- 7 weeks ago
Gordon Buchanan helps cat expert Dr. Victor Lukarevsky as he tries, for the first time ever, to rescue and rehabilitate lynxes from the lucrative fur and pet trades back to the wild.
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AnimalsTranscript
00:03Two kittens. Two of them. Brilliant.
00:08Lynx are some of the most beautiful cats in the world.
00:16In the wild, they're so shy and elusive, it's rare to see them at all.
00:24But in Russia, hundreds of these big cats are in captivity.
00:29I want to get these animals out and start this journey to a better life.
00:38I'm Gordon Buchanan. I've come to the Russian wilderness to join a pioneering scientist in a groundbreaking project.
00:46It's first time they have seen the sky in the sun.
00:52We've rescued two pairs of lynx.
00:55One couple was born in the wild, but were held captive for years in a fur farm.
01:02They are born to be free.
01:05The other, a pair of young adults from the pet trade, were raised in an apartment.
01:11They've never experienced nature.
01:14Oh, up the tree. Look at her go. That's astounding.
01:19Victor and I are attempting something new.
01:23We want to rehabilitate and release these incredible animals.
01:27That was a really good one.
01:29He's beginning to look a lot like a top predator.
01:32But after a life indoors, can these lynx ever learn to be truly wild again?
01:38My biggest fear is maybe they're going to have to spend the rest of their lives in an enclosure.
01:43And that's not what this project is about.
01:57We're now in the crucial final phase of the project.
02:02We have two lynx that were kept as pets.
02:06Briansk, the male.
02:08And Dasha, the female.
02:11They are both learning to cope with life outdoors.
02:15Moggy in someone's living room is more engaged than this.
02:19Briansk behaves like a house cat.
02:22He's in a complete little world of his own.
02:25He's got a long way to go if he's ever to be released into the wild.
02:30You're such a weird character.
02:34New parents, Koshka and Mias spent years in a fur farmer's cage.
02:42A few months ago, they surprised us with kittens.
02:47But Koshka's never raised a family before.
02:51We're keeping a close eye on her to make sure she's got the right instincts to keep the kittens alive
02:57and out of harm's way.
03:08It's two months since I was last here in Russia.
03:13Most of the lynx are now in the forest enclosure.
03:21It's a safe training ground for us to rekindle their wild instincts.
03:26This is lynx paradise.
03:30I knew this wasn't going to be straightforward.
03:33Since the kittens were born, they've been incredibly difficult to see.
03:39Koshka and her two kittens are here. Somewhere.
03:45OK. The search goes on.
03:48Seeing a lynx in the wild is all but impossible.
03:52They tend to stick to thick cover.
03:54And here, in the forest enclosure, it's no different.
03:58She's here. She's right in front of me.
04:03Squashka just coming through the bushes.
04:10And she's there calling at the moment.
04:16So I'm wondering if she's calling the kittens up onto that spot.
04:26Where are you?
04:29Oh, she's with one of the kittens.
04:31There you go.
04:32There you go.
04:34Ha.
04:44Both kittens.
04:49She's got both kittens with her.
05:04I'm amazed by how much these kittens have grown.
05:06They are huge.
05:09I don't know.
05:10They must be about five times larger than they were.
05:13When I last saw them.
05:15They're looking great.
05:27For Koshka, who was once held on a fur farm, to raise her own kittens at all is incredibly special.
05:37Every time she's had kittens in the past, they've been taken away from her before this stage of their lives.
05:46So, if anything, we've given her an opportunity to be, be a mum.
05:57The mother's work is never done when you are a parent to two hungry lynx.
06:04Still giving them milk, but it must be literally the dregs.
06:09I reckon within the next week, two weeks, the kittens are going to be completely weaned off of milk and
06:16they will be getting all of their sustenance from meat.
06:19And this is going to be food that has not been caught by them.
06:24It will be Koshka that's doing all of that hunting.
06:46Our other two lynx, the pets Bryansk and Dasha, are in another part of the forest enclosure, separated by a
06:53fence.
06:56The male, Bryansk, is going to need a lot of our attention if he's to make the transformation from pet
07:03lynx to wild lynx.
07:05Hello you. I was looking for you. Come on then.
07:10I do feel a little bit ridiculous with a long stick and a little feather.
