Discovery: Tooth and Claw

We have a morbid fascination with predators. And we've had it since the very first people carved figures or painted on cave walls thousands of years ago. Predators are still revered as gods in many cultures. Our cultural fascination is equalled only by our biological fear, hardwired into our primate brains, because if you are not a predator, you ARE the prey. In this series, we explore our complex, challenging and ambiguous relationship with Earth's greatest predators by talking to the women and men who know them best, researchers who have spent their lives tracking them, protecting them and, sometimes, narrowly escaping them. Each year thousands of people are killed by lions, tigers, leopards, bears, crocodiles and alligators, sharks and more. Some are just in the wrong place at the wrong time but others are hunted down like any other prey species. Now, with human encroachment into predator territory at a critical point, we discover how we are changing this relationship and how future generations will get to experience nature, red in tooth and claw. Each of these speakers will take us on a deep dive into what it's like to spend years of your life in close proximity to these terrifyingly impressive beasts, and the frustration of trying to save such magnificent creatures from extinction whilst minimising the human costs these predators can cause