This BBC2 documentary series follows the journey of Big cat expert Giles Clark as he embarks on his biggest mission to date: to turn the Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent into a centre of global excellence for big cat conservation.
This week marks the first episode of the series, and begins with Giles becoming the adoptive parent of Maya the panther cub after finding her neglected by her mother. Though weak at first, the 5 day old panther begins to grow and get stronger, becoming aclimatised to her new surrounding in Giles’ home. Meanwhile over at the sanctuary, the handlers have their hands full trying to improve the lives of over 50 different big cats, hoping that in the long run the cats can become ambassadors, of sorts, for their wild cousins. After Giles’ trip to cambodia to observe clouded leopard populations and their plights, disaster strikes and Maya the 5 week old panther has to be rushed to a specialist vet with issues to her mobility and vision which put her very life in the balance.
Big Cats – Thursday 8:00pm on BBC2
