Big Cats

#	Title	Narrator	Year	Studio	Genre
1	Africa: The Serengeti	James Earl Jones	1994	IMAX	Nature & Wildlife
Close Africa: The Serengeti 1994 39 minutes Narrator: James Earl Jones Writer: George Casey, Mose Richards IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Awards: 1 nomination Comments: The equation of life on the Serengeti is simple. Herbivores eat plants. Carnivores eat herbivores. This feature is not specifically focused on big cats but it sets the stage where many big cat documentaries take place. Summary: The Serengeti is a huge area of grassland in Tanzania, Africa. Once a year, in the time of drought, about two million herd animals like antelopes travel north to feed and mate before moving south again, when plants there begin to blossom. James Earl Jones narrates this award-winning IMAX film that explores the natural beauty and timeless cycles of Africa's Serengeti plains. The highlight is a spectacle that few humans have witnessed--the great migration--during which 2 million wildebeests, zebras and antelope travel over 500 miles across the plains.
2	Big Cat Diary	S.King, J.Scott & S.Douglas Hamilton	1996	BBC	Nature & Wildlife
Close Big Cat Diary 1996 185 minutes Narrator: S.King, J.Scott & S.Douglas Hamilton Writer: Simon King, Jonathan Scott and Saba Douglas Hamilton IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: Lots of big cat drama in this series but also a lot of human drama as the three presenters look on, acting for the camera. This is one of those that's as much about the people who are showing us the cats as it is about the cats. But it's big budget and the cats are a great show. Summary: Big Cat Diary (known as Big Cat Week from 2004 - 2006) is a documentary film that has been running since July 1996 on BBC television. The documentary is set in the Masai Mara and follows the adventures of big cats. Normally each year they have a lion pride, a cheetah and a leopard. The series is set in the Masai Mara. The reason the Mara is such a great place for a documentary is because of the great migration. This means there will be a lot of hunting for the animals they film and also a greater chance of survival.
3	Chasing Big Cats	Michael Gross	2004	PBS Nature	Nature & Wildlife
Close Chasing Big Cats 2004 60 minutes Narrator: Michael Gross Writer: Owen Newman and Amanda Barrett IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: This is the PBS version of the BBC's Five Big Cats and a Camera. It's one of the best and most entertaining Big Cat documentaries I've seen. It does have moments of the filmmakers discussing their 14 years long project, but they don't pretend to add drama to the proceedings. They seem humble and genuinely amazed at the footage they are getting. Along with Dereck and Beverly Joubert, I think Owen Newman and Amanda Barrett are two of the best and most creative Big Cat filmmakers working today. Summary: This 14-year retrospective of the work of Owen Newman and Amanda Barrett features the two filmmakers talking about how they managed to capture never-before-seen footage of big cats, including some that had been written off as impossible to film. To these two filmmakers, "impossible" was just a challenge to overcome. Driving into the night, armed with night goggles, infrared lights and cameras, they were the first to film leopards at night, uncovering a whole array of behavior that was new to science and filmmakers alike. Two other cats, servals and caracals, only glimpsed in passing by other filmmakers, became newly discovered stars of their own films. With captivating stories and characters, Newman and Barrett were able to transform lions from big cats everyone thought they knew into individuals with personalities, griefs, and grudges. Owen Newman Filmmaker Amanda Barrett Filmmaker
4	Cheetahs Fast Track to Freedom	Simon King	2004	BBC Natural World	Nature & Wildlife
Close Cheetahs Fast Track to Freedom 2004 48 minutes Narrator: Simon King IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: The drama is shared among the cubs and the filmmaker's experience of them in this documentary. Simon King is one of the more appealing BBC wildlife crew, but there are tears shed on film. You may want to cry with him. A follow up documentary, "Toki's Tale" continues the story. Summary: For two years Simon King takes on the role of mother to two male cheetah cubs, Toki and Sambu, orphaned when their mother was killed by a lion. Sambu and Toki are just twelve weeks old, still dependant on milk and in need of protection from the harsh world they will ultimately make their home when King, a wildlife filmmaker with 15 years experience of working with cheetahs in the wild adopts and films them during their first two years on Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.
