses danger
and rolls into
a protective ball.

It's easy to be brave
when Mum's around,

especially as part of their
education is to investigate
everything that moves.

But even with some hefty
reinforcements available,

bravery is best tempered
with caution.

The pangolin's strange
appearance has proved more
effective than his armour.

The Indian jungle hides other
rarely-seen creatures, too.

The sloth bear is
the only bear to carry
her young on her back.

Hitching a ride makes sense.

The cubs' mother may travel
15 kilometres a day

looking for the nests
of bees and termites.

As well as eating insects,

the bears are
mainly vegetarians,

so this palm squirrel
has little to fear.

The cubs scavenge for easier
pickings amongst the rocks.

Film of wild sloth bears
is rare,

but getting as close as
this is very rare indeed.

These bears are seldom
seen in the day,

so they're often described
as nocturnal.

Only in undisturbed places
like this does their true
nature become apparent.

Her shaggy coat not only gives
her young hitchhikers
something to cling onto,

it also protects her
against attacks
by the stinging insects

whose nests she raids
for food.

As they get bigger,
the cubs have to take turns
hitching a ride.

It must be difficult
scratching an itch

when you're wearing
a full-length fur coat.

Her cubs are six months old,

and she'll carry them
for another three months.

They're already big enough
to be a nuisance.

Even the best mothers
need to take time out,

and this one's youngsters
are double trouble.

The tigress has her own
boisterous cubs to cope with.

They're now confirmed
carnivores and eagerly feed
on every kill.

A lone tiger will kill around
once every eight days,

but with hungry mouths
to feed,

she has to increase
her hit rate.

Four cubs present
a special challenge.

An adult tiger on its own
can eat 30 kilos of meat
in a single meal,

so even a large carcass
can leave little to go round.

The cubs take what they can
in a single sitting.

They can never be sure when
the next meal might arrive.

Even if their mother
can keep up
with their demand now,

things are only going to
get more difficult.

They need their strength.

At this age, they still face
many unexpected dangers.

The sloth bear has
a reputation for using attack
as its first line of defence.

The outcome of this encounter
is uncertain.

The tiger's advance
is cautious.

Any animal that
holds its ground is
something to be wary of.

It's a stand-off.

Neither seems
quite sure what to do.

The bear's nerve breaks first.

To capture such behaviour
is a great stroke of luck,

but with so many
cameras deployed
at any one time,

there are always
plenty of surprises.

Another leopard with cubs
spots her reflection
in the lens of the spy-cam.

She quickly realises there's
nothing to worry about,

and her five-week-old cubs are
reassured by her confidence.

Few leopard cubs
as young as this
have ever been filmed before,

let alone so close
and so at ease.

Her cubs will stay with her
for just over a year

before they're old enough to
find territories of their own.

Tiger cubs stay with
their mother for far longer.

The earliest
a male cub might leave
is at 20 months old,

but the female cubs
may stay around for
as much as two years.

All in all,
they have a lot of learning
ahead of them.

They have to hone
their hunting skills

and the spotted deer fawn
provides them
with good practice.

Learning to drag a carcass
is not just a game.

Adult tigers like to eat
their kills in cover,
away from scavenging birds.

Meat is now the major part
of their diet,

although they will still
suckle if given a chance.

But at this age,

their mother can find
their sharp teeth
quite painful.

It's not only the cubs
that are unsettling
the tigress.

The day is warming up fast
and it's making her restless.

The midday heat
affects everyone.

It even draws
one of India's rarest animals
to the water hole,

the red dog, or dhole.

Red dogs once formed large
hunting packs over 100 strong.

Today, even these small
family groups
are a rare sight.

A large pack
can even kill a tiger.

One of them finds the camera.

The elephant crew
face some serious competition.

Leopards take pride of place
at the watering hole.

But even they defer
to a tiger.

The tiger is twice her size,
but the leopard's agility
gives her the edge.