07:15You might wonder why we would want to engage this cat in play.
07:19It's all about honing those instincts and skills that they need in the wild.
07:25That's what play is for, for wild cats.
07:30Oh, there you go. Come on.
07:32So you should be all over this. Come on.
07:37You and a moggy in someone's living room is more engaged than this.
07:43Anyone that's ever seen, spent time with a domestic cat, know that it's very, very easy to engage them in
07:51play, particularly with a youngster.
07:53For him, he's not remotely interested. He's in a complete little world of his own.
08:02Come on.
08:04It's worrying that Bryansk has no hunting instinct.
08:08We can't release him in the wild until he demonstrates he's able to catch his own food.
08:15To help all the cats learn to hunt, Victor has stocked the enclosure with native prey.
08:21Animals, they'll hunt in the wild.
08:24We have no other way.
08:26The lynx is a carnivore.
08:28In the nature, he should capture the prey, live prey.
08:33He should know how it smells.
08:36Everything. How it is moving.
08:40And many, many, many things.
08:41Because in the nature, they have only one chance to capture the prey.
08:49Look.
08:54He's found one of the partridge and that grabbed his attention.
09:10In the wild, a lynx mother would teach her kittens to hunt by bringing live prey for them to practice
09:16on.
09:17But Bryansk was a pet and wasn't brought up by his mum.
09:22But for this cat, he hasn't, he hasn't had any of that.
09:27You really don't know what you're doing.
09:32There's no association between a living thing and food.
09:38And he's going to be, he's going to be hungry.
09:42These cats, to survive, are going to have to catch other live animals.
09:50And if they can do that, that's when Victor feels comfortable that they are.
09:54That's the final hurdle.
09:56And they can be released.
10:00He's a bit of a dozy moggy.
10:10Hiding away in the same section of the forest enclosure
10:13is the other former pet.
10:16The young female, Dasha.
10:24Where are you?
10:38There she is.
10:56She's seen me.
10:59They are such different characters.
11:02Bryansk and Dasha.
11:05I don't think you could get two cats that are, are more different.
11:10He is gregarious and she's just a shadow in the forest.
11:20Dasha is showing great potential for release later this autumn.
11:25She's stalking her own prey and is wary of people.
11:30These are behaviours she'll need to evade hunters and stay alive.
11:36If only Bryansk could take a leaf out of her book.
11:44Something attracted his attention.
11:48He's being drawn to the fence that separates his area from Koshka's.
11:52Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Koshka's there.
11:56And she's not at all happy to see.
12:02Koshka is defending her territory and her kittens.
12:06If you look at Koshka's behaviour, it's full on 100% aggression.
12:12And you look at him.
12:15He's trying to make friends with her.
12:17He's actually trying to head rub with her through the fence.
12:25So that's an absolute absence of any knowledge of Link's cat etiquette.
12:34That if somebody is growling at you, spitting at you, hissing at you,
12:40baring their teeth, that means go away.
12:44Bryansk will need to learn how to defend his territory.
12:47In the wild, his life may depend on it.
12:51Absolutely clueless.
12:55Look, he's not remotely concerned.
13:03Victor and I always knew a pet like Bryansk was going to be a challenge.
13:09But we may have underestimated just how difficult this was going to be.
13:14Still running down there.
13:18Sometimes he does look like a wild lynx.
13:20Yes, but sometimes he looks like a domestic pets.
13:28What did you say about your cat?
13:30My cat in the village is much more wild than he.
13:39But we will try.
13:42Because it's easy to rehabilitate as a small kitten.
13:45But it is absolutely adult animal.
13:50And he cannot hunt.
13:53And second, you can touch him and he doesn't react absolutely.
14:00That we should, we have a lot of job with this cat.
14:07Bryansk is still the biggest challenge for Victor's project.
14:11This young lynx will have to improve drastically if he's ever to be released.
14:23But we need to assess all our lynx.
14:27And work out which have the best chance of making it out into the wild before winter.
14:35Unlike Bryansk, Koshka and the kittens are harder to keep tabs on.
14:39They tend to stay hidden away in the long grass.
14:47To help observe the kittens and check they're developing quickly enough,
14:52I'm setting up remote cameras.
