Investigating Leopards Around the Globe | MEGA Episode | Nat Geo Animals

(birds chirping) ♪ ♪ (wildebeest lowing) In this idyllic paradise, a place virtually brimming over with wildlife, there is always a certain tension. They have to be wary, watching out for that one sign that will save their lives. Only those who are alert will see it. (birds squawking) And even then, it may just be imagined. Today this phantom is real. But no threat at all. She's exhausted in that drooling, all-dignity-abandoned kind of way. Besides her particular style of relaxation, this little leopard is unique in another way. She has the most unusual jade-colored eyes. And this is her story. Toto is an affectionate Swahili name for "small," and she is tiny. But she has her name for another reason as well. Let's start at the beginning, or perhaps even before that. On the banks of a river in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy on the edge of the Maasai Mara, a much larger female leopard is having difficulty sleeping. It is hot. But her discomfort is because behind these beautiful spots, inside her swollen stomach, is where Toto is waiting, and not too patiently, to begin her tale. And her name is Fig, who, pregnant or not, seems to enjoy lying face down and tongue dangling. But enough of this lounging around. Fig must find a safer place today in an area with one the highest concentrations of lions and hyenas on the planet. A nearby safari camp. Perfect for what she's planning. She maneuvers her way-out-of-balance body into a very un-leopard-like descent, and heads across the small trickle of a stream. The camp is on the banks of this benign little river. So, today, a large leopardess called Fig makes a decision that changes everything. She finds a quiet spot under tent number five. And here she gives birth to Toto, a single cub, who within days is stumbling around blindly under the deck and in and out of the nearby undergrowth. She's sure of herself but not terribly surefooted. Climbing is in her DNA. And Fig is seldom far away. Her landlords, the camp, decide to just close off the tent and mark it as "occupied." This five-star haven becomes the cub's earliest memories of home. And like her mother, she has a tongue that seems to have a mind of its own. For two weeks, the leopards are in residence in this small camp that is called Mara Toto. And hence the cub's name. Fig was smart enough to have found a secure refuge. But having a cub on the banks of a river brings its own risks. (hyena whooping) She keeps watch constantly. (groaning) And there's little she can do about the awkward positioning of a dead hippo not far from the den, or the action it attracts. (whooping) (yipping) (shrieking and growling) While they're distracted and Toto stays under the brush and tent, she'll be safe. But Fig doesn't take her eyes off the hyenas. Then she sees it. One clan member can somehow smell beyond the stinking carcass. (thunder) Rain in Africa is both a gift and a danger. The trick is in deciding which it is today. Fig doesn't have the luxury of using the opportunity now. If Toto gets confused, or even adventurous, she'll wander off, and the rain will wash her scent away. Fig must get back, quickly. But instead of staying safely under cover, Fig makes another decision that may be wise or fatal. She hears it and knows what's coming. With hours of steady rain, the mild-mannered river has turned into a raging torrent. It breaks the riverbanks, flooding, making new paths, right through their home, the camp. Their lair is swamped, their safety swept away. Their survival is now totally up to Fig, so she's always on the move. Fig is aware that what lies beyond the horizon is another event that will change their lives, and it's on its way. It starts with the painted horses. Over 250,000 zebras splashing across the Mara River on the way to her territory. The hypnotic sounds of well over a million wildebeest startle and amaze Toto now and fill the air with anticipation and chaos. (lowing) (zebra braying) Despite the danger of being trampled, Fig is on the lookout for an even greater threat, the inevitable nomadic lions. They'll disrupt everything with their adolescent attempts to wreak havoc across the plains. Fig is a master at making use of the ultimate chaotic event of the year, but she won't have it all to herself. (hyena yipping) The herds are tired and wary, so they head into the open, away from any ambush points. It may not be what Fig wants, but the young lions will hunt in the open. The hunt is on. One thing is sure: Someone will die tonight. The young nomadic lions set the ambush. But they don't give it everything they've got. Fig watches, desperate for her chance at a wildebeest. But at what risk? The thermal images unveil the night that Fig and the lions inhabit. It's a view into the world through heat. And she spots an overheated wildebeest, courtesy of hours of bungled lion attempts. (yowl) (bellow) It's a standoff. And sometimes it's useful to display, even against an opposing species. (grunting) She might be able to take on the pregnant young female hyena. But hyenas can't keep their spoils secret for long. The word is out. Even more hyenas will appear from the darkness all the time. One last defiance and she has to leave. And as suddenly as they arrived, the herds turn south into Tanzania and leave the Olare Conservancy and the Mara quiet once again. (braying) The migration stayed in her territory much longer than expected this year. Three vital months for Fig to be able pass on some tricks of the trade and to develop Toto's tree-climbing skills. Their bond grows each day. But Toto isn't aware that these lazy days are also changing, as the heat climbs and the herds go off away from the now-stagnant river, following their noses to new water across the shimmering plains. Besides the lessons in climbing and being confident up high in the trees, Toto has to be taught a lot of other skills. The departing herds leave short, cropped grass; a challenge for any Thomson's gazelle that could really use the cover now to give birth. One of Toto's lessons is to look outside of her small bubble with her mother. She hasn't noticed what Fig is watching. Fig's sudden move nearly sends Toto flying out of the tree. And she's heading for the newborn. Thomson's gazelles have a tactic evolved for just this. They simply leave the fawn and step away as a decoy. Now, at last, she has Toto's attention. Fig circles. But the Thomson's gazelle's tactic even fools a zebra, and that complicates matters. To the young stallion, something about the grass just doesn't seem quite right. For the zebra, it's quite a surprise when the small brown spot in the grass gets up and walks away. Well, walking may not be the best description for this particular move. But it's innovative enough to keep the zebra interested. Each time the Tommy fawn stumbles, his new zebra minder is there with a helping nudge. But this relationship is not helpful to Fig's ambitions. But perhaps it teaches Toto something. She'll be more aware of her surroundings now. Demanding and hungry cubs often force mothers to go out hunting again and again. But in the wake of the migration, Toto isn't hungry and is very forgiving. But there are more opportunities in the Olare Conservancy after the main migration leaves when stragglers and lost individuals come through. It's a time of abundance. Many young don't make the crossings. So now Fig and Toto take advantage and just scavenge these easy meals. The first thing she does is analyze the placement of Fig's kill. It doesn't help that she sees everything that moves as something to play with. (purr) Fig coaxes Toto to take over, to test her strength. With so few trees here, knowing how to get a kill up high is vitally important. Fig's sudden movement to chase flies, however, is a mistake. It signals Toto to play. It may not have been the intended lesson of the day, but it'll work. This one is all about mock hunting. The usual suspects hear the rough and tumble, or smell the fresh kill. It was Toto's responsibility to position the kill higher. Oh, well, mother saves the day. Another valuable lesson about distraction. Since the early