Tiger: Spy in the Jungle

Uncovering the secrets of a private predator.

A REVOLUTION IN FILM TECHNIQUES

Bouldercam and a host of new Spycams are on their most exciting mission yet: to film the story of tiger cubs growing up deep inside the Indian jungle. In this latest mini-series by the award-winning John Downer Productions, the elephants become cameramen.

The concept of elephants as cameramen is a true revolution in filming techniques. Amazingly, due to their remarkable intelligence and sensitivity, the elephants actually carry a device, called Trunkcam, to places where no camera has ever been, where tigers and other jungle animals treat elephants with respect but show little fear of them.

The elephant camera assistants allow us access to the most remote jungle hideaways, in search of our elusive subjects. They can negotiate even the deepest jungle without harming their precious cargo. Once they find the tiger, the mutual respect between the two animals means that the elephant is able to gently lower Tuskcam and Bouldercam into position, giving us a previously unseen view of this magnificent cat and its jungle neighbors.

And that's not all…

The elephant's head is as stable as a sophisticated steadicam. Using Tuskcam, attached to the elephant's tusk, it is possible, for the first time, to film animal subjects on the move. Tracking shots and complex camera moves around wild animals suddenly become possible. It can carry back steady pictures, even while travelling through almost impossible terrain.

Other members of the elephant filming team also carry static cameras that can be deployed anywhere — many are triggered remotely by any approaching animals.

A HIDDEN WORLD REVEALED

In contrast to Africa's wildlife, India's wildlife has been relatively poorly covered. Using the unique view captured by our Spycams, this series will provide a startling insight into an unfamiliar world. By following the tiger, our camera-carrying elephants will uncover a wildlife world every bit as rich as that of Africa. They encounter sloth bears — a rarely filmed bear with a unique character — famous for carrying its comical babies on its back. They meet leopards — the tiger's major competitor — and bring to light the extraordinary red dogs. These charismatic and fearsome creatures race through the jungle in huge packs.

This is a world that has rarely been seen, where the familiar, but surprising, mix with animals that have hardly ever appeared on camera. Peacocks originate from here and so do jungle fowl (the wild ancestors of the domestic chicken). But the jungle is also home to the guar, wild cattle of monstrous size, and nilgai, a huge blue antelope.

Langur monkeys and macaques provide comic entertainment. There are mongoose here, as well as pangolin, pythons and deer. As in Africa, India has its own versions of familiar scavengers (jackals and vultures) and favorite food (antelope and gazelle).

A TIGER'S LIFE

Tiger: Spy in the Jungle shows three different stages of a tiger's life — from playful cubs, to learning adolescents and ultimately to young hunting adults — and shows how the relationship with the other jungle animals changes as they mature.

Filled with humor and incredible action, the story of this dramatic carnivore growing up in an incredibly rich jungle world is made even more entertaining by the involvement of our oversized camera assistants.

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