14:55I think we're at a stage where we need to get a clearer picture
14:58of where the kittens are at developmentally.
15:01We've not just got Koshka and Mias to worry about when they come to be released.
15:06They've got two kittens.
15:08And we have to be sure that all of the cats are ready to go.
15:13And the only way we can do that is by observing them and seeing, charting their progress.
15:21These cameras can be operated well away from Koshka's family.
15:25They won't even know I'm watching them.
15:33That's cool.
15:37Here you go.
15:46This looks like a favourite sun trap for Koshka to warm herself.
15:52And the kittens.
15:57And I think for me, I realise this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe these amazing cats
16:06in such an intimate way.
16:17They are in a very, very playful mood today.
16:20I think it's because it's really cool.
16:23The temperature has plummeted over the last couple of days.
16:29Though Lynx kittens spend the first year with their mothers,
16:32they have to learn to hunt for themselves at just four months old.
16:38I don't want to take my hands off them because they are moving around
16:42like little clockwork kittens.
16:56This is something that would be impossible to see in the wild.
17:02Really, really active, playing, chasing each other.
17:10Ambushing, pouncing and biting are all key to their development.
17:15Play fighting is practice for when the kittens have to catch and kill their own food.
17:29Being able to watch them this closely has allowed us to tell one kitten from the other.
17:37That's really beautiful.
17:42Victor and his family have named them Ivan and Alyona,
17:47after a brother and sister in a Russian fairy tale.
17:52In the story, they escape their wicked grandmother to live a happy life in the forest.
17:57I like those names.
18:00They suit them.
18:06The kittens' appearance is similar, but their behaviour is very different.
18:14It's Alyona who seems to be most adventurous.
18:27It's Alyona who seems to be most adventurous.
18:28That's really beautiful.
18:40The next big developmental milestone I expect to see will be climbing.
18:47You know, skulking through the grass and running and playing, play fighting.
18:51All of that is really instinctive.
18:54And there's no real risk to it.
18:57When a kitten starts climbing, that's when it can get really dangerous.
19:16We're six months into the project, and the lynx have come a long way on their journey back to the
19:22wild.
19:31Each one has its own challenges, especially Bryansk.
19:40This two-and-a-half-year-old needs more of a helping hand to find his inner wild lynx.
19:51So this is my toolbox and toy box.
19:56Toy box.
19:57Lynx are ambush predators.
19:59They can leap nearly four metres straight up to catch birds out of the air.
20:05But can Bryansk...
20:08OK, I've slung this rope over a tight line that I've put up in the trees.
20:14So it loops over, there's a little pulley.
20:17So what we've got is a lure.
20:19And what I'm going to do is...
20:21It's going to be a sensory overload.
20:22On the end of this piece of string, there's going to be a piece of meat that you can see,
20:25but you can also smell.
20:27There's this little feathery fascinator that Bryansk will be able to see.
20:31The camera to record it.
20:32And if he comes for it, what I'm going to do, instead of giving it to him, I'm just going
20:37to give it a quick tug.
20:39And Bryansk should, without problem, be able to jump from the ground up and grab the meat off of here.
20:48A couple of months ago, Bryansk only recognised food that was presented to him in a bowl.
20:55So what I want to do is just get him to associate this little morsel of food with this system,
21:02and then we might have his attention.
21:05So it's just a mouthful, just a little bit.
21:09So he knows that there's meat there.
21:20This way.
21:22This way.
21:23This way.
21:27Up you go.
21:29Right, got your back.
21:41He's tired?
21:42Yeah.
21:52This is good for him.
21:53It's making him think, and it's making him act.
21:58He's got that.
22:02He's got one claw in.
22:05Oh, gosh.
22:06He's got the meat.
22:09See, this is perfect.
22:11That's swatting and jumping.
22:13If he was walking through the forest and he startled a pheasant, a partridge, he's going to have to jump.
22:20He's going to have to reach out with those claws out and swat it from the air.
22:24So, as artificial as this may seem, it is just really making that instinctive behaviour kick in.
22:33It's great.
22:42Bryansk has definitely shown us he has the ability.
22:45He's tired.
22:49He's panting.
22:51It's just the motivation that's still lacking.
22:58How do you think you've done?
23:00I think your leaping was actually pretty, pretty good.