days under the tent, Toto has grown up with the ever-present threat of this particular clan of hyenas. And they have a specific family perfume and very puzzling social arrangements. (yipping and whooping) Surprisingly enough, this is all about mating and winning the attention of the lead hyena female, who they gang up on and attack! It's a curious courtship, but it's the way that things are done in this particular clan. It's once the ritual is over that Toto has to be careful. (snarling) (snarl) Toto and the hyenas are way too close for comfort. But she has backup. Having chased off the hyenas, well, in her view anyway, Toto has a new spurt of confidence. She's a killer in small spots. (growling) When Fig patrols to warn the hyenas, it's Toto's chance to get things squared away. She has good strength for her size. And she's busy solving the puzzle: placing a floppy item into the forks of trees. But the thorns and gravity don't help. They watch her, perhaps recognizing that there's a lot that can go wrong. But Fig's back. Mistakes like this often lead a mother to reprimand her cub. But Fig and Toto seem to have a very different relationship. There's a bond that usually starts to wear off around this age. (barking) Now, when Fig goes off hunting at night, Toto follows. Just watching her mother, the skilled huntress, should be enough, but as a typical adolescent she's now determined to make her own way. (snorting) She's learned that blending-in lesson, much of which isn't really her doing anyway, but something she inherited just by being a leopard. She's still small, a Toto, but she's constantly on the move. A mongoose catches her attention; but then, everything does. Unlike Fig, she moves though the open even though she's quite obvious to anyone who can see well at night. (squeak) And she's experimental. (hiss) A newly emerged monitor lizard baby is worth a tentative prod. This phase of her life is all about exploring this strange nocturnal world that she'll soon inherit. The undergrowth yields endless possibilities for adventure. But curiosity comes with risks, and tonight she'll certainly discover that. Eerie beings watch Toto from above. enticing creatures on the ground for her. Some of them armed with sharp attitudes, unwilling to be intimidated. This porcupine seems the right size prey for Toto. It's simply a test of confidence. (rattle) (rattling) When barbed quills aim in her direction, enough is enough. Sometimes when Toto meets spiky strangers in the shadows, she defaults into appearing harmless, or even a little mad. The take-home lesson from her night along the river is that being a solitary leopard here, it's just not that easy. (distant roaring) Cute or not, she's going to need more training. And Fig is back to provide just that. Toto doesn't seem to hold on to the disappoint of failure for very long. It's probably a leopard trait she's inherited like so many others. The ability to just shake it off and move on. But all cubs need to supplement what comes naturally with the real skills they get by watching their mothers. Now, the next lesson. A flush of young warthogs may allow just that opportunity. (oinking) She watches as her mother turns into silent liquid. Fig's kill and her strategy that led to it are well absorbed. And now it's Toto's turn to re-create what she learned. And it's through these moments of mock killing and play that she learns how the muscles of a warthog respond. The weight, the smell. She's starting to see food as prey. Toto's kill ends in exactly the same way, a meal nicely delivered back to her mother. Toto's attention span is still shorter than it should be, and the Thomson gazelle lesson taught her to be aware of everything around her. Today the industrious hamerkop, or lightning birds, quickly catch her eye. Now she has a management problem. She must keep her kill and investigate the huge architecture in the sky. So, she simply takes her pig kill along with her. (squawking) But when she commandeers the nest, all the birds' intricate work on the roof structure is destroyed. Toto barely notices. For her, it's a high-rise play platform. It's hard to tell if Fig is indeed impressed or just positioned nearby in case. It's all quite exhausting. The very stable structure makes a perfectly good hammock even better, because it's just a little bit higher than Fig's perch for the day. Persistent, but it's folly. The renovations will cost more in energy than just starting from scratch downstream. What Fig has to decide soon is when to let Toto go, to let her begin life on her own. She's still small. Will she be ready to outsmart the constantly agitated hyenas? When will her play turn real enough for her to kill on her own? Maybe tonight. This could be Toto's big night. She's spotted a sleeping antelope. (heartbeat) But she fails to watch behind her. Energy burn on a missed kill is high. A scrub hare. More her size? The patience lesson pays off. But the timing isn't quite right. Time to find something bigger and slower, perhaps. It's a swift kill. (squeaking) And it's her first. A momentous moment. Pumped with success, she gets the kill up as high as she can manage, and this time without fault, despite the immediate arrival of the competition. And with no backup from Fig. And it's right here, right now, that Toto becomes entirely what she was born to be, the perfect leopard. A blend of both her inherited qualities and what she learned from her diligent mother. As Toto, this jade-eyed leopard, surveys her domain and enjoys the peace of a full stomach, we must ask what her future might be. Can we learn to understand her value as an individual, as real character struggling to survive in this fragile mosaic? And if we can learn to respect, protect and celebrate all such leopards, then she may well have a future. (distant grunting) SANDESH KADUR: Wild cats are one of the most diverse groups of carnivores And my home, India, has more species than any other country. My name is Sandesh Kadur. And I've made it my life goal to film them all. (whispering) That was the most incredible sighting of a tiger. But with so much development... Whoa. India's wild cats... Crazy. ...are under serious pressure. I've spent hundreds of hours filming leopards. But India has two other feline species that are even more mysterious. And they couldn't live in more remote habitats. In my rapidly changing country, I want to find these big cats in the wild, before it's too late. NARRATOR: For 25 years, National Geographic Explorer Sandesh Kadur has been traveling to India's wildest places, documenting his country's outstanding wildlife. He's developed a reputation for revealing the lives of some of the world's most elusive predators. His pioneering camera traps have allowed him to document the secret lives of almost every Indian cat species. SANDESH: The leopard was the first big cat I saw in the wild, and I've been drawn to them ever since. Their power, energy and intelligence have made them the world's most successful big cat. NARRATOR: Leopards are found from the southern tip of Africa all the way to the eastern end of Russia, and from India's most remote landscapes, to its busiest cities. This adaptable big cat has learnt how to live in nearly every environment. SANDESH: But India has two mysterious leopard cousins that are so elusive that I've yet to really capture them in the wild. One of them is the snow leopard. NARRATOR: Here in the far north of India, the snow leopards are the high-altitude specialists. No other predator in the world is better adapted to living in the mighty Himalaya, a region so cold and inhospitable it's nicknamed the Third Pole. Everything about this cat has evolved perfectly for its environment. Wide paws act as snowshoes, giving them superior grip on icy terrain, and it can use its thick, furry tail, almost as long as its body, not only for balance, but also to keep warm. A deep nasal cavity warms the frozen mountain air, and their large lungs ensure they can get enough oxygen to hunt. Then there's the snow leopard's distant cousin, the clouded leopard, the most ancient feline of the modern cat world. This evolutionary link between big and small cats couldn't live in a