Saving Siberian Tigers: Documentary Derailed

A recent "observe and report" documentary about the incredibly rare Siberian tiger quickly became an all-out rescue mission after a team of conservationists and their camera crew stumbled upon three orphaned cubs. Now that incredible story is finally going to be shown to the public, revealing the mysterious and dangerous world of these dwindling cats.

"Last Tiger Standing" is set to air Sept. 27 through the Discovery Channel and BBC Natural History. According to a brief summary provided by documentarian Jeanine Butler, who wrote and produced the show, Butler Films and a team of conservationists headed by Liz Bonnin initially set out to simply film Siberian tigers - also called Amur tigers - in the frozen forest of Russia.

This alone would have been an impressive feat, as according to The Hollywood Reporter, this was the first time in BBC Natural History's 50-year existence that they managed to get the giant cat on film.

However, not only did the team find what they were looking for, but they also stumbled upon three Amur cubs that had just been orphaned.

Many may doubt this, but most scientists and even documentarians stand by a strict "observation-only" and "let nature take its course" mind-frame when it comes to this kind of work. But according to the World Wildlife Fund, there are only up to about 450 of these majestic, but endangered cats left in the world. Worse, the Amur tiger's habitat is now restricted to two provinces in the Russian Far East and small plots along the border areas of China, and possibly North Korea. And while the animal is a protected one, illegal logging and poaching are thinning their habitats and numbers by a little more every year.

To have left these freshly orphaned cubs to die in the cold would not have only seemed cruel, but it would have been a waste of an already dwindling animal.

It hasn't been revealed how well the ensuing rescue efforts (which occurred back in 2013) went, but you can just watch the film and find out for yourself.