23:06I think what you need to do is just sort of wind it up a bit.
23:11Sort of a bit more attack.
23:13Less sort of procrastination.
23:25On the other side of the forest site are Koshka and the kittens.
23:32They are a full two years younger than Bryansk.
23:39Victor and his family have joined me to see how the kittens react to Allure.
23:48Victor's son, Svetislav, is at the other end of the fishing line, jiggling the lure.
23:55They're fishing, fishing for kittens.
23:59We've noticed the kittens are almost completely weaned off Koshka's milk.
24:04They're getting their sustenance from the meat she brings them.
24:08But do these little ones have the killer instinct?
24:12OK.
24:22True to form, it's Aliona, the female, who's first to show an interest.
24:27It's a new game.
24:31A new game.
24:40You can see the clear difference between these two kittens, between the male and the female.
24:44Yes.
24:45Aliona's the one that's doing all the playing, and Ivan is the overseer, the onlooker.
24:51She's definitely more adventurous. If there's something new, she's the first to it.
24:56And he seems to hang back.
24:58So it's not just some physical differences between these two kittens.
25:03Their personalities are completely different as well.
25:21Aliona has clearly got the determination needed to learn to hunt.
25:46The kittens are developing quickly, but they were born late in the year.
25:52They may not be big and strong enough to be released as a family this side of winter.
26:05It's the final push for Victor and our lynx.
26:10The kitten's father, Mias, is about to be moved to the forest enclosure.
26:16Five out of the six lynx involved in this rehabilitation project are at the forest site.
26:23So we have Koshka, her two kittens.
26:25We have the yearlings.
26:27The only cat that remains to be transported is Mias.
26:31And then we will have the full set in the place that we want them to be.
26:38Mias is still in the recovery enclosure,
26:40where all the cats spent time rebuilding their health and strength.
26:49When they were last together, Mias and Koshka had a strong bond.
26:55Whether that stays the same in the forest site remains to be seen.
27:00Put here. Put here.
27:02OK, I won.
27:04We have learnt from relocating to other cats
27:09that they're less stressed if we move them at night.
27:12Down we go.
27:14OK.
27:16I'm not nervous.
27:18Mias is quite...
27:21He stays very calm.
27:24It is OK.
27:28He'll probably be surveying what's in front of him.
27:32Look for maybe one of the darkest spots in the head for that.
27:38Oh, there you go.
27:41It's going to be quite confusing for him.
27:44He's in a new place, but he is going to feel more comfortable
27:47because it's night time.
27:50Under the cover of darkness, he'd feel much more relaxed, less exposed.
27:55So it's great.
27:57It's sort of the next step in his development,
28:01hopefully one step closer to being back in the wild.
28:17MIAS is getting used to his new surroundings.
28:24The forest enclosure is big enough for all the cats to find their own space.
28:28But inevitably, their paths will cross.
28:45Koshka and Mia's not too happy to see each other.
28:50That's interesting.
28:52You know, there's obviously a level of tolerance between them.
28:55But it's not exactly happy families.
29:01This makes sense.
29:03Many biologists believe that lynx are so solitary in the wild
29:06that males and females only come together to mate.
29:10I think maybe that natural instinct to want to be alone
29:13bubbles up to the surface.
29:16It seems to have more come from Koshka than Mia's.
29:20She was the one that growled.
29:23He was the one that ran away.
29:27We've all been there.
29:45It's time to set another challenge for Bryansk.
29:52He's going to come.
29:54Today, I've come armed with a radio-controlled car.
29:58I don't want you around. Not at the moment.
30:01We've already seen he can leap for his dinner.
30:04I want to find out if he's willing to run for it.
30:07I'm trying to set up a lure for Bryansk to chase.
30:12But he is hopefully losing interest in me.
30:16And I can crack on.
30:20The reason he's quite so interested in me at the moment
30:22is that I have a piece of synthetic fur that looks like real fur.
30:29I have some meat in a bag.
30:33I have a remote-controlled car.
30:36And I'm going to put all three together
30:39and create a high-speed lure.
30:45I don't like him being this close.
30:47Bryansk is still essentially tame.
30:50Something we need to change soon.
30:53But for now, I want to check if he's got the agility of a hunter.
30:59He'll need to if he's ever to be released in the wild.