more different habitat. Here in the dense jungles of Northeast India, the clouded leopard is top cat. Their large cloud-like coat patterns and small size allow them to disappear in the tangled forests, and their superb tree-climbing skills mean they can travel through the canopy undetected. SANDESH: Until recently, both the clouded leopard and snow leopard were so rarely seen they were considered virtually impossible to film. But I don't just want to find these cats. I want to get the best photographs yet of them in the wild and help make sure they are protected. This is just insane. My adventure started when I traveled up to the remote corners of Northeast India to try and document clouded leopards. I found this fascination for them in the local culture. But this was all built around a huge trade in their body parts. It was painful to see. All I found were dead cats. Poaching was a big issue here. NARRATOR: Just when Sandesh had all but given up on finding a clouded leopard in the wild, he had a lucky break. SANDESH: I heard about these clouded leopard cubs being rehabilitated back into the wild, so I rushed to document the whole process. NARRATOR: After months of searching, Sandesh finally had his first encounter with clouded leopards. SANDESH: In terms of filming a new species of cat, I mean, this was it, this was the holy grail. (mewing) NARRATOR: A female clouded leopard on average produces a litter of two to three cubs. With their mother gone, these four-week-old orphans need round-the-clock care. Only a handful of people have ever seen wild clouded leopard cubs. And this tiny pair had a team dedicated to getting them into the wild as soon as possible. These cubs, just two pounds each, are vitally important to the future of their species. After seven months of dedicated care, it's time for the cubs to start living in the wild. SANDESH: This is a conservation first; it's never been tried before. NARRATOR: The cubs' new enclosure is up on the trees, giving them a safe refuge from elephants and encouraging them to get used to a life up in the canopy. In their new home, the cats can learn the skills they need to survive in the wild. SANDESH: Every moment I spend with these cubs, I'm learning something new about clouded leopards. (meow) While most of the small cats can purr... ...only the big cats can roar. Clouded leopards are midway between big cats and small cats. They have their own unique vocalizations. It's been about eight months since the cubs have been brought into the forest, and every day they've been taken around through the jungle on long walks. And they've grown accustomed to a lot of the sights and sounds of the jungle. They're still very much like kittens, though; they haven't quite started to make a kill yet. Their cat instincts are slowly being seen. They're very arboreal, they love climbing on trees, especially fallen logs like this. NARRATOR: Clouded leopards' short, powerful legs have a unique adaptation: they can rotate their rear ankles to climb down tree trunks headfirst. They can even hang off branches using only their hind paws, giving them a leg up when hunting in the forest. SANDESH: And hopefully in a few more months they'll start making their own kill and living like wild cats. NARRATOR: After more than a year in captivity learning to hunt and fend for themselves, the cubs are ready for release. The door to their enclosure is left open, allowing the young clouded leopards to return to their forest home. SANDESH: I would love to return and film these cats when they're back in the wild. NARRATOR: Though Sandesh may never find these cats again, he knows he'll be back to film clouded leopards as they were meant to live, wild and free. A year later, back home in Bangalore, Sandesh is busy testing some new equipment. If he's going to get the shots he wants, he needs more eyes in the jungle. So he's built a bespoke set of camera traps that will be triggered to record life in the forest. But then he gets some shocking news. SANDESH: Oh, my. I can't believe this. I've just received some horrific images from Northeast India. Two clouded leopards have been killed by poachers. If I don't get there now, I might lose my chance to document them in the wild. NARRATOR: Wildlife photographer Sandesh Kadur has just heard about two clouded leopards killed in Northeast India. SANDESH: This isn't the area where my cats were released. But it could just as easily have been my pair. I've got to get back to the jungle and document clouded leopards in the wild before it's too late. NARRATOR: This has become Sandesh's most important mission. If he can photograph clouded leopards in the wild, he can try to push for greater conservation measures in Northeast India. India has always been famed for its tigers, but in the far northeast of the country it's the clouded leopard, the tiger of the treetops, that is king of the jungle. SANDESH: If nobody knows about them, how can they care about them? After two days traveling, he's made it up to clouded leopard country. Now he just needs to decide where to place his camera traps. SANDESH: If anyone knows where I might photograph a clouded leopard, it's wildlife biologist Priya Singh. She's been studying wild cats in this part of India and has agreed to share her knowledge. PRIYA SINGH: In my opinion, this is one of the best places in the world for clouded leopards. SANDESH: Oh, wow, look at that. Oh, he's come right up to the camera, oh, he's coming right along this tree trunk. So how did you come to pick this spot for your camera trap? PRIYA: If they are to move through the forest floor, they would prefer open trails like these. I saw some scrape marks down there. But we have very little information on clouded leopards and what areas they prefer to move through. They do spend a lot of time up in trees, but it's really hard to find places up in trees to put camera traps. SANDESH: So what are my chances of seeing and filming a clouded leopard out here? PRIYA: I spent four months here, and I was in the forest almost five days of the week, and I never saw one. SANDESH: Okay, well, let's get to work, set up some camera traps. Most cats like to walk along these unobstructed pathways. So I'm hoping that this camera trap does the job for me. NARRATOR: Two weeks later, Sandesh heads back into the jungle to check his traps and finds a reason to be optimistic. SANDESH: This is the closest we've been so far to a clouded leopard-- fresh scat, probably not more than 24 hours old. We're getting closer. Now let's see where he's gone from here. NARRATOR: Sandesh's experience as a tracker guides him towards the elusive cat's trail. SANDESH: No, it looks like he's taken the ridgeline up. (whispering) Look what we have here. This is exactly the kind of tracks and signs we're looking for. This scrape mark is an indication that one of the cats has walked along this trail. NARRATOR: Following the trail turns up something unexpected. SANDESH: There's a strong smell of something that's dead, and we're just going to track and see if we can find the carcass. It's a barking deer. Most of it has been eaten up. I'm not sure if this kill was made by a clouded leopard, but if there is a clouded leopard in the area, it'll most likely be back. NARRATOR: This is too good an opportunity for Sandesh to miss. (flies buzzing) At night, his camera finally detects something. But it's not a clouded leopard. Dholes, Indian wild dogs, hunt in packs and are among the most successful carnivores in these forests. Sandesh's cameras have detected many different species, both at day, and night, including a rarely seen sun bear, and the enigmatic marbled cat. At around 10 pounds, a marbled cat looks like a miniature clouded leopard but is less than half the weight. The cameras even capture a binturong, a rarely seen small carnivore that walks like a bear and acts like a cat. SANDESH: Oh, my gosh, got an amazing shot of a Pallas's squirrel leaping across the trail. All the way, that's a beautiful jump. NARRATOR: But despite a healthy mix of potential prey, he hasn't yet managed to capture a clouded leopard. SANDESH: I'm just hoping that they just come in the camera trap; that'd make me very happy. But