Swamp Tigers

Swamp Tigers

2001, Nature  -   21 Comments
8.97
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Ratings: 8.97/10 from 173 users.

Entangled, mangrove forest on the Bay of Bengal is the kingdom of a creature rarely seen by humans. One of the most efficient predators on Earth, this animal is feared as a killer and a man-eater - the legendary swamp tiger. These tigers are so elusive that all attempts to track them in these impenetrable swamps ended in failure.

More than a decade ago, cameraman Mike Herd captured the swamp tiger on film for the first time. It was an extraordinary breakthrough, the first glimpse into the secret life of the least known tiger in the world - the swamp tiger of the Bangladeshi Sundarbans.

This first tiger footage was tantalizing and all-too-brief, but for Mike it was enough to stir a passion. He resolved to return and unravel the secrets of this mysterious creature. The Sundarbans are remote and dangerous, so Mike will need an armed guard day and night. Somewhere in those 6,000 square miles, 10,000 square kilometers, are a few hundred tigers, yet the only way to track them is on foot.

Four mighty rivers rise in the Himalayas and pass through Bangladesh, dividing into small streams and channels to pour into the sea in the Bay of Bengal. They form an intricate mangrove delta, a collection of sand banks and mud held together by entangled roots.

Flood waters carry human victims downstream; corpses are washed onto the muddy banks of the Sundarbans giving some tigers the taste for human flesh. Every year up to a hundred people are killed by tigers, yet for the poor there is no alternative. The fishermen spend months on-board their boats trying to avoid the bandits who steal their catch and their belongings.

On the muddy bank there is the first tell-tale trace of the tiger - a recent set of pugmarks leading deep into the forest. Then more evidence - huge claw marks on a tree. The air is thick with a pungent smell of tiger. Mike believes it must be a tigress.

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Lawton
Lawton
7 months ago

I liked this documentary and got three copies of it in the mail

Walkabout
Walkabout
5 years ago

Nice to see some footage of tigers. Glad they included all the other things, made it a worthwhile video.

Really weary of the superlatives, e.g. "one of the most efficient predators on earth". How do they rate such things, really? Especially if they hardly ever see one. Most likely just something made up to make the subject they are on at the moment, more exciting. How about sticking to the truth instead. The world is chock full of BS as it is.

Sad that the fisher people don't value themselves enough to have some sort of protection. Spear chuckers, bow and arrow, rifle, mud or pepper bomb, etc. Or some terrible noise maker that the cats cannot stand.

One wonders if some of the fisher people or others aren't lost to bandits/poachers?

The big lizard wrestling was interesting indeed. Quite civilized match. And why aren't they "one of the most efficient predators"? The wild dog-like big eared critters seemed fairly efficient hunters as well as trouble makers, sorry I forgot the name of them from other videos that mentioned.

Kelly
Kelly
8 years ago

I liked it, myself

josh Millican
josh Millican
8 years ago

Ignorance is bliss .. I guess .. We have to protect those cats ... Amazing creatures..

Blaice
Blaice
8 years ago

The monkey deer relationship is a beautiful sight to behold. It is always so nice to see such peace in nature, since it is usually much more gruesome. Nothing compares to humans though, the most vile of all creatures.

Mike Riberdy
Mike Riberdy
9 years ago

A very informative and interesting documentary indeed. Enjoyed every minute of this.

UnderSiege
UnderSiege
9 years ago

It's a beautiful documentary...well done. Incidentally do many of you wankers actually speak/write English as a first language?

chase caruso
chase caruso
10 years ago

listen all were doing is sitting at home o facebook why don't we go out and look at thee things I real life

chase caruso
chase caruso
10 years ago

at 40:32u hear dogs in the backround I hate pouchers

dieniggerdie
dieniggerdie
10 years ago

These stinky turd savages will extinct these amazing animals soon

AprilOneal
AprilOneal
10 years ago

You know you're in for a good doc when the 3 minute mark is of tiger feces being poked with a stick.

John Defalque
John Defalque
10 years ago

Excellent Doc-not just about tigers but all the wildlife in this rich region.

User_001
User_001
10 years ago

That's so F'ed up. He has to worry more for other things (man) than he does for man-eating tigers!

Great doc and very well appreciated.

Rodney Bresch
Rodney Bresch
10 years ago

I enjoyed the doc.The lizard wrestling was interesting.