31:04And for me, this is what it's all about.
31:07Is actually seeing the hunting skills of a lynx up close.
31:14Kind of recreating a hunting scenario
31:18with some pork and a remote-controlled car.
31:22But the principle is exactly the same.
31:23It's chase and the reward.
31:26And this is what he has to chase.
31:29And this is the reward.
31:44This may not be textbook rehabilitation, but he's now engaged.
31:49Nothing, nothing whatsoever ridiculous about this.
31:53This is all in a day's work when it comes to rehabilitation of lynx.
32:10What we want to see is an explosive burst of power, not a trot, not a little canter.
32:24Rapid changes in direction mimic what a hare or rabbit would do trying to escape.
32:40OK.
32:42So they've got his juclaw into the car so there's no way I can actually drive away from him.
32:53even then if it's not dead there's still a chance it can it can get away
33:05okay he's enjoying his reward but I don't think he I don't think he worked for that at all
33:11I think that was way too way too easy for him
33:29up the tree up the tree my god look at that the kittens are becoming increasingly independent
33:39of the two siblings it's Aliona who always takes the lead
33:45her brother is more cautious she's got as high as you can possibly go what's she doing
33:58she can't get comfortable up there I think she's gonna have to come back down
34:03play like this has a serious purpose
34:09in the wild Aliona and Ivan will need to climb trees to catch squirrels and seek safety
34:18where are you going at this age practice makes perfect God look at that look at her go gosh
34:30keep going keep going my god that must be about 10 meters up that's astounding
34:41it's funny to think not long ago she was incapable of even setting up straight and look at her now
34:49I'm staggered by the developmental changes in Aliona
34:54I'm sure Ivan will catch up he's just going to take longer
35:06their mum Koshka has no time to play we know she spends much of her day hunting but so far
35:15we haven't seen how she does it we're keen to assess her skills
35:31to hunt a lynx like Koshka needs to stalk silently and unleash a huge burst of energy
35:47most hunts end in failure
35:53so a lynx needs to be wily strong and persistent
36:20koshka's jump covers eight meters of ground it's proof for us that physics
36:28basically she's fully recovered plus she's displaying all the right skills when it comes to hunting
36:57the young male Briansk was born and bred to be a pet sparking his instincts to hunt is crucial
37:05we need to see big improvements soon or he'll stay in captivity for the rest of his life
37:12my plan is to try and engage Briansk and as I've seen it's the actual movement it's the chase that
37:19really he's most interested in and with this pulley system we can move a lure ridiculously fast
37:25a lot faster than he can he can run
37:28right Briansk let's see what you're capable of come on pal use those eyes of yours
37:54okay all of this is completely artificial pulley system a battery a piece of synthetic fur so it's a
38:03very unnatural setup but what I hope to see is 100% natural a lynx at his very very best
38:19in the wilds of Russia lynx predate on animals as large as deer
38:25and when a rodeo can move over 70 kilometers an hour Briansk is going to need speed and agility
38:33that was a really good one he's out running my pulley I don't think he was even going full pelt
38:39this was him I would say sort of 60% of his his full potential so I'm going to re
38:46-rig things
38:47make some minor repairs try again
39:06this is a big stem the former pet is finally showing real promise he is a million miles away from
39:16the lazy house
39:17cat that I first met he's beginning to look a lot like a top predator
39:23it is very interesting the changing is positive that I am happy with this
39:41is that another partridge you can hear a partridge off in the forest here he's lost interest in this
39:51trying to look for the real thing this is an opportunity for Briansk to put his skills to use
40:24it's an enormous breakthrough for Briansk
40:28it's an enormous breakthrough for Briansk
40:29he's got it in his mouth and for victor's project
40:35you have seen
40:37you have seen
40:38he's killed it
40:40yes but
40:41you have killed him
40:43and he have tested his prey
40:48having had a successful hunt
40:50Briansk now seems like a different much wilder animal
41:00Ok
41:03go back to your food
41:07shh
41:07heart rate's going a bit
41:09bit faster now
41:11you get a real
41:13um
41:14show of a wilder side
41:16that was very interesting and when he got it in his mouth and he tasted the
