Feline Festive

Wildlife filmmaker GordonBuchanan on his inspiring year rescuing wild cats…

- Hannah Davies

There’s nothing like a snowy landscape, some adorable animals and a heartwarming rescue mission to make us feel all Christmassy, and Gordon Buchanan’s new two-part BBC2 series, Snow Cats and Me, delivers all that and more.

The wildlife cameraman has spent a year in the Russian wilderness helping pioneering scientist Dr. Victor Lukarevsky do something that has never been done before – rescuing and rehabilitating four lynx from the lucrative fur and pet trades and returning them to the wild. It’s a huge challenge, though.

Two of the big cats, Koshka and Miass, have serious health issues after being kept in a tiny cage for four years to breed for the fur trade, while the others, Bryansk and Dasha, have been living as pets in a cramped apartment.

There’s a surprise in store after several weeks of rehabilitation, however, when Koshka gives birth to two kittens! But will she and the other three adult lynx ever be able to be released back into the wild?

Here, Gordon, 47, chats to TV Times about the challenges of his latest inspirational quest…