so far, nothing. NARRATOR: As the team continues up the mountain, they don't realize they're about to come across the most dangerous predator of all: poachers. Sandesh and his team have just scared off poachers in the forest. He quickly calls the Forest Department to report them. SANDESH: Yeah. The Bushnell we just recovered over here, they had thrown it here, I think while they were running they must have thrown it down. We're still missing two SD cards with content on it. And they have one rifle, they have one gun with them. Okay, fine, we'll wait for the forest guards to come up. NARRATOR: Checking footage on the recovered camera card reveals something shocking. SANDESH: Not only did the poachers steal our cameras, they were trying to hide evidence by taking away the memory cards, and now we've found that they've actually killed a monkey. NARRATOR: In their rush to escape, the poachers dropped a bag. The contents reveal exactly how they were operating. SANDESH: Locally made bullets. These guys were here trying to hunt. NARRATOR: Despite hunting being banned in India, poaching is a big problem here. The dense jungles of Northeast India are home to some of the most rarely seen primates, including the capped langur. But when he gets down to base, he hears some news. The poachers have been apprehended. The risks they took show there's clearly still a demand for illegal wildlife parts. SANDESH: It's only later that I realize just how lucky the clouded leopard was. In the morning, a young male tripped the camera. Less than an hour later, the poachers walked up the same trail. NARRATOR: With fewer than 10,000 clouded leopards left in the wild, it's vital that the areas they live in are protected. With just a week remaining before he has to travel home, Sandesh heads deeper into the jungle to find trails that are off-grid to even the most determined poachers. It's time to check if the cameras have captured anything. SANDESH: Okay, fingers crossed. Oh, my god, look at that! Ohh, I can't believe it. That's the shot we've been waiting for. A clouded leopard on a tree. It was right here on this same branch. Came up and gone like that. NARRATOR: After months of work, Sandesh Kadur has just fulfilled a lifelong mission. Each of his carefully placed camera traps has recorded detailed images of clouded leopards in the wild. These images can help prove the importance of this landscape for the survival of these incredible cats, and hopefully, get the clouded leopards the protection they deserve. With his cat finally in the bag, it's time for Sandesh to go after his final leopard, the grey ghost of the mountains: the snow leopard. The conditions will test his methods to the limit. SANDESH: Why do snow leopards have to live in such an insane habitat? NARRATOR: National Geographic Explorer Sandesh Kadur has managed to capture intimate shots of India's smallest and most rarely seen big cat, the clouded leopard. Now, he travels over a thousand miles northwest to the Himalaya to track down the snow leopard, the highest altitude big carnivore on the planet. By some estimates there could as few as 4,000 snow leopards left in the wild. They live only in cold, high-altitude regions. But as climate changes, their mountain homes are changing faster than most places on Earth. SANDESH: With warmer summers and less snowfall, I want to find out exactly how these high-altitude felines are coping. NARRATOR: But his friends at the Forest Department have got urgent news. The wildlife warden has just reported a critically injured snow leopard. These cats hunt in one of the toughest environments on Earth, testing their skills every day. They'll go after smaller prey such as marmots, but they favor bigger meals like ibex, urial, and blue sheep. One of these mountain goats will feed a snow leopard for over a week. But they are agile, alert and very hard to catch. One slip in this unforgiving terrain can mean death. But this cat is lucky. Villagers found it at the base of a cliff, alive, but barely. The Forest Department is racing to provide it the urgent veterinary attention it desperately needs. SANDESH: We have a young male snow leopard that was found near the village of Likhsay. He may have gotten into a territorial fight. He's got an injury on his face. We've just done an x-ray and there doesn't seem to be any sign of breakage. But obviously the snow leopard is very weak. NARRATOR: The vets give the leopard fluids and try to keep it comfortable. SANDESH: With a little bit of care, hopefully the snow leopard will come out of its shock and we'll be able to release him back into the wild. (speaking native language) NARRATOR: Sandesh didn't expect with a snow leopard to be so intimate. He came to understand how this predator is coping with a threat facing all wildlife here. The Himalaya is warming above the global average, and two thirds of its glaciers might vanish by the end of the century. Sandesh wants to document what these changes mean for these cats that have evolved to thrive here. To find these felines, he gets help from a team of locals who know these mountains better than anyone. SANDESH: Norbu, our main man here, has organized our trackers who are going to be going out every day and scanning the hillside and keeping an eye on what's going on and report any snow leopard sightings. But before I head out, I want to meet one of the village elders. In Buddhist culture, stories about different creatures are passed down through the generations. I learn that the locals here call the snow leopard "shan." I need to seek his blessings and knowledge in order to meet the shan. He's just informed us that they heard the call of the shan a few days ago in the valley right behind us. (calling) NARRATOR: The next morning, Sandesh gets the news he's been waiting for. SANDESH: So we've just got information of a snow leopard with two cubs up on the ridge. So we're going to rush there right now. And fingers crossed, they'll be there. Okay. Sandesh just got news that a female snow leopard with two cubs has been spotted in the valley. Any information like this we just cannot take the risk of letting it go. Can't leave a single stone unturned, especially when it comes to a snow leopard sighting. NARRATOR: His diligence has paid off. SANDESH: There's a mother and two cubs, and they're resting up high on that hill, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be seeing three snow leopards just on our second day. It's a good start. Born blind and helpless, snow leopard cubs grow rapidly and by three months start following their mothers. These two will stay with their mother for nearly two years, learning how to survive in these unforgiving mountains. SANDESH: She's just gotten up and going up along that ridge, I mean, it's incredibly far. Even though we've been fairly lucky in seeing snow leopards, it's been near impossible to get a close-up shot, even with a 1,000-millimeter lens. So the only way we're going to capture intimate shots of snow leopards is by setting up remote cameras. NARRATOR: Growing up in these mountains, local tracker Norbu developed a sense for picking out their movements through the rocky terrain. Sandesh relies on this vital knowledge of how the cats move. Snow leopards mainly travel during dawn and dusk. Able to jump up to 50 feet in a single stride, there are few places they can't reach, even among these boulders. But to communicate with other snow leopards, they use scrape marks and scent rocks, something Norbu has learned to find. Armed with this information, Sandesh sets up his cameras across the mountains. A few days later, he gets a surprising call. A snow leopard has raided some village livestock. SANDESH: In the living memory of the residents of the village, no snow leopard has ever entered into the cowshed and killed livestock. They've just seen where the snow leopard has entered this cowshed from. There's still some remnants of snow leopard fur stuck on the thorny bush, and this is what they do to keep snow leopards out, is have a line of thorns, but the snow leopard found a break in the defenses, came right through and attacked the calf right here. And there was a battle between the mother of the calf