5	Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas	Powers Boothe	1992	National Geographic	Nature & Wildlife
Close Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas 1992 60 minutes Narrator: Powers Boothe Writer: Dereck Joubert, Marjorie M. Moomey IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: It is unique in the animal kingdom that lions will kill something and not eat it. Lions kill hyenas because they don't like them. There is a scene in this documentary where a male lion, on behalf of the ladies, chases down a hyena that got too big for its britches. The music, sound effects, and slow motion photography make for a sublime experience. One of the best Lion kill scenes ever filmed! Summary: Filmed on the hidden battlefields of northern Botswana where lions and spotted hyenas clash in overlapping territories. Follow the Southern Clan, led by a powerful hyena matriarch whose firstborn female cub kills her sister at birth to assure her succession as leader of the clan. Lurk in the shadows as a lioness from the Central Pride gives birth to three cubs and then encounters a deadly Egyptian cobra. Discover nature's savage conflicts in this ancient rivalry between Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas.
6	Eye of the Leopard	Jeremy Irons	2007	National Geographic	Nature & Wildlife
Close Eye of the Leopard 2007 90 minutes Narrator: Jeremy Irons Writer: Dereck and Beverly Joubert IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: This 90 minute dramocumentary, filmed over two years by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, the award-winning filmmakers of Eternal Enemies is a must see. Effectively told through a series of flashbacks, the film chronicles the first two years of one leopard's life. There are no humans in this one. It's all about the cats. You've got to see what Legadema does when he finds himself in possession of a day-old baboon baby. It will amaze you. I'm willing to admit that these kinds of dramocumentaries manufacture a story to a large degree, but this stuff is caught on film and I don't think the cats are privy to the script. Summary: Eye of the Leopard takes viewers on an enthralling journey deep into the rarely seen lives of leopards. It is a journey of birth, life and death as a mother leopard and her first surviving cub of six, fight off marauding baboons and elude scavenging hyenas in a constant struggle for survival. Dereck Joubert Filmmaker Beverly Joubert Filmmaker Legadema The Leopard
7	Five Big Cats and a Camera	David Attenborough	2004	BBC Natural World	Nature & Wildlife
Close Five Big Cats and a Camera 2004 49 minutes Narrator: David Attenborough Writer: Owen Newman and Amanda Barrett IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: This is the BBC version of the PBS Chasing Big Cats. It's one of the best and most entertaining Big Cat documentaries I've seen. Summary: The face of a cheetah fills the screen, then its sleek and streamlined body hurtles by in slow motion. Suddenly you are able to see the grace and poetry of this magnificent cat as never before, to watch the remarkable effort of each stride and turn as it chases its prey to the death. These innovative images were the work of Owen Newman and Amanda Barrett, who made their reputations filming the big cats of Africa as no one had done before. This 14-year retrospective of their work features the two filmmakers talking about how they managed to capture never-before-seen footage of big cats, including some that had been written off as impossible to film. To these two filmmakers, "impossible" was just a challenge to overcome. Driving into the night, armed with night goggles, infrared lights and cameras, they were the first to film leopards at night, uncovering a whole array of behavior that was new to science and filmmakers alike. Owen Newman Filmmaker Amanda Barrett Filmmaker
8	Lion Battlefield	Sanjeev Bhaskar	2002	BBC	Nature & Wildlife
Close Lion Battlefield 2002 49 minutes Narrator: Sanjeev Bhaskar IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: Lion Battlefield is a story about a pride of lions, and how daily interactions with their prey, their competitors and their deadly enemies, could affect the lives of their cubs. A chance encounter with a herd of buffalo could provide the pride with food for a week, but these hefty animals form a co-ordinated unit of advance guards, flankers and rear guards that can turn the tables and decimate a pride.
