‘Big Cat Week’ coming to Nat Geo WILD in November, lineup revealed

Mon, Oct 20th, 2014

By The Dispatch

BANDHAVGARH, INDIA: A remote and protected wilderness, Bandhavgarh, lies deep in the heart of ancient India. Tigers battle for dominance among the ruins of a lost empire. (Photo credit: © National Geographic Channels)

This one-hour special provides an in-depth look into the lions’ unique physical attributes, their complex hunting strategies and their intricate hierarchy. The show follows Boone Smith across the Nambiti Game Reserve, as he tracks a lion coalition as they hunt and search for a mate, ultimately putting him face to face with them in The Box.

(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Mariella Furrer)

This one-hour special provides an in-depth look into the lions’ unique physical attributes, their complex hunting strategies and their intricate hierarchy. The show follows Boone Smith across the Nambiti Game Reserve, as he tracks a lion coalition as they hunt and search for a mate, ultimately putting him face to face with them in The Box.

(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Mariella Furrer)

Speed. Power. Intelligence. Stealth. Beauty.

 

Savute, Botswana: As the male cub matures, he gets a different look in his eyes. (Photo credit: © Icon Films / Brad Bestelink)

For millions of years big cats have stood atop the food chain as treasured icons of the wild, but as civilization has expanded, their habitat has decreased. Today every big cat species in the world is endangered, including lions, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars and cougars. For five years, Nat Geo WILD has turned its lens on these majestic creatures during its annual BIG CAT WEEK to shine a light on their struggle and to remind viewers of their importance in the world.

 

Nat Geo WILD presents the fifth annual BIG CAT WEEK, its fiercest lineup ever, beginning Friday, Nov. 28, 2014.

 

Kicking off the week at 9 p.m. ET/PT is big cat tracker Boone Smith, who is put to the ultimate test in Man v. Lion, followed by the additional premieres include Future Cat, a fantastic look into the far future of big cats, using state-of-the-art CGI images to illustrate how big cats might evolve.

 

A tiger roaring showing off its powerful jaw and giant teeth. Will these be traits carried into the future?

(photo credit: iStock)

Leopard: Ultimate Survivor, a filmmaker’s chance encounter in the wild leads to a rare opportunity to follow a mother leopard and her cubs through the first precarious years of life; Tiger’s Revenge, about the tabloid-worthy rivalry between two sister tigers in India’s Ranthambore National Park; Lion Gangland, an in-depth look at a lion pride that battles high heat, shortages of food and water and a dangerous rival coalition in its struggle to survive; and finally Tiger Wars, the story of tigers who reclaimed an ancient kingdom in India.

 

Rounding out the week are encores of some of Nat Geo WILD’s most popular big cat films, including two from National Geographic’s Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert: Game of Lions and The Last Lions.

 

More than a television event, BIG CAT WEEK is an extension of the Big Cats Initiative, a long-term commitment by the National Geographic Society to stop poaching, save habitat and sound the call that big steps are needed to save big cats around the world. This global initiative actively supports on-the-ground conservation projects and education to help stem and eventually reverse the rapid disappearance of big cat populations.

 

For more information on BIG CAT WEEK, visit natgeowild.com/bigcatweek or follow us on twitter @NGC_PR.

 

For more information on the Big Cats Initiative and how you can get involved, visit causeanuproar.com.

  

BIG CAT WEEK Premiere Episodes Include:

 

Man v. Lion Featuring Big Cat Tracker Boone Smith

Premieres Friday, Nov. 28 at 9 PM ET/PT

For wildlife filmmakers, the only way to safely explore the startling powers of the African lion has been at the end of a mighty long lens — until now. Man v. Lion follows veteran big cat expert Boone Smith across the Nambiti Game Reserve, tracking three male lions searching for their next meal. We follow along as they hunt for food and search for a mate in the open African bush. But to truly understand what makes these brothers tick, Boone will go face to face with them. One inch of acrylic separates him from one of the world’s top predators, bringing audiences closer to  

leopard sitting on some branches. (Photo credit: © Icon Films / Brad Bestelink)

Leopard: Ultimate Survivor

Premieres Saturday, Nov. 29 at 9 PM ET/PT

Leopards are loners and famously elusive, but in a remote corner of Botswana, filmmakers find a window into their world when they discover a mother and her cubs. The result is a two-year journey packed with danger, humor, and revelation, following the fate of a reckless young male, his sensible sister and their supremely resourceful mother.  

 

Future Cat

Premieres Sunday, Nov. 30 at 9 PM ET/PT

Using cutting-edge visual effects, Future Cat showcases a new approach to big cats, visualizing how they would change and adapt to new worlds of ice, desert, flood and an epic merging of the continents that could pit African, Asian and American big cats into one super-jungle “hunger games.”  walks along a log looking directly into the camera. What will Future Cats be like?

(credit: National Georgraphic Channels)

 

Tiger’s Revenge

Premieres Monday, Dec. 1 at 9 PM ET/PT

Tiger’s Revenge is the ultimate reality TV, complete with secret alliances, battle wounds, lost cubs, revenge and a mysterious disappearance. It is the story of two tiger sisters — Sundari, powerful but unable to become pregnant for more than two years, and her sister, Krishnaa, with a litter of three healthy cubs. A fresh rivalry born of jealousy and deceit plays out in the forests of Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, India.  

 

Lion Gangland

Premieres Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 9 PM ET/PT

In a remote corner of the Serengeti, the “Vumbi” lion pride battles high heat, shortages of food and water and a dangerous rival coalition in its struggle to survive. It’s a challenging and unforgiving landscape, not only for the lions but also for the photographers bringing their story to light.  

 

Tiger Wars

Premieres Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 9 PM ET/PT

In the heart of India, a tiger family battles for dominance in the ruins of a lost empire. B1, a young tiger, challenges his aging grandfather for supremacy over their pride land, taking advantage of his slowed reflexes and struggling vision. Meanwhile, B1’s mother tries to keep the peace for her new cubs during their risky first years of life, and for her father, who is becoming increasingly helpless. But B1 is bent on taking over and starting his own dynasty deep in the heart of ancient India.

 

A future cat watches as comets streak through the night sky. What does Mother Nature have in store?

(credit: National Georgraphic Channels)

Vumbi ( dust ) pride 5 adult females and 9 cubs born in April 2011. Plains pride of the Serengeti Lion Research Project. Cubs watch from afar as their mothers stalk a small group of wildebeest. After a failed hunt the mothers return to the cubs with much greeting and licking reinforcing the social bonds within the group.

The Vumbi cubs at 5 months old. The mothers hide them when they hunt and always greet all the cubs when they return. (Photo credit: © National Geographic Creative / Michael Nichols)

This one-hour special provides an in-depth look into the lions’ unique physical attributes, their complex hunting strategies and their intricate hierarchy. The show follows Boone Smith across the Nambiti Game Reserve, as he tracks a lion coalition as they hunt and search for a mate, ultimately putting him face to face with them in The Box.

(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Mariella Furrer) 

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