and the snow leopard, and there is even some blood stains over here. But in that whole process, the snow leopard managed to kill the calf and then took off. When I asked Namgail if he's upset or angry, he's "Well, it was bound to happen at one point or the other, so there's nothing much you can do about it." NARRATOR: Snow leopards consume their hard-won kills over several days... so this cat will likely return. That gives Sandesh the perfect opportunity to document the cat at a kill. SANDESH: I'm sitting here in a hide at 14,000 feet elevation, and I'm sat here with three pairs of thermals, head gear, gloves, several pairs of socks, and it's still freezing. I wish I was as adapted to the cold as the snow leopard. It has the densest fur amongst any of the big cats. Its paws are insulated, it's got fur between its pads. NARRATOR: After many hours, a predator eventually comes to the kill, but it's not the one Sandesh was expecting. Red foxes are the world's most widespread canine species, found across the Northern Hemisphere. Like leopards, they are intelligent and highly adaptable, never passing up an opportunity for a free meal. But in these mountains, they need to be alert. As dusk approaches, an even bigger canine emerges. Grey wolves are another top predator here in the Himalaya. SANDESH: I don't know how this snow leopard is going to fare with a wolf in the area. I doubt it will be able to defend itself. NARRATOR: But during the night, Sandesh's cameras detect something that's rarely ever been seen before. (yelp) NARRATOR: After staking out a cow killed by a snow leopard, Sandesh's nighttime camera traps have recorded rarely ever seen behavior of a snow leopard chasing off a wolf. In the age-old conflict between cats and dogs, it's clear that the snow leopard wins that battle, at least tonight. The villagers' generosity means the snow leopard will have enough food for well over a week. SANDESH: (whispering) There's a snow leopard resting on the rock. He's coming down to the kill. This is just incredible. This is the view I had always wanted; my hide barely 200 feet from a wild snow leopard. I finally have my chance to witness one of India's feline phantoms up close. In the wild, snow leopards can live on average about 12 years, and I expect as they get older, like other big cats, they have to take more risks to make a kill. I don't know what pushed this snow leopard into killing a cow, if it was hungry or injured or just being opportunistic, but I hope the warming of these mountains isn't going to push these magnificent animals into more contact with people. NARRATOR: To understand the bigger picture, Sandesh retrieves his camera traps from across the mountains to see what they reveal. Over the course of two months, they've captured an intimate window of wild Himalayan life. And Sandesh's skillfully placed camera traps have allowed him to document extraordinary images of snow leopards. He's surprised to see that they regularly use the same paths as people and livestock, showing just how frequently their domains overlap. Despite this, he's learned that in this area locals rarely have any trouble living alongside these elusive cats. (engine starts) But before leaving, he has one final old friend to see. The rescued snow leopard found injured at the bottom of the cliff. His fans have named him Likki, the snow leopard from the village of Likhsay. Having suffered a near-fatal head injury, timely help by the locals and vital veterinary care saved this cat's life. Now fighting fit, Likki is ready to be released (roar) The Forest Department is driving him to the spot from where he was rescued. SANDESH: He's finally back home after two months of intensive care with the Forest Department. Even though these cats do impact livelihoods, this snow leopards' life was saved by people. This is the challenge of conserving wild cats in a country with over 1.3 billion people. What I've seen on my journey exploring India's secret leopards shows that we need tolerance and respect to live alongside these big cats. People tend to forget what they don't see. My job is to photograph these felines and remind people that these elusive cats exist and must be protected. And by doing so, I hope that these mysterious leopards continue to roam these last wild places. Narrator: Two unidentified cubs are found in the North Indian jungle. They're mysterious, and very rare. Sandesh: This is the holy grail among the cats. Narrator: Their mother dead. Their fate lies in human hands. Bhaskar: The onus is on us to save these cubs. Sandesh: This is their only hope to survive. Narrator: In a daring experiment to save their species. Bhaskar: This is totally new, never been tried never been tested. Narrator They must learn to fend for themselves, catch and kill their own food, and leave their human carers behind. The cubs will face constant danger. And Poachers. If these cats survive it will help to save a species on the edge. Sandesh: Honestly I'm not sure if they're still alive. Narrator: The Assam Jungle in Northern India. It's one of the world's most remote and dangerous places. Sandesh: It's been a year since they have been released into the forest so here's our big opportunity to find them here again. Narrator: A team of wildlife experts are searching for two Which they hand reared from baby cubs a year ago. They're desperate to find out if the two have survived their first year on their own. Sandesh: We have a very limited amount of time, a small window in which we need to find evidence of these cubs. Time is running out and once the monsoons come, you can't even get into this area. Narrator: The story begins when authorities find two orphaned baby cubs at a village in the forest. They suspect that poachers killed their mother for her pelt. At first, everyone thinks they're leopard cubs. It turns out they're the rarest of finds, two clouded leopard cubs. The find captures the imagination of top Indian wildlife photographer Sandesh Kadur. Sandesh: Cats have always fascinated me and when I heard about these clouded leopards being rehabilitated back into the wild I dropped everything and rushed to the spot to document the process. In terms of filming a new species of cat, this was it, this is the holy grail. Narrator: Clouded leopards are amazing creatures, the smallest of the big cats. Shy and elusive, even cat specialists know little about their habits in the wild. Just keeping them alive is a big challenge. Leading vet Dr Bhaskar Choudhury takes charge of caring for these very special cubs. Bhaskar: That was the 1st experiences for me to see wild clouded leopard cubs for the first time in my life, I was really excited, but also a bit nervous because the onus is on us, the veterinarians, to make them survive. Narrator: Bhaskar is determined that the cubs don't end up in the zoo, like most orphaned big cats. He gets permission to try something totally unprecedented: to teach clouded leopard cubs how to be wild. Bhaskar: This is totally new, never been tried, never been tested, and many scientists would not believe this. Narrator: It's a huge gamble. If his new protocol succeeds it will boost dwindling numbers of clouded leopards in their real home, the forest. If they get it wrong the cubs will die. 7 months after their rescue, the cubs, now named Roona and Kotta, are about to start their great adventure. The team is taking the cubs to their new home in the forest, where they will get a 9 month intensive course in how to be wild. Sandesh: This is a very stressful time for all of us. We need to take Roona and Kotta back to the jungle and train them to be wild cats again, his is their Narrator: The site is deep in the Ripu Forest, 15 miles from where the cubs were found. For the next few months Bhaskar and the team will work with the cubs by day and lock them inside treetop cages every night. The aim is to teach them to live like wild clouded leopards who retreat to treetops to sleep or rest. They hope it will also keep them safe from marauding elephants and leopards. Bhaskar: We will put the cages on a treetop, and then on a daily basis, late evening and early morning the animal keeper is going to take them to the forest to