9	Lions of Crocodile River	Paul McGann	2007	Discovery Channel	Nature & Wildlife
Close Lions of Crocodile River 2007 47 minutes Narrator: Paul McGann IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: In a merciless corner of Africa, battles rage for survival and supremacy. A lion pride struggles with territory and parenthood in the heart of the Luangwa Valley. Their future depends on the success of the lionesses. Will they raise cubs this year? Mfumu, which means ‘chief’, is the dominant male of the Lagoon pride. An inexperienced guardian, it’s unusual for a male this young to lead a pride of six females. This has not gone unnoticed by the rival male on the opposite bank. Only the full river keeps them apart, for now. The Lagoon pride lives on a riverbank with the highest concentration of crocodiles in the world. This is the reason Mfumu and his females have been unsuccessful at rearing cubs for the last three years. Crocodile attacks have consistently claimed their young. If they don’t get it right this year, the pride may die out. At the height of the flood Mfumu’s mate, Chipazuwa - ‘the beautiful one’ - gives birth to two cubs, Chimondo, a boy and Katswiri, a girl. She hides them away, protecting them at all costs. Chipazuwa has her work cut out for her. At this stage they are easy targets for her reptilian enemies. Will these cubs survive the rainy season? Mfumu patrols his territory every day, guarding it well. The rains have come and the Luangwa River rages with full force. For now, the Lagoon pride is safe. Across the river to the east, the rival pride rules. The biggest threat to Mfumu’s legacy, this pride is ruled by a male in his prime. He watches and waits - envious of Mfumu’s territory. Eventually, the dry season will descend on this valley. When the river is low, larger animals can traverse the divide with ease . . . even the big cats. Will the rival male cross the river and take over Mfumu’s pride? ‘Lions of Crocodile River’ takes you into the heart of the Luangwa Valley - a place where territories are redefined with the rise and fall of the Luangwa River. Each year drought ravages this Eden. Over time, the river recedes and changes course, leaving ox-bow lakes and lagoons behind. Teaming with crocodiles, these remaining pools attract thirsty and fatigued prey desperate to escape the scorching heat. A death trap waits. Mfumu and his pride must join the ranks of those who drink from these pools. For both predator and prey, the Luangwa Valley is a treacherous place. Can Mfumu stand his ground against a hostile takeover from the rival male across the river? Will his mate, Chipazuwa win the battle of motherhood against her mortal enemy, the crocodile? Will she finally raise cubs to continue their diminishing line? These are the ‘Lions of Crocodile River’.
10	Lions of Darkness	Keith David	1993	National Geographic	Nature & Wildlife
Close Lions of Darkness 1993 53 minutes Narrator: Keith David Writer: Dereck and Beverly Joubert IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: Rarely before has the drama of life on the wild plains of Africa been portrayed more intimately than in this remarkable film from renowned wildlife filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert. It's the gripping story of a growing lion pride in Botswana that begins as three outsiders-young and aggressive-invade the pride's territory and depose its aged leader. Their swift, merciless victory opens a new era for the pride. Dereck Joubert Filmmaker Beverly Joubert Filmmaker
11	Planet Carnivore	Alec Baldwin	2007	National Geographic	Nature & Wildlife
Close Planet Carnivore 2007 54 minutes Narrator: Alec Baldwin Writer: James Byrne IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: A cauldren of carnivores Summary: Planet Carnivore: Lions takes you deep inside an isolated volcanic crater in East Africa to meet the crater’s oldest lioness as she struggles to reign over her kingdom—despite fierce competition from other ravenous carnivores. An 18 year-old lioness and her pride struggle to overcome hunger and conflict with other lions and hyenas during one event-filled week in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.
12	Predators at War	Mike Secher	2005	National Geographic	Nature & Wildlife
Close Predators at War 2005 97 minutes Narrator: Mike Secher Writer: John B. Bredar, Eleanor Grant IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: Kim Wolhuter Summary: What happens when five great carnivores are forced to compete in excessively close quarters? What becomes of their natural order during catastrophic circumstances? Who hunts and who is hunted on this hotly contested battleground? National Geographic Channel's Predators at War puts you inside the mind and on the battlefield with five fearsome predators. Join us for this innovative look at some of Africa's most fearsome predators as they battle the environment and each other during a brutal drought. Follow Africa's mega-predators as they struggle for survival in a cruel season of deprivation on South Africa's Mala Mala Reserve. To survive, they must compete for the same resources using every physical and psychological weapon in their arsenals. Who will emerge as top predator? What will it take to survive? From the perspective of the very creatures now pitted against one another, this film reveals the ultimate inside look at animal survival through groundbreaking images, innovative storytelling and the visual language of war.
