Age of Big Cats
We think we know big cats pretty well, don’t we? Well actually, we don’t. In this unprecedented series, recent scientific discoveries shed new light on the extraordinary prehistory of big cats and their ascent to world domination. How did these giant carnivores survive the ice age extinctions that wiped out the sabretooths, and persist into the present day? When we learn that the jaguar was once found in UK, the tiger ranged from Siberia to Turkey, and the lion, far from being African was a true worldwide phenomenon, it’s clear our view of cats has been blinkered. What happened? Brand-new night vision systems, super slow-motion cameras, and cutting-edge computer-generated imagery of a bygone age take us on a tantalising trail of evidence to answer these questions, revealing incredible and surprising stories of the world’s most charismatic predators: the big cats.
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Seasons & Episodes
1. Origins
The Pleistocene Era, when packs of saber-tooths ruled. The arrival of the new cats; early snow leopards, cheetahs, and jaguars, marked a turning point in the evolutionary track. Their emergence as their innovative hunting techniques and physical advantages enable them to dominate their habitats.
2. World Domination
The era of the sabretooth and many other Pleistocene creatures comes to an end. The biggest big cats ever, the lion and the tiger, become the kings of their respective habitats - but they had to fight for their place. To survive, these great cats target larger and more challenging prey.
3. Survivors
What changes has the Earth has undergone through the eyes of the puma and leopard? From the almost complete disappearance of American wildlife to the rise of man and the industrialized and urban areas of the modern 21st century. Big cats face numerous threats to their survival.