41:23blood suddenly there was a complete change in his behavior and he was
41:30defending defending his prey from me
41:52Koshka is also on the prowl
41:55oh yeah there's a partridge
42:13she knows it's there but it's on the other side of the bushes from her
42:26if she moves that's what's going to give away her presence
42:49she got it yeah she got it that was very quick
42:57because Koshka once lived in the wild this proves she's retained her hunting skills
43:03I reckon she's taken it off to the to the kitners
43:11these are skills the kittens have yet to develop
43:20their opportunistic father Mias is only interested in a free meal
43:25I do love him he's a beautiful looking lynx but
43:30he's pretty useless when it comes to feeding himself
43:40for weeks Koshka's been taking dead birds to Aliona and Ivan
43:44but there's a new development today
43:50she gives a kitten life prey and the kitten they have killed the prey
44:00and now they eat the partridge
44:05this is important for the education of the kitten
44:09Aliona has already reached a crucial milestone in kitten growth
44:14she's developed a kill bite something all feline predators need in the wild
44:23it doesn't seem as if Ivan is quite there yet
44:43the changes in the kittens have been impressive to watch
44:47the changes in the kittens have been impressive to watch
45:00and he's also coming on in leaps and bounds
45:03but he still has one big problem
45:07he's too comfortable with people
45:09it's time for some tough love
45:12is that something that you want to do to make him scared of people more fearful
45:19yes because the biggest danger for him is the people
45:24so what do you plan to do to make him more scared of people
45:28we have some gun with plastic
45:32okay so it's a hand it's not a rifle it's a handgun
45:36oh yes
45:38so
45:40here
45:41ah okay
45:43yeah they're very light
45:45I shot him
45:46he shot your father
45:48we can try
45:49you want to shoot me
45:51shoot you
45:51okay she can shoot me
45:53let's go
45:54now let's
45:55this is a case
45:56of don't try this at home
45:59you get to shoot the foreigner
46:01cold war is over
46:02shoot
46:03go
46:05ah yeah yeah
46:06oh you
46:08yeah
46:09really
46:09ah yeah yeah yeah
46:10yes
46:13that would work
46:14you know my friend anymore
46:16you know my friend anymore
46:23how to do
46:33yeah
46:33you know my friend
46:34who's
46:34here
46:34now have s
46:36yeah
46:37yeah
46:42you know
46:45he doesn't know what's coming
46:46no
46:49i feel really sorry for brianse because
46:51all through his life people have wanted to get close to him and that's the only
46:57message that he's got from from human beings and now we are giving him the
47:03opposite signal so we want him to to run away from us
47:13that's the way he's gonna have to be sadly so every time we see him we have
47:17to shoot him every time from here the pellets will give Bryansk a shock but won't harm him
47:35you won't try to shoot him
47:45do you think he's going to be confused maybe yes because before there was friend yeah and now he
47:53should avoid me but it is for his no I know yeah it is only for his sake yeah so
48:05there's a thick area
48:06over here quite a lot of trees and low shrub so the plan is to pressure him if he is
48:13on the perimeter
48:14pressure him if he's in the open but not to shoot at him when he's in his refuge so he
48:20needs to know
48:21that the the safest place to be is the thick cover so it's exactly the same as you know for
48:26a lynx in
48:27the wild it needs to know associate thick dense vegetation with her being a safe place it's been
48:35a tough but necessary day Bryansk will now begin to associate humans with danger and it's timely
48:45Victor has had some good news he's been given permission to release Bryansk and Dasha in a protected
48:52national park in Siberia we have a chance for release in the protected area where there are a lot of
49:03prey
49:04there are a lot of raw deer red deer musk deer a lot of here it is it is quite
49:16a good habitat that it
49:18will be a good chance for survive we've been seeing positive changes in Bryansk he's behaving more like
49:29a wild lynx and he's even defending his territory Bryansk is pacing back and forward and back and forward
49:39two kittens this side and then Bryansk on the other side of the things and if their mum and dad
49:45know that
49:46they're doing there they're not going to be happy they're really not going to be happy
49:48with Briansk being that close to to them up till now Koshka's not had a problem seeing off Bryansk
50:04but something's changed
50:11the young male is standing his ground
50:28this encounter makes me realize just how far this project has come