13	Relentless Enemies	Jeremy Irons	2006	National Geographic	Nature & Wildlife
Close Relentless Enemies 2006 90 minutes Narrator: Jeremy Irons Writer: Beverly Joubert, Dereck Joubert IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: It is a spectacle few have seen firsthand. Two foes trapped on an island in a remote part of Africa--and a battle to survive captured in high-definition over two years by award-winning filmmakers. Now, National Geographic takes viewers onto a unique battlefield in the Okavango Delta to witness the grueling fight for survival of highly specialized lions that prey almost exclusively on buffalo in Relentless Enemies. Beverly Joubert Filmmaker Dereck Joubert Filmmaker
14	Renegade Lions	Craig Sechler	2001	National Geographic	Nature & Wildlife
Close Renegade Lions 2001 54 minutes Narrator: Craig Sechler Writer: Claire Nolan IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: Lions fight for territorial supremacy. Bonus to Eternal Enemies DVD Summary: Celebrated cinematographer Paul van Schalkwyk explores Namibia's Etosha National Park to examine the lives of three notorious lions, famed for their strength and brutality. There is trouble in the Etosha National Park, Namibia. To fight it, a lion gang bands together for life, finding in brotherhood the strength necessary to survive the harshness of this formidable land. The lions use combined force to defend their territory and females. Yet the lands so sought after by these coalitions often overlap with those of rival male groups and multiple female-based prides.
15	Searching for the Snow Leopard	James Fagan	2001	PBS Nature	Nature & Wildlife
Close Searching for the Snow Leopard 2001 53 minutes Narrator: James Fagan IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: This has been eclipsed by Planet Earth and Snow Leopard: Beyond the Myth Summary: Most big cats do their best to remain hidden from human eyes, but none are quite as adept at this as the snow leopard. These cats lead largely solitary lives, populating the Himalayas at altitudes that offer only about half the oxygen to which humans are accustomed. So when wildlife filmmakers Hugh Miles and Mitchell Kelly set out to film this animal they knew they were in for a challenge. The filmmakers chose Hemis National Park in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir as their base camp. There they selected a team of native mountaineers and trackers to accompany them into the Himalayas. The team climbed as high as 15,000 feet, tracking the cats via paw prints in the snow and the scented urine that snow leopards use to mark their territory. The group also concealed remote, sensor-activated cameras equipped with infrared light to allow for stealth, night observation of the cats. Hugh Miles Filmmaker Mitchell Kelly Filmmaker
16	Snow Leopard Beyond The Myth	David Attenborough	2008	BBC Natural World	Nature & Wildlife
Close Snow Leopard Beyond The Myth 2008 48 minutes Narrator: David Attenborough IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: In 2004 a team from the BBC's Planet Earth series filmed the first intimate images of a snow leopard, high in the mountains of Northern Pakistan. The experience marked the beginning of a love affair with the snow leopard for Nisar Malik, a Pakistani journalist more at home covering the conflicts in Afghanistan than tracking wildlife. To help him he enlists the help of wildlife cameraman Mark Smith and together they set out to lift the veil on this most enigmatic of animals.
17	Super Pride	Lance Lewman	2007	National Geographic	Nature & Wildlife
Close Super Pride 2007 47 minutes Narrator: Lance Lewman IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: The Serengeti, in northern Tanzania, teems with big predators. But none compare to the lion. The Serengeti sustains one of the biggest lion populations in Africa: approximately 3,500 lions in 300 prides. But this pride, residing in the central Serengeti, is an exception. 22 lions in all: they are a Super Pride. Few lion prides reach Super Pride status. This phenomenon requires the right conditions. Plentiful prey and strong pride males are key to its success. But keeping cubs alive to maturity is the Super Pride's ultimate goal. Sometimes the greatest threats to a lion cub's life come from other lions…
18	Swamp Cats	Uncredited	2004	Gaylord Films	Nature & Wildlife
Close Swamp Cats 2004 49 minutes Narrator: Uncredited IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: This one gets 10 stars on a 5 star scale. No humans, and the story centers on a lion cub, and nothing is more adorable than a lion cub, especially one that's got a great personality and gets lost in the swamp. A thoroughly engaging and enjoyable dramocumentary. My favorite. Summary: Film about a family of lions living in the swamps of the Okavango delta, seen through the eyes of a cub born just before the annual flood. Location: Okavango delta, Botswana habitat
19	Swimming Lions	Tom Jackson	2002	Comcast	Nature & Wildlife
Close Swimming Lions 2002 50 minutes Narrator: Tom Jackson IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: Botswana's Okavango Delta is a unique natural resource, one of the largest deltas in the world. Until 20,000 years ago the delta was a massive freshwater lake. Today it is an oasis teeming with an amazing cross-section of unexpected animal life. Fish, crocodiles, hippos and antelope coexist in the delta, and the lion rules this kingdom. In the Okavango Delta, where anything is possible, lions are doing something unexpected ? they have taken to water and become supreme swimmers. They have attracted international interest and Animal Planet's Swimming Lions introduces us to the team of scientists ? led by Christiaan and Hanlie Winterbach ? who are engaged in an ongoing quest to understand this quirky leonine behavior. During the program, we also meet Sadu, a lioness who has successfully adapted to her unusual environment and passes her skill on to eager cubs. Life in the delta may be set in wondrous surroundings, but that doesn't make it easy. Swimming Lions shows the problems that lions in the region face and what makes them stay in such a challenging environment where they must struggle to survive. We learn that the lions' amazing powers of adaptation may be tested even further as the delta's flood area grows slowly with each passing season. One thing is certain: the swimming lions of the Okavango are not to be underestimated. Fantastic footage of these magnificent predators as they hunt and move through the water to make dramatic kills proves their staying power.