look around and come back in the evening. Narrator: The team want to see Roona and Kotta start to act like wild animals. Sandesh: Everyday they have been taken around the jungle on long walks, they have grown accustomed to a lot of the sights and sounds of the jungle. Their cat instincts are slowly being seen, they love climbing on trees and fallen logs like this, and every so often you seen them sharpening their claws on the logs and they do that very frequently. Narrator: And Sandesh is amazed to see what these cats are capable of. Sandesh: Their hind claw are actually modified to where they can turn them backwards and hang upside down, they can literally come down a tree trunk with their head first and their hind claws holding bark behind them, which none of the other big cats can do, which is spectacular. Narrator: They're glad to see the cubs instincts kick in. But the cubs still want to hang close and play with their carers. Sandesh: They are just so adorable, they just come right up the log, they come right up to you and you can't help but be attached. Narrator If the cubs continue to behave more like pets than predators they'll be easy meat for Sandesh: We were worried that the whole project would be in jeopardy because of this. Narrator: If Roona and Kotta don't start showing more independence, the team won't get permission to release them. They'll end up being raised in the local zoo. Bhaskar: Sending them to a zoo would end with the reared in this kind of enclosure and then, they would spend their lifetime in this kind of environment. Narrator: Back in the Ripu forest, the cubs are about to be tested on an essential skill. Roona and Kotta have already been weaned off formula milk and now eat freshly killed meat. Now it's time to find out if they can hunt and kill the birds and small mammals that would be their natural prey. Bhaskar: If we have to rehabilitate the cubs they had to have the hunting skills, without them we cannot think about that so we had in our mind 3 or 4 different species in domestication we can use, which can challenge those cubs and actually develop the hunting skills. Narrator: It's a crucial moment, if they can't catch their own food they stand no chance on their own. First live meal on the menu? Chicken. At first the cubs seem to treat it all as a game. Then Roona shows he has the right idea, but not the killer instinct, both cubs keep chasing the hen, and then. Sandesh: This is the first time that these cubs have made their own kill, and they have been swift, very quick and one of the cubs, as soon as it made its kill as soon as it got the chicken, it ran straight up a tree, just goes to show their instincts are kicking in. Narrator: Even twin orphaned clouded leopard cubs face off, a sign these carnivores are maturing. Sandesh: What happened earlier this morning was that Roona and Kotta caught the same chicken, and they were vicious, neither one would let go. I mean they are two brothers, I mean they were quarreling. They were hissing and growling. Narrator: Kotta wins, this time round. But there's no time for sibling rivalry when the pair come face to face with a very real danger, a stray dog has invaded their home turf, it's an anxious moment. Sandesh: The dog had no chance. The cats went straight for the dog, both of them together. When that incident happened I mean the keepers and everyone had no doubt these are wild animals, and these animals are ready to go. They can go hunt, they can go kill and fend for themselves. Narrator: Before releasing the cubs, the team needs to fit them with radio collars. The cubs must fend for themselves, but the vets who have cared for them for 10 months aren't letting go entirely. They plan to monitor the cub's progress, track where they go, and locate them in the vast forest. Bhaskar: It is critical to know after release how they are surviving in the wild, because the success lies on this part of the project. Narrator: It's the big day. 14 months after they were rescued, Roona & Kotta leave their rooftop cage, and this time there will be no one to lock them in at night. Sandesh: Once they are let go you have no idea of making sure if they're are going to survive, there are other predators. There's leopards, there's other things that can come and catch them. There's no doubt that there was a bond and we did get attached. It's sad to know that you are not going to see them again, ever again perhaps. Yeah, mixed feeling. Narrator: Now all the team can do is pray. Narrator: June 2011. It's been 13 months since the cubs were released. Sandesh Kadur, Bhaskar Choudhury and his wildlife team are heading deep into the Manas Forest, to see if Roona and Kutta are still alive. since they've been released into the forest so here's our big opportunity to find them here again. Narrator: It's risky, and it's not just predators they fear. A wave of kidnappings and shootings by local insurgents delayed the trip by 6 months. Sandesh: What worries me is rebel groups that can come in here and kidnap you, that's what makes me feel unsafe and insecure. But I'm excited to be here none the less. Narrator: The delay has its own consequences, they're heading into monsoon season. Bhaskar: The rains are going to come in a few weeks from now, so we have very little time left. Sandesh: Honestly, I am not sure if they are still Narrator: They set up bas camp is in the heart of the jungle, close to the spot where they last saw Roona and Kotta. But within hours of arriving their worst fear comes true. Sandesh: It's pouring rain. We just got hit by a thunder storm or a big rain storm, it's coming in hard and we are unprepared. This tarp's not going to hold out! Definitely not going to hold up. Narrator: If the monsoon has arrived early then the search is doomed before it even begins. Narrator: Luckily, the downpour clears by dawn. The team hopes the juvenile cats will still be living together, near the release site. No one really knows. They'll be hard to find, clouded leopards are thought to hunt by night and sightings are rare. Like a hunt for a missing person, they'll need every possible technique to find evidence of the cubs. They will use photos of Roona and Kotta to quiz local villagers for possible sightings. Set up camera traps in likely locations. And scour the jungle looking for evidence like fresh kills and territory markings. Their most reliable tool is to track the cubs via the signals transmitted by their collars. But their chances are already cut by half. Shortly after the cubs were realized the team realized Kotta's radio collar wasn't working. They had to remove it and were unable to replace it. Now they will only be able to use radio signals to track just one of the cubs. The team can only hope that the one remaining collar, Roona's, is still working. They begin, knowing there's a lot at stake. If the team can't find evidence that the cubs are still alive, then any future orphan cubs will spend their life in the zoo. The treetop cage that was the cubs' last home seems like a good place to start. Initial omens aren't good. Sandesh: That's completely broken apart, lucky nothing happened when cubs were in it. Narrator: Locals have told Bhaskar that the cage was destroyed by angry elephants. Sandesh: So what happened Bhaskar? Bhaskar: Elephant's anger at the presence of cats here, they were avoiding using this area, after we released the cats they immediately came and. Narrator: It's a reminder of the dangers that Roona and Kotta, and the search party, face out here. And there's more bad news, the first rains will make radio tracking virtually impossible. Bhaskar: If they are inside such a hollow, you will not even get a faint signal from their collar. Sandesh: We've gotten here this late in the season, the rains have come in and you can see the vegetation is dense and lush. What these cats are most probably doing is they're probably stuck into places like this that are dry and they're just going to hide there until the weather clears up. Narrator: The next day brings the first bit of good news! Two men in a second village have seen a cat that could be Roona or Kotta. Bhaskar: We have reached the house of a villager who had seen a clouded