Dynasties (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Tiger - full transcript

Tigers are the largest,
most powerful,

and perhaps the most loved
of all the big cats.

Yet, over the past century,

their numbers have
declined by 95%.

Our team has spent two years
following one tigress

with her cubs as she
attempts to rear them.

Her problems come not just
from the natural world,

but from having to do so
at close quarters with us.

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve
in the heart of India.

A rich, tropical jungle.

At the base of this cliff,



a secret cave

hiding within is a tigress
known as Raj Bera

Two weeks ago, she
chose this cave

in which to give birth
to her new family.

This is her daughter, Biba.

And these are her first,
rather unsteady steps.

Biba has three brothers.

The four of them together
are the next generation

of this tiger dynasty.

Raj Bera is one of the most
formidable predators on earth.

But her cubs are vulnerable
and will remain so

for the next two years.

It will take all her strength
and skill as a mother

to protect and provide for them,



if she is to raise
them to adulthood.

This forest has everything
a tiger family needs.

Plenty of fresh water,

dense thickets for concealment,

and open grasslands
full of prey.

After two hungry weeks confined
to the den with her cubs,

Raj Bera needs food.

She is an experienced hunter.

But her prey are
always on high alert.

Fortunately, she knows
how to disappear.

Even with her experience,

most hunts end this way.

But now she faces a dilemma.

As evening draws in,

leaving the cubs
unprotected in their den

could put them in danger.

The night shift are
already on the prowl.

A sloth bear.

It will kill cubs if
it can find them.

Once a den has been discovered,
it's no longer safe.

She needs to move her family.

The family are
safe at a new den.

An experienced tigress
like Raj Bera

may know half a dozen
hideaways like this.

Even though she
failed in her hunt,

the cubs are as hungry
for milk as ever.

For a tigress to
feed and protect,

as many as four young is
a relentless challenge.

It's unlikely that she will
be able to raise them all.

And in India today,

there are new pressures,
making it harder than ever

to rear a family to adulthood.

Raj Bera's territory is just big
enough to support her cubs,

but she's surrounded by
territories held by other tigers.

And all are encircled
by human settlement.

There are about 80
tigers in Bandhavgarh.

This is an unusually
high density.

Competition for
space is intense.

Scarred faces are evidence
of battles between rivals.

To keep her territory secure,

Raj Bera regularly patrols
its 12-mile-long boundary.

Each time she sprays,
she's marking a line

that other tigers know
they cross at their peril.

Territory marking in the
midday heat is hard work.

She needs to cool off.

An amorous male peacock.

Every day, she has to strike
an almost impossible balance,

dividing her time
between hunting,

scent marking her boundaries,

and nursing her cubs.

For now the demands of her young
family must take precedence.

Her cubs have reached the stage
when they start exploring.

Although even walking hasn't
been completely mastered.

Differences between the cubs
are beginning to appear.

The three brothers are caught
up in a rough and tumble.

But their sister,
Biba, holds back.

She is smaller and not as
strong as her brothers.

And these differences will
only become more apparent,

as they grow older.

Two months later and the family
has left the den for good.

The cubs are now strong enough
to follow their mother.

She must now start
on their education.

She shows them around
her territory.

And most importantly,
introduces them to a new diet.

Meat.

The cubs have doubled in size,

so that she has to hunt
even more frequently

to provide for their
growing appetites.

Since the birth of her cubs,

Raj Bera has not been able
to patrol her territory

as regularly as she did.

And that has given a
rival an opportunity.

This is Solo,

Raj Bera's adult daughter.

And she is trespassing
on her mother's lands,

some of the richest in the
whole of Bandhavgarh.

She may be unaware that
Raj Bera is hunting here.

Normally adult tigers
avoid each other.

Because fights even between
mother and daughter can be fatal.

But now, 5010 appears to
be testing her mother.

Faced with Raj Bera's
confident advance,

Solo immediately defers, rolling
on her back like a cub.

She's not old enough
or strong enough

to challenge for
the territory...

Yet.

Raj Here is still
the ruler here.

But Solo has issued a warning.

With their territory secure,

the family can relax together.

The cubs are now spending
more and more time

developing their
coordination and agility.

And they do that through play.

A Wild boar.

It could be on the menu
of an adult tiger.

But one of the male cubs is
being a little ambitious.

Perhaps not yet.

Winter arrives in Bandhavgarh.

The cubs are nine months old.

In their adolescence.

And the neighbours are beginning
to take them more seriously.

Raj Bera has done well to keep
all her cubs alive so far.

Typically only 50% of tiger
cubs survive to adulthood.

But now, the family
relationships are changing.

She no longer lets
the cubs eat first.

She has to teach
them that one day

they will have to
provide for themselves.

Once she has had her fill, her
sons dominate the carcass.