A tree provides
a quick escape route,

but the tiger
isn't easily defeated.

Now the tiger's size
is actually her handicap.

The leopard
just has to sit it out.

She doesn't have to
wait for long.

In the heat of the day,
a tiger has
better things to do.

At the hottest time
of the day,

she has just one thing
on her mind.

Tigers are the only big cats
that like water.

In the summer months,
a jungle pool
really is cool for these cats.

They often spend the middle
of the day just chilling out
in favourite spots like this.

Chasing leopards
is thirsty work.

But her rival is now far
from the tiger's mind.

The leopard
will not forget so easily.

She's received
a powerful warning.

Her cubs are too close
for comfort.

As she leaves,
she catches one last glimpse
of her reflection.

Tigers can be very
uncomfortable in the heat,

a trait that suggests
that they originated in
much colder regions.

They can still be found
as far north as Siberia.

Despite the heat,

the tigers in Pench
seem to have found
their own bit of paradise.

In the open forest,

the deer's constant grazing
creates areas
of park-like grassland.

These pastures make
the best hunting grounds.

At this age, the cubs
sometimes follow their mother
when she hunts.

By watching and copying,
they learn her techniques.

As she selects a target,
they try out some moves
of their own.

But they must also learn
that this is a time
for patience.

They instinctively adopt
the stalking posture,

but they refine
their technique
by copying their mother.

A tiger can cover
nearly a metre and a half
in a single stride.

Even when
she's walking slowly,

the cubs have trouble
keeping up.

With the deer so close,
the stakes are high.

The cubs seem to be making
all the right moves.

The tigress is now
within striking distance,

but the deer knows
something is up.

This is not the time
to lose your nerve.

Lessons are being learned
the hard way,

but the cubs now know when
to leave it to the expert.

This time, the tigress
leaves her students behind.

The deep cover allows her to
move faster than usual.

She changes tack.

Her best weapon is surprise.

She could be anywhere.

She kills just two metres
from the camera elephant.

It's a sambar.

Plenty of food to go round.

Tigers often pluck their
prey before eating it,

a habit they share
with leopards.

Taking the carcass into cover
will conceal it
from scavengers.

The cubs immediately
show how quickly they
learn from their mother.

He's already making
quite a good job
of removing the hair.

But it's a big carcass,
and there are other
hunting moves to practice.

And this is a game
in which others can join.

The cubs' play
is becoming more aggressive.

They are already
showing the qualities

that will make them
one of the world's
top predators.

Having watched them
progress so far,

it seems a good time to take
a filming break.

Shooting resumes in May.

Neither the cubs
nor their mother
have been seen for days.

The camera team investigate.

Spy-cams are placed near
all their favourite den sites.

Just a slight adjustment
is needed.

This was a good choice.

The cubs use the shade
and wet sand

besides the boulder
to shelter from the heat.

But worryingly, there is
no sign of the mother.

A second camera
in a nearby pond
finds only the other cubs.

This spy-cam
is camouflaged to resemble
one of the boulders,

but the cubs
see through its disguise.

Despite occasionally
being spotted,

the spy-cams have
already proved their worth.

Even this cub
quickly loses its curiosity.

A third hidden camera
shows that play
between the cubs

is increasingly geared
to fighting and hunting.

Even a stick is used
as a substitute for prey.

-The spy-cam also shows

just how alert the cubs are
to danger when they're alone.

They've picked up the alarm
calls of monkeys.

A predator
must be approaching,

and they seem to know
it's not their mother.

Their nearby den provides
them with cover,

but with their mother
nowhere to be seen,
this is a worrying situation.

The spy-cam
reveals the threat.

It's their arch rival,
a leopard,
at their water hole.

These home-alone cubs
are now in grave danger,

and the leopard is
in no rush to leave.

In the next Spy In The Jungle,
we will see how the cubs fared

in this latest challenge
to their young lives.

Our elephant camera crew
will also reveal

many other remarkable
moments in a tiger's life.