Fastest Cat (08:10)

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Professor Alan Wilson studies cheetahs, fitting them with special collars measuring acceleration, positions, and G-forces generated while hunting. He follows them in a plane equipped with latest tracking technologies, finding agility and stealth as important to catching prey as speed.

Cleverest Cat (07:01)

Doctor Natalia Borrego studies lions, believing intelligence linked to social behavior. She tests a pride with a puzzle box; lioness Ginny learns to open its door, allowing it to swing open and obtain food inside. When another watches her perform the task first, they solve on first attempt.

Improving Understanding With Technology (06:45)

Cats are elusive and difficult to study; Doctor Mark Elbroch uses camera traps and satellite collars to monitor cougars. They are surprisingly social. When individuals meet, they share meals; they remember each other; and are more likely to positively interact if previously acquainted.

Human Created Habitat (05:53)

Ecologist Daan Loock discusses discovering servals in Africa's largest industrial complex; camera traps reveal the densest populations worldwide. They specialize in hunting rodents, abundant near facility reservoirs; fences prevent larger predators from becoming competition for food.

Adaptive Cat (07:30)

Mumbai has densest population of leopards, invading the city at night to prey on livestock and dogs; sometimes humans are attacked. Krishna Tiwara studies them, pioneering an education program teaching safety measures that saves lives and promotes wildlife tolerance.

Threatened With Extinction (07:28)

Half of wild cats are endangered; in 100 years, tiger populations have decreased by 95 percent. Conservationists are the best hope for many species survival; efforts creating more habitats and protective measures are made worldwide.

Rarest Cat (06:34)

Iberian Lynx populations were decimated by habitat loss and hunting; in 2002, 100 remained. An international team of scientists implemented a breeding program, utilizing facilities built to provide optimal conditions with minimal human contact. Today, 500 roam Spain's woodlands.

Credits: The Science of Big Cats (00:32)

Credits: The Science of Big Cats