20	Tiger Kill	Simon King	2008	BBC Natural World	Nature & Wildlife
Close Tiger Kill 2008 48 minutes Narrator: Simon King IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: First Aired: Fri 25 Jan 2008, 8.00pm BBC Two 4/8, Winter, 2008 Wildlife cameraman Simon King has filmed hunting behaviour across the world for 20 years – but he has never been to India and has never seen a wild tiger. With the catastrophic decline of the world's ultimate big cat, the chance of documenting a tiger making a kill is becoming increasingly rare. In fact Simon knows of only one clear and unobstructed shot of this central event in the tiger's predatory existence. To crack one of natural history's toughest challenges, Simon teams up with Indian tiger expert Alphonse Roy, who after 17 years in the jungles of India knows his subject intimately. But even Alphonse has not been able to record a successful hunt. By sharing their fieldcraft, technical skills and local knowledge, can Simon and Alphonse manage to record a tiger kill, and in doing so, better understand this magnificent but highly endangered species?
21	Tiger: Spy in the Jungle	David Attenborough	2008	John Downer Productions Ltd.	Nature & Wildlife
Close Tiger: Spy in the Jungle 2008 3 x 60 minutes Narrator: David Attenborough IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: From the day their eyes open and they tumble out of the den, Tiger: Spy in the Jungle captures the day-to-day lives of four tiny tiger cubs as they grow up alongside their devoted mother in the very heart of India. The tiger is not only the world’s favourite wild animal but also one of the rarest, and as David Attenborough says, “This is the most intimate portrait of tigers ever seen.” Summary: To enter the world of this tiger family, John Downer and his wizard team, cameraman Michael Richards and techno-boffin Geoff Bell, deploy the ultimate all-terrain camera vehicles – elephants – kitted out with the latest high-definition ‘secret weapons’ of wildlife filmmaking – trunk-cam, tusk-cam and log-cams. The four elephants here in India’s Pench national park have also been taught new filming skills by their mahouts – how to keep a steady trunk and a delicate touch. As eco-friendly 4X4s, the elephants carry the hefty trunk-cam and smaller tusk-cam wherever the tiger family goes across its 10-square mile territory. The tigers seem oblivious to the elephants and allow them to place trunk-cam right under their whiskers to film. The elephants also use the devices to film the tigers on the move. The human film crew film from another elephant and control the ele-cams remotely. It’s almost unheard of for four cubs to survive through to adulthood, and these four face many dangers along the way – from rogue male tigers and leopards in their territory to being left home alone. Tiger – Spy in the Jungle is there every step of the way.
22	Tokis Tale	Simon King	2007	BBC Natural World	Nature & Wildlife
Close Tokis Tale 2007 49 minutes Narrator: Simon King IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: Two years ago Simon King made Cheetahs – Fast Track to Freedom, a film about his attempt to return two orphaned cheetah cubs to the wild. The film ended tragically with the cub Sambu being killed by lions, but his brother Toki survived. Simon's new film follows the equally dramatic twists and turns of his continuing story.
