Nature, Legendary Tigers of India
PBS Western Reserve (WNEO 45.1 / 49.1)
Wednesday, April 22, at 8 PM
Thursday, April 23, at 1 AM
Sunday, April 26, at 9 AM
In the jungles of northwestern India lies an ancient fort that has stood for more than a thousand years. For centuries, rulers battled over its control. Today, it is home to the most filmed and studied tigers on Earth. This is their story, told by the man who’s devoted his life to keeping them alive.
Ranthambore National Park is known for its spectacular wildlife, specifically its magnificent tigers. Centuries of hunting had driven the tigers into hiding, forcing them to live like ghosts. Then protected by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s ban on hunting in the early 1970’s, these tigers have grown from a group of a dozen cats into a clan of more than 70 members.
For the last half-century, one man followed, photographed and filmed them: one of the world’s leading tiger experts, Valmik Thapar. Although Thapar passed away in May 2025, he was able to collate his archive, with the help of friends and family, to tell the definitive story of this tiger dynasty for the first time. Witness rare behavior and unbelievable footage of dramatic and intimate moments between five generations of tiger matriarchs.
“One afternoon, I just walked out of my house, leaving everything behind and caught a train to Ranthambhore,” said Thapar about the beginnings of his lifelong obsession to document the tigers of the park. He fell in love with the beauty of the place and, with the help of then park director and his mentor Fateh Singh Rathore, Thapar saw his first Ranthambhore tiger, whom they called Padmini. “It was like shedding one layer of skin and putting on another. The transformation was total.”
Thapar served on more than 150 committees of both central and state governments to bring awareness of the importance of tiger conservation throughout India and the world. He authored, co-authored and edited more than 25 books and produced nearly a dozen films on tigers and the natural environments of India. Thapar was the presenter of Nature’s six-part miniseries with BBC, India: Land of the Tiger(1998), produced by Mike Birkhead.