leopard with a collar, so we want to verify with him, show him some pictures and try to get more information from him. Narrator: It's not much of a lead but it's all they've got to go on. Villager: Collar. Bhaskar: Sure? Collar? He's moving around this so that is his home range. Sandesh: We need to know exactly where he saw them. Narrator: The man claims he's seen a cat with a white collar. It could be their first breakthrough. They take the villagers back to the exact location of the sighting. Sandesh: We are back in the exact same spot and we are looking for tracks or any signs that they are still around. Narrator: If they are right the cat with the distinctive VHF collar must surely be Roona. Panjit: The animal was sitting like this, after hearing a sound it turned around, looking like this, they observed the collar, and after looking at the people out there it started to move into there. Sandesh: These guys have just given us a great description of the cat, they've authentically described seeing Roona with a collar and they explained that they were scared, they've never seen anything like it, they've seen elephants, they've seen spotted deer, civet cats, but never an animal like this, and when we showed them the pictures, they knew exactly what it was. Narrator: WTI vet Panjit is one of the local Bodo people, he has come up with an idea to help the locals who call all big cats by the same name. Sandesh: They don't have a word for clouded leopards in the local language, this goes to show that this animal is rarely if ever seen so there is not even a word to describe the animal, so Panjit just made up a word which he hopes to propagate in the Boro language, what it's called again? Panjit: Musa Pula. Sandesh: Musa Pula. It means clouds and cats, so the cats from the clouds. Narrator: The sighting, together with the finding of distinctive claw marks all suggest that Roona is still in the area. Sandesh: This is exactly what we're looking for and this is another piece to the puzzle and we are very close to the place where the villagers said they spotted these clouded leopards, and these scratch marks are not very old, I mean they look very fresh. We want to set up camera traps here looking in this direction because it looks like a fantastic habitat, the villagers saw the clouded leopard here so this is definitely a good place. But we need to set up quick because, it's getting dark. Bhaskar, this might look funny and I know I don't smell too good in the jungle but it's not for me, it's for your babies. Apparently this brand of very expensive male perfume, has been used to attract jaguars in South America and ocelots let's see if it works for clouded leopards. Want to just hold this for me? How does that smell? Bhaskar: Smells really good. Sandesh: Have some then. As a matter of fact they spray it onto a piece of rag and cats come and scratch on in and rubs their cheeks on it. I think it's some pheromone, something in the perfume, that attracts them, and cats are very inquisitive so it's an interesting smell and it's been known to attract other cats, so we want to see if we can spray some on this piece of log and leave it here, on this camera trap, and see what we can get. Narrator: After three days of looking for the clouded leopard twins, the group unwind back at base camp. With the positive sightings and scratch marks they've seen, they're optimistic that Roona is somewhere nearby. Later that evening, the team gather to view the footage from the camera traps. Sandesh: Alright, lets see what's in that, CT six. Oh, rewind, rewind, rewind. Same spot. That's a leopard. No doubt, leopard. Beautiful. Team: Good, but not good enough. Aw, a tusked monster. Sandesh: A beautiful tusker. He's huge. Same place. Sandesh: That's magnificent. Uh oh, this is a problem, this is a problem. Oh no, don't do it. Don't, don't, don't. No. Team: One down, one down. Oh, no. He's just pounding on it. Alright, we've got leopards and elephants so far. Spotted deer. This is the only place where one 15-16 are surviving. Come on Kotta come out. Oh poachers! What? Yeah. They have no idea that the cameras are there, they have bows and arrows. This is how they were caught in the first place, This is very close to the site. I think, if they come across Roona, I don't think he will be spared. Narrator: The team are all too aware that Roona or Kotta could easily fall prey to their most dangerous predator, Man. They head out of the jungle to find evidence of any poaching. Local people have a long tradition of using parts of wild animals as medicines, which helps to fuel the poaching trade. Sandesh's worst fears are realized. Sandesh: We are in the market where wildlife parts are for sale, some of these things are so inexpensive, a skull of a hornbill will probably fetch you about $4. Narrator: Thousands of rare wild animals are killed for seemingly small sums, but for locals in the region, $4 is half a week's wage. Sandesh: All of these things are for medicines that local people believe can cure ailments, anything from diarrhea to anything, all sorts of animal parts are used in this trade. This is most likely the skull of a golden Langur, this is a cormorant. A comorant skull. This is used to cure snake bite? Bhaskar: What they do is once you get bitten, they put it like this so the blood oozing out of your, and it is believed to cure from the snake bite. He said he will use the hairs of clouded leopards and mix with some other stuff and this is good for curing leucoria. Sandesh: Everything we have been getting in the camera traps are being sold out here in the local market, which is very sad to see. The only way they can get this out of the forest is through poachers. Narrator: Clouded leopard numbers have fallen to fewer than 10,000 Narrator: Poaching is just 1 of the many dangers Roona and Kotta face. And that's not all. The Jungle is a dangerous place for humans too. Sandesh: Can you hear the rumbling? Camera Man: Yeah. Sandesh: So the elephants are probably aware of our presence, and most of these elephants are very agitated to begin with, so we've got to be on our guard. Narrator: Like so much of the wild life here, elephants are under attack from poachers and from locals who fear damage to their homesteads. It can make the elephants aggressive around humans. Sandesh: Elephants are one of the most dangerous animals in India, so one of the difficulties of tracking Roona and Kotta on foot is coming across herds of elephants, and that's one thing we have to be very careful walking around in this landscape, no doubt about that. Narrator: The team know that every day could be their last. The monsoon has already reached other parts of India. Soon it will arrive here, making the search impossible. Sandesh: Its 4:30 in the morning and we are going to split up into 2 teams. Bhaskar and Panjit are going to go on that road, I will be heading down this road with Chinmai and one of the trackers, we've got to spread out our search, we have got to cover as much ground as quickly as possible. Clouded leopards are most active early in the morning and, the sightings we've had so far have all been reported at 6-7 in the morning, so we decided to get an early morning start and see if we can actually encounter Roona or Kotta. Bhaskar: We have enough evidence of a presence of a clouded leopard here, so we need to intensify our search somewhere here. Sandesh: Absolutely, we put all our focus and all our energies into this area. Narrator: Ontei tries to get a signal from Roona's collar. It's their only hope. They're betting the cats are still together. The collar has a range of 500 yards, that's not far in this vast jungle, if it's still even working. Sandesh: The collars should last for over a year, we know the batteries are already quite weak on the collar, we just hope that it hasn't fallen off and hasn't or died completely. I've just asked him to see if he can climb up on top a tree and look for a signal, we are here at 5ft-6 ft. So you can see how dense the vegetation is. Narrator: After several hours the team still can't find a signal. But then Ontei's tracking skills pay off. Sandesh: This is most likely Roona's pug mark, look at the