23	Ultimate Guide: Big Cats	Will Lyman	1997	Discovery Channel	Nature & Wildlife
Close Ultimate Guide: Big Cats 1997 52 minutes Narrator: Will Lyman IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Comments: Very good but it has people in it. Summary: This documentary from the Discovery Channel drops the viewer into the feline world of the big cats of the jungle and the domain that they rule. Part of the 'Ultimate Guide', this episode is a look at everything furry and ferocious beneath the green and brown of the underbrush. Follow in the tracks of the explosive cheetah, a man-eating tiger and the king of the jungle, the African lion. Travel with roaming hunters as they stalk their prey, with such weaponry as night-vision and enhanced hearing capability.
24	Walking With Lions	Phil and Lynne Richardson	2003	National Geographic	Nature & Wildlife
Close Walking With Lions 2003 54 minutes Narrator: Phil and Lynne Richardson Writer: Phil and Lynne Richardson IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: Walking With Lions is more than just another wildlife documentary about lions. Husband and wife team Phil and Lynne Richardson lived with their 18-month-old daughter at a water hole amongst lions, elephants, and baboons in the African bush of northern Zimbabwe's Zambezi Valley. Using video technologies—like miniature infrared cameras and lenses for nighttime vision—helped them capture natural behavior without interfering with the wildlife. National Geographic News spoke with filmmaker Maya Laurinaitis, who followed Phil and Lynne Richardson to produce an accompanying documentary, Living With Lions, a profile of the Richardsons' experience in the African bush.
25	Wildlife Special Leopard	David Attenborough	1999	BBC Wildlife	Nature & Wildlife
Close Wildlife Special Leopard 1999 49 minutes Narrator: David Attenborough IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: The leopard is the least known of all Africa's big cats. Until now, the leopard, an animal of the night, has been virtually impossible to observe. Using state-of-the-art camera equipment, this film ventures into the night, and follows the lives of two leopards in Zambia's Luangwa Valley, to reveal the night-time secrets of the cat that walks on its own.
26	Wildlife Special Spy in the Den: Lions	David Attenborough	2001	BBC Wildlife	Nature & Wildlife
Close Wildlife Special Spy in the Den: Lions 2001 49 minutes Narrator: David Attenborough IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: The Spy in the Den of the title is "Bouldercam", a motorised camera with state-of-the-art microphones disguised as a rock covered in leaves. It was invented specifically for this project of infiltrating a pride of lions to record their lives over a period of a couple of years. Miniaturisation in camera technology has previously allowed presenter David Attenborough to discover the intricacies of the world's smallest denizens; it needed something as goofily practical as this for him to get within a safe distance of nature's far more dangerous predator. The first time the cubs met Bouldercam they were fascinated by the strange animated boulder in their midst. They were unsure whether it was some kind of creature or a natural feature in the landscape. But after this first playful encounter they would ignore Bouldercam completely allowing us to get a cub's eye view of their action-packed lives. Bouldercam was never harmed by the lions, its rounded design meant that even full-grown lions would have difficulty getting their teeth in. In the event, only one young male tried to eat the fibreglass cover - fortunately without success. But Bouldercam nearly came to grief filming the, often violent, amorous antics of the lions. At the point of climax, the lioness sometimes turns on the male. During a marathon mating season of more than 150 times in three days(!), we learn of the male's adaptation of the biting neck lock to keep the female placid. There are dozens more of these intimate observations that add to what was already a fascinating creature's lifestyle. Two years of material has been condensed into a tantalising hour documentary that will leave you hungry for more. Bouldercam was often just a whisker away as the cubs were watched, for over 3000 hours, growing up and learning to be lions. As David Attenborough says 'This is no ordinary film about lions.'
27	Wildlife Special Tiger	David Attenborough	1999	BBC Wildlife	Nature & Wildlife
Close Wildlife Special Tiger 1999 49 minutes Narrator: David Attenborough IMDb Netflix Amazon Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes Summary: Hugh Miles & Chip Houseman won the BAFTA for best factual photography in 2000 for this programme. Dangerous, powerful, but above all breath-takingly beautiful, tigers have for centuries sparked awe and admiration. Yet, it is their very uniqueness which has made them a prized object for hunters. This film could be the last complete portrait of tigers in the wild as there is a real chance they could be extinct within the next decade. Their elusive lifestyle has made filming difficult, but after 25 years of the Project Tiger scheme operating in India's Madhya Pradesh, these big cats have become more trusting. An award-winning team of producers and cameramen have teamed up to follow the lives of several tigers by day and, by using low-light cameras, at night. The result shows the majesty of these fascinating animals and the importance of saving them from extinction.