It's only when they have finished
that their smaller sister, Biba,

gets her chance to
feed undisturbed.

Alarm calls warn of an intruder.

This time it's an
adult male tiger.

He's a third bigger than Raj
Bera and much more power-flit.

This is the cubs'
favourite water hole.

Mother and sons

sleep off their meal.

But Biba heads off alone.

Adult male tigers
sometimes kill cubs,

so, to approach one
is a huge risk.

Unless of course
he's your father,

the only male in the forest
who would never harm her.

Tiger fathers rarely
meet their offspring.

And he doesn't seem
keen to get acquainted.

But while he is patrolling the
forest, other males will keep away.

And the cubs will be safe.

For everything else, the
cubs depend on Raj Bera.

She still has to provide
for the whole family.

It's summer.

Over the next few weeks the
searing heat will suck

the moisture from the land.

Temperatures soar
to over 45 degrees.

And Bandhavgarh has to survive
the worst drought in a decade.

It's a good time
to be a vulture.

The water holes in Raj Bera's territory
become magnets for the park's

thirsty inhabitants.

Normally, langurs spend

most of their time out
of reach in the trees.

But during the drought,

they must risk crossing
open ground to get water.

Once the braver adults make their
move, the rest of the troop follow.

Out of their comfort
zone, they're nervous.

No danger here,

as far as she can see.

But you can't drink and
watch all at the same time.

Here in the heart of
Raj Here's territory,

these water holes become the
focus of the family's life

throughout these driest months.

It's not just prey that are
drawn here to the water holes.

A new trespasser.

It seems this tigress is way
of pressing her claim today.

But it's clear there are now more rivals
for Raj Here's hunting territory.

And now distant roars
signal further trouble.

Solo, Raj Bera's adult daughter,
is mating for the first time.

She will soon have her own
family with new mouths to feed.

And its not long
before she's back,

hunting deep in her
mother's territory.

She is poaching.

The year-old cubs are
practising their hunting skills

on each other.

Capturing prey requires
power and agility.

As well as the skills
of ambush and attack.

Their survival will depend on
mastering the ability to kill.

But for another eight months,

their mother must
continue to provide.

And she's having to
work much harder now.

Even a kill as big as this

won't last the family more
than a couple of days.

Her sons are the
first to every meal

and jealously guard their share.

Biba is forced to wait.

She will be lucky if she gets
anything more than scraps.

Leaving her well-fed
brothers behind,

Biba tries to hunt for herself.

She's watched her mother
do this many times.

Stalk

and drop.

She has mastered the technique
of becoming invisible.

But she doesn't yet have the
size or strength to strike.

Strong winds signal the
arrival of the monsoon.

The abundance of water means that, for
most of the forest's inhabitants,

the good times have returned.

But the monsoon is the worst time
for Raj Bera and her family.

Her prey are no longer
dependent on the water holes.

They are now free to disperse
throughout her territory.

They will be much harder
for her to ambush.

A few weeks later near the
western boundary of her lands,

there has been a fight.

And Raj Bera is injured.

A serious injury
to a mother tiger

can mean starvation
for her cubs.

Biba is invariably the last

to benefit from her
mother's hunting.

She needs to fend for herself.

And to do that, she must
find her own territory,

away from her brothers.

But where can she go?

Every other territory
is already occupied.

She's forced to search outside
Bandhavgarh altogether.

Her mother will never
see her again.

The male cubs are
also going hungry.

They, too, are trying
to fend for themselves.

The deer are too
alert for novices.

With the demands of three
adolescent male cubs

and increasing hostility
from her rivals,

Raj Bera is facing the greatest
ever threat to her dynasty.

She takes a drastic step

and leaves the safety of the
park in the hope of easier prey.

Cattle in the
neighbouring villages.

For tigress and people,
there is real danger here.

It's a conflict that
Raj Bera cannot win.

Dawn, the next day.

Raj Bera.

She was rescued by
the park authorities

and released back
into her territory,

to rejoin her family.

Over the last two years,

she's struggled to raise her
cubs safely to this point.

And although she's
lost her daughter,

her sons are on the
brink of adulthood.

Against the odds,

she still has the chance
to secure the future

of her tiger dynasty.

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

Today, there are only 4,000,

with 7096 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 are 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
Bera 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 leaping along.

That's a sign that the
tiger's, like, right there.

Okay.

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 her, I think, just now.
They're looking similar.

- It's pretty much her.
- Yeah.

It's Raj Bera.

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 Bera's
den has been discovered.

She's chosen one of the most
inaccessible spots in the whole park,

to make her den, which is kinda
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, you know... 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.

Inhabitants tum 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 tigress.

In order to find food,

she's coming to these
really risky areas,

to hunt cattle, clogs,
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 Bera 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.

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 ta ken 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.