size, its only about that big. Let me see if I have something I can put against it. This is a clouded leopard, perfect size, this is exactly the size of pug mark we are looking for, this is perfect, great, exactly what we need. Just a minute ago, Ontei said these collars are no good, the batteries have died, he's very frustrated with this new technology. He's a tracker, he used to be a poacher, now he's working to help conserve these clouded leopards, this is definitely what he would rely on old fashioned signs of looking for pug marks, scratch marks, scrape marks that's this is one of the main things I was hoping to find. Narrator: The teams reunite and Bhaskar has more good news for Sandesh, evidence of a clouded leopards last meal a few hours earlier. Bhaskar: Look at this scat, it's a jungle owlet. Sandesh: Shall we put it on a leaf? Let's take a leaf out hold on. As you can see that's the head of the owlet you can see the claws, the talons, freshly eaten! Bhaskar: Shall we put this in? Sandesh: Yeah let's put this back in here. Now the tricky part. Well done. Super evidence. Narrator: The owlet is precisely the sort of prey that clouded leopards hunt, it's great news. All the evidence points to Roona being alive and well. Sandesh and Bhaskar are hopeful that at least one of the cameras will have captured images of the But the news of the camera traps is not good. On three of their camera traps there is still no footage of the cats, and the fourth trap has gone missing. Sandesh: We've lost one camera trap, one of the camera traps has been stolen, and the other we only got one elephant, we've nothing else, just bees. Sandesh: It's been a day with some ups and downs. So we've found evidence of poaching, we've found evidence of a clouded leopard all in the same area, it's a good sign and a bad sign. Narrator: The finding of pug marks, scat and the villagers' sighting of a cat with a collar, all suggest that Roona at least has survived his first year Eight days into the search, there's an extraordinary twist in the story. Bhaskar: We have just got news that 2 clouded leopard cubs have been confiscated by forest department near Roona and Kotta. And they are being taken to Kocrijar field station. Narrator: It's incredible. A second pair of rare clouded leopard cubs just 10 days old have been rescued, from the same area where Roona and Kotta were found. Panjit and Sandesh return to the vet center to care for, and document, the progress of these fragile young cubs, just in case they don't make it. Sandesh: So Panjit and I are going to leave as soon as I finish packing, to go look at how the cubs are doing. The camera traps are going to be here and Bhaskar will remain here and he's going to be looking along the Bhutan border. Narrator: Bhaskar and his the team are going to stay in the jungle, broadening the search northwards. Back at the Kokrajar vet center, Sandesh meets the new cubs. When they were first found, the keepers tried to return them to the forest, from where they had been taken. Sandesh: As soon as word got to the center that the cubs had been found they rushed to the spot, took the cubs back to the tree hollow, and tried to get the mother to take the cubs back, but after trying for 3 long nights the cubs just kept getting weaker and weaker, they had to take the cubs in. Narrator: The attempted reunion failed but just like Roona and Kotta before them, the cubs are accepting formula milk from their new, human carers. Sandesh: The new cubs are absolutely adorable, they are like chubby little fur balls, it's a bit like deja vu, these cubs the new cubs are exactly what Roona and Kotta looked like when they first came in, so this whole project is going to have to start all over again. Narrator: While Roona and Kotta were males, these cubs are females. Their carers name them Koila and Moina after the village where they were found. Sandesh: At this stage it's all the more crucial that we find Roona or Kotta, if we do it will just go to prove that everything that has been done over the course of year was all good and these cubs have gone back to the wild successfully. Then there's a protocol that will be established for the new cubs and it will be a much easier process getting them Narrator: The future of these cubs is linked to Roona and Kotta's fate. They'll only avoid the zoo if there's evidence at least one of the older cats has survived in the wild. In Manas, the rescue of the new cubs increases the pressure on Bhaskar and the team. Bhaskar has travelled 5 miles north to the Pipsu River, following up rumors of another clouded leopard sighting. Bhaskar draws a blank with the local cattle herders, but he does get another lead, reports of a young clouded leopard further north, on the border with Bhutan. Bhaskar: A clouded leopard has been sighted thrice by SSB people and Bhutanese people in their territory so what he might have done is cross the Pipsu river and gone further north, that is how he is sighted there. Narrator: Could this be Kotta, or another sighting of Roona? Bhaskar thinks it's worth following up. Bhaskar and Ontei have got permission to take the search north to Bhutan, a mysterious and rarely visited kingdom nestled between India and Tibet. Bhaskar: I am standing next to international border pillar the number 136 as you can see there is no physical boundary here. It's only the political boundary that is dividing the 2 countries. But for animals they can come from the India side and go to the Bhutanese side. Narrator: At a manned border post, Bhaskar meets local forestry officials and hears some wonderful news, a sighting of a cat, which can only be Roona. Bhaskar: We have more exciting news from the friend here with the gun at his shoulder, he's an employee of Bhutanese forestry department. He has seen Roona, with a white collar on his neck about 4 weeks ago here on the river bed and he was going slowly towards the water, he drank water and then went further north. Narrator: It's fantastic news, it's a second sighting of Roona and this time from forestry professional. Roona has not only survived, but has started to range miles from the release area to establish his own territory. Bhaskar: They will definitely look for a territory, they'll move around after release and then establish a territory about 20-25 sq. km. So they can easily come here and be sighted there also. Narrator: It's the clinching evidence the team have spent weeks looking for, proof that at least one of the clouded leopards survived Bhaskar's untried rehabilitation program. Bhaskar: We got strong evidence of Roona's presence in this forest, his survivability in the wild, whereas we do not have that much evidence of Kotta, but there is every possibility that he has crossed the border and gone into Bhutan. Narrator: The protocol devised to return these rare and beautiful creatures to the wild has succeeded for at least one clouded leopard. Bhaskar: Nobody had believed this, but we have achieved the objective which is amazing. The cubs have survived for post release for 11 months which is a great success of the whole project. Sandesh: No doubt it was worth it. These cubs have a right to be back in the wild, so I am glad people took the effort to bring them back here. I am glad that that decision was made. Narrator: The success of the rehabilitation project has been a major boost for an area where biodiversity is under constant threat. Bhaskar: This is not only Roona and Kotta's future but this is the future of this forest, which is a unique critical corridor for tigers, for elephants and a whole lot of species that survives here. Narrator: The rehabilitation of clouded leopards, together with the number of species caught on the camera traps, focuses attention on the importance of the Ripu Forest. The area is now a wildlife sanctuary, bringing more protection from poachers and human encroachment. It's also a lifeline for India's dwindling population of The two new baby cubs now have a less uncertain future. Based on the evidence that that at least Roona is alive, the new cubs will be released into the wild. The Ripu Forest they play in today, could one day be home to a new population of these beautiful and elusive