Natural World: Danger in Tiger Paradise
 Sunday 20 October, 6.25pm BBC2

Valmik Thapar returns to Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan, to catch up with Maachli, a tigress he has been following for four years. Two years ago, he saw Maachli fight it out with her mother for the prime tiger territory around Ranthambhore’s famous lakes. Maachli won the battle, took over the area and has had her first litter of two young male cubs.

Maachli and her cubs
The male that fathered her cubs has died and two new male tigers have moved into the area, intent on mating with her. But they may have to kill her cubs first. Maachli, however, is not yet ready to mate and is bravely fighting off the attentions of Nick, a young male tiger that wants to claim her and her territory. She employs a delicate blend of seduction and strength in an endeavour to keep her cubs alive until they are mature enough to move away and survive on their own.

While Maachli struggles to feed and protect her family, the cubs learn and practice all the skills they will need to survive without their mother. It’s a race against time for them. Suddenly, the cubs disappear and Valmik is concerned that one of the males may have killed them.

For five months, he searches the park for the missing cubs. Eventually one is found, face to face with a dangerous sloth bear. Now two years old, the tiger is in excellent condition and as fearless as his mother. The good news is that Maachli is pregnant again and Nick is the father. This time he won’t be a threat but a protector, for both Maachli and her next cubs.

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