Key Stages: 2 - 4

Description

Episode length - 1 hour             

Documentary series uncovering the secret lives of cats.

Episode 1 - In Ruaha, Tanzania, lions form huge super prides in order to hunt giants. In Sri Lanka a tiny rusty-spotted cat explores his forest home - 200 times smaller than a lion, the rusty-spotted is the smallest of all cats. The Canada lynx lives further north than any cat, relying on snowshoe hares to survive the bitterly cold winters. Until now, lynx were creatures of mystery, but technology can now provide an insight into their secret lives. Honey is an African leopard and a mother. For a decade she has worn a radio collar that has allowed scientists to follow her life's every twist and turn. Now in the worst drought in decades, she is battling to raise a cub. In the Himalayas, perhaps the world's most lonesome cat is searching for a mate - a male snow leopard, who may get just one chance to mate in his whole life.

Episode 2 - Advances in remote and low-light filming technology provides new insight into the secret life of the mysterious small cats. In South Africa, we follow the nocturnal pursuits of the tiny black-footed cat that stakes its claim to the title of the world's deadliest, and in remotest Mongolia we reveal the rarely seen Pallas's cat, at home with her kittens - she hunts by looking like a rock. Finally, in the Karoo of South Africa, we uncover the secret of the serval that thrives amongst the futuristic landscape of Africa's biggest industrial complex. These are remarkable cats, with surprising lives in extraordinary places.

Episode 3 - Scientists are studying cats in more detail than ever before, and what they are discovering is truly groundbreaking. Join the scientists in the field, testing new theories and challenging the conventional ideas about cats. New approaches and new technologies are allowing an intimate look at their previously hidden lives. This new age of discovery is revealing there is still so much to learn about the cat family. Using high-tech collars, Professor Alan Wilson has discovered it is not straight-line speed that is a cheetah's greatest weapon but their ability to brake, change direction and accelerate. This is also a crucial time for cat conservation - most are threatened, yet there are many positive stories of cats bouncing back from the brink. Just five years ago the Iberian lynx was considered the rarest cat on the planet. Now, due to a groundbreaking captive-breeding programme, lynx numbers are increasing in the wild.

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