Skip to main content Skip to footer site map
S45E3

Part Two | Tiger Island

Premiere: 10/28/2026 | 0:30 |

In Nepal, the crew uses thermal cameras to film tigers at night, revealing previously unseen behavior. A new tiger mom must keep her growing cub out of trouble, while another tigress’ cubs are stalked by the returning male “king” of Tiger Island.

Premiere: 10/28/2026
PBS   •   PBS App

About the Episode

In the forests of western Nepal, a team of cinematographers and big cat experts undertake an expedition to follow the lives of two tiger mothers and reveal how these solitary cats are raising cubs on an island full of threats. Witness tiger behavior that has never been recorded before in Tiger Island, a two-part miniseries premiering on Wednesdays, October 21 and 28.

The expedition team focuses on two tiger mothers, investigating how these solitary big cats raise cubs on an island full of danger that includes other tigers, rhinos and elephants. When a new male tiger arrives on the island, older tigress Goma must use all her experience to keep her cubs out of harm’s way, while first-time tiger mother Mala struggles to deal with the threats, leaving her three cubs in grave danger.

Utilizing a fleet of drones to track tigers from the air, and military-grade thermal cameras to follow them in the dark, the filmmaking team witnesses several on-camera firsts. Mother tigers appear to look after each other’s cubs, a new behavior at odds with the supposed solitary nature of these big cats. Additional rare behaviors captured include cubs swimming and hunting together, as well as a mother, father and cubs spending time together as a family.

SHARE
PRODUCTION CREDITS

TIGER ISLAND
PART TWO

NARRATED BY
AMRITA ACHARIA

PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY
LINDSEY PARIETTI

PHOTOGRAPHY
ABINARA ANURAGA
ANNA DIMITRIADIS
MAX HUG WILLIAMS
ROBBIE LABANOWSKI
HENRY LIN

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
MANJU MAHATARA
SUSHILA MAHATARA

SCIENTIFIC CONSULTANT
DAN O’NEILL

FIXERS
TASHI BISTA
SAJAL PRADHAN

FILM EDITORS
BENJAMIN JENKINS
CATARINA OLIVEIRA

EDIT ASSISTANT
WILL PILGRIM

POST PRODUCER
ANNA TURNER

COLORIST
MICHAEL LANSDELL

ONLINE EDITOR
ADRIAN RIGBY

GRAPHIC DESIGN
MOONRAKER VFX

TITLE DESIGN
HOLEY & MOLEY

DUBBING MIXER
MATT COSTER

DUBBING EDITOR
BEN WOOD

ORIGINAL MUSIC BY
BENJI MERRISON & WILL SLATER

LOCATION TEAM
GOVINDA ADHIKARY
ANU CHAUDHARY
TIKARAM KHAREL
RANJU MAHATARA
PAWAN KUMAR THAPA
SAMEER THARU

BBC COMMISSIONING EDITOR
JACK BOOTLE

HEAD OF PRODUCTION
MARIA NORMAN

PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE
DULCIE ARNOLD

JUNIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER
KERRIE LLOYD

DIRECTOR
PATRICK EVANS

RESEARCHERS
WILLIAM DEANS
EMILY THURGOOD

PRODUCTION MANAGER
HELEN WALLBANK

SERIES PRODUCER
MATTHEW WRIGHT

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
ROGER WEBB

IMAGES COURTESY OF
NASA

SPECIAL THANKS
BARDIYA NATIONAL PARK
DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, NEPAL
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATION & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, NEPAL

ORIGINAL SERIES PRODUCTION FUNDING PROVIDED IN PART BY
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Arnhold Foundation
Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III
Sarah and Sandra Lyu
Charles Rosenblum
Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao
Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust
Paul L. Tilley and Family
Colin S. Edwards
Kate W. Cassidy Foundation
Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation
Gregg Peters Monsees Foundation
Koo and Patricia Yuen
Seton J. Melvin
Madeline and Stephen Anbinder
Yung and Ming Hsien Wang
Kitty Hawks and Larry Lederman
Sandra Atlas Bass
Bradley L. Goldberg Family Foundation
Arlene and Milton D. Berkman
Perpetual Kindness Foundation
Sun Hill Renewal Fund

FOR NATURE

SERIES EDITOR
JANET HESS

SENIOR PRODUCER
LAURA METZGER LYNCH

SUPERVISING PRODUCER
JAYNE JUN

COORDINATING PRODUCER
JAMES F. BURKE

LEGAL COUNSEL
BLANCHE ROBERTSON

DIGITAL LEAD
DANIELLE BROZA

DIGITAL PRODUCER
AMANDA BLOOM

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
KAREN HO

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
CHELSEY SAATKAMP

BUDGET CONTROLLER
JAYNE LISI

ADDITIONAL VOICEOVER
TOM HARGES

ONLINE EDITORS
STACEY DOUGLASS MOVERLEY
PATRICK KRASS

RE-RECORDING MIXER
JON BERMAN

SERIES PRODUCER
BILL MURPHY

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
FRED KAUFMAN

A BBC STUDIOS NATURAL HISTORY UNIT PRODUCTION FOR PBS AND BBC WITH THE WNET GROUP

THIS PROGRAM WAS PRODUCED BY THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC, WHICH IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CONTENT.

© 2026 BBC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

TIGER ISLAND ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
© 2026 PBS AND © 2026 THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FUNDING

Series funding for Nature is provided in part by The Arnhold Family in memory of Henry and Clarisse Arnhold, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Sarah and Sandra Lyu in memory of Seung and Dorothy Lyu, Charles Rosenblum, Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao, Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, Paul L. Tilley and Family, Colin S. Edwards, Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation, Gregg Peters Monsees Foundation, Koo and Patricia Yuen, Seton J. Melvin, Madeline and Stephen Anbinder, Yung and Ming Hsien Wang, Kitty Hawks and Larry Lederman, Sandra Atlas Bass, and public television viewers. Additional funding is provided by Bradley L. Goldberg Family Foundation, Arlene and Milton D. Berkman, Perpetual Kindness Foundation and Sun Hill Renewal Fund.

TRANSCRIPT

- [Narrator] Here on an open island in Nepal, tiger's lives can be filmed from the air, day and night.

- [Speaker] Just stay dead still.

- [Narrator] The trials of motherhood will unfold.

- [Speaker] She's trying to keep them away from her cubs.

(tiger growls) - [Narrator] Along with the challenges of filming wild animals.

- We need to back away.

This is a slightly dangerous situation.

- [Speaker] "Tiger Island" is rewriting what we know about tigers.