Stunning. No film has spent 3 YRS tracking wild tigers thru their entire upbringing to adults with hidden cameras.. Add Sir David , good script, real nature sounds, & it's def must see, esp those who admire top predators. This 2007 gem focuses & shows Indian tigers from every stage of development in breathtaking detail. Near 3 YRS of continuous filming for an epic adventurous tale, incl their majestic super parents. Unlike so many films that disappoint due to lack of onscreen tigers, this film rarely shows other animals as fillers.
Tigers' beauty & cubs cuteness alone will have one glued to the screen.
But the film goes deeper, showing us the tiger's secret ways & real vulnerabilities during the near 3 years of filming with Sir David educating in excellence again. Most importantly, it shows the great necessity tigers need for quiet & vast pristine habitats in order to simply survive because they're fragile in many ways.
The loss of this magnificent mammal in the wild will be one of mankind's longest lamentable crimes. Protecting tigers IS protection entire ecosystem, esp many other endangered species not as charismatic as the tiger.
One reviewer stated this tiger film lost 90 minutes of severe editing after its 2009 Sweden premiere. Why German company edited out footage , then spliced it into 3 parts from 1enchanting tiger film that literally focuses on tigers & no fillers must be greed. It proves the rich biodiversity that's protected when one protects tiger's habitat. This film is 90 minutes, so sadly it's the edited one.
Despite its 14+ yr age, brutal editing, the 5 tigers' incredible beauty & complex secret lives, natural behavior this film captures in stunning detail still makes it a "must see" one, proving what tigers need most - PPL ABSENCE.
Viewer must be aware: Since 2007 release the same tiger "true Eden" reserve no longer exists., Since 2012, same Reserve is literally packed with noisy people & plethora of loud trucks, shattering requisite peace & quiet in tigers' habitats. Worse, humans keep shrinking their reserve, poaching tigers main prey, allowing goats to graze inside the reserve leaving NO food for native deer prey, polluting & reducing tigers reserve water via farming, poaching tigers themselves. Add Global warming that's made entire area hotter & dryer, & preserve is unrecognizable. Even if tigress raises her cub's to adulthood, there's NO place for them to live or no mate to maintain the population from extinction . Relocating tigers often means death due to darting & being torn from familiar habitat, dumped into an entirely new environment. Tigers need time to master their surroundings = area they grew up mentored by devoted Mom & kept safe by Dad.
With no Indian govt protections nor real punishment, tigers are dying faster, not reproducing cubs, & will soon be extinct in wild. NONE of these dire facts are in this incredibly stunning film. It's humanity's great lamentable loss as wildlife & open natural spaces vanish globally due to apathy/ refusing to change from greed.