50:35Bryansk has turned a corner and is ready for release
50:40his counterpart the elusive Dasha has been quietly ready for some time
50:50parents Koshka and Mia's are both ready too
50:56but they're hampered by their kittens
51:00Aliona and Ivan are still vulnerable
51:07and Victor's had to make a tough decision
51:12I want that we will release all of them together in spring
51:18much more guarantee to survive all of them together
51:23Koshka, Mia's and kitten together
51:26it's the right thing
51:27do you think there's too much pressure to release them this year
51:30yes yes it is it is it we have I cannot guarantee that they will survive in this winter
51:39without our help yeah
51:46Victor's entire rehabilitation project was a huge gamble
51:50nice to meet you and it's paying off
51:54Mia's and Koshka were plucked from tiny cages in a dimly lit garage and are now fully recovered
52:01they even surprised us by producing two healthy kittens
52:07all four members of this lynx family are well on their way to a better life in the wild
52:18the journey that Bryansk and Dasha have been on is also remarkable as pets they've never known the wild
52:29but have now learned the skills needed to survive a release in Siberia
52:39with Bryansk and Dasha safely inside transportation crates
52:44we're flying four and a half thousand kilometers east
52:49Victor has secured a release site in a protected park
52:53far from humans deep in the Siberian wilderness
53:01a key factor in the success of predator rehabilitation projects is an absence of hunters and an abundance of prey
53:11the Hakassia reserve in Siberia ticks both of these boxes
53:17it's possibly the best place on the planet to release our links
53:23it's amazing so beautiful this area yes yes i think here for links
53:32paradise i think it should be paradise because there are no village there are no
53:42home nothing yeah so on the other side of the river is that the protected area yes all of
53:48this area is protected protected area i think dash and Bryansk are going to be happy okay let's go let's
53:57go
53:58you need a special permit to enter this park and there are rangers patrolling at all times
54:05so there'll be no hunters and our links will be safe
54:23this feels maybe as remote as you can get in across asia to travel to Siberia you get sense of
54:32you're
54:33kind of in the middle of nowhere but then to travel deeper into such a forested area and not see
54:40any signs
54:41of human beings it's yeah the back of beyond
55:01okay
55:02okay
55:02yeah
55:03yeah
55:05it's all right
55:07but they're an amazing place
55:10If I was a lynx, this is where I'd like to be.
55:14We'll get Briansk now.
55:16I have to remember.
55:18I want to put my fingers in the holes.
55:26Finally, allowing both these cats to go free.
55:29I can't believe it's finally happening,
55:31that we are giving Briansk and Dasha a shot at freedom.
55:39First to be released is the timid female Dasha.
55:44Like Briansk, she's never known freedom.
55:48That is about to change.
55:57She didn't hang around.
56:02So...
56:04So fast, she's never living this.
56:10I'm free.
56:12It's amazing.
56:13It's amazing.
56:19Now, Briansk.
56:22Let's do it.
56:24Let's do it.
56:24A moment that we hardly believed would ever arrive.
56:29Hey, baby.
56:34It's a Brask.
56:35Hey, kid.
56:37Where are you going?
56:38Hey, boy.
56:41Okay.
56:41He don't want to see us anymore.
56:44Look at that.
56:47Off you go.
56:49He is...
56:50He is afraid.
56:51Yeah, he's afraid.
56:53No need to be afraid.
56:55Because everything is new.
56:57Don't look back at us.
57:02It's really emotional to see him go.
57:04Because he doesn't know what this represents.
57:08He doesn't know where he is.
57:11But we know.
57:12We know he's in the place that he should be.
57:29We don't always get an opportunity to do something.
57:32Something good for nature.
57:35And we've done something today that I think has made this wild part of Russia a little bit richer.
57:41We can feel happy about that.
57:44And the next step for the cats that I've got to know will be in the spring.
57:49When Koshka, Mias and the kittens will also be released.
57:55I'd like to be around for that.
58:05Well done.
58:06Yes.
58:09Good work.
58:16He was born to be free.
58:34It's been a bit of a year in the political world.
58:36Whatever you think, this will get you smiling.
58:39Frankie Boyle's 2019 New World Order next.
58:42A fascinating look into the work and mind of a playwright.
58:45Searching for Sam Adrian Dunbar on Samuel Beckett.
58:47It's BBC 4 now.
58:49I know.
58:53.
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