Super Cats

Aired on PBS’s Nature series this three-part BBC documentary narrated by F. Murray Abraham is a feast for lovers of wild felines, even as it studiously avoids showing extreme predator gore or troubling mating/dying footage. The first two episodes, "Extreme Lives" and "Cats in Every Corner," survey the worldwide range of wild felines, from lions and tigers (lions actually merit their regal reputation by surpassing other big cats in intelligence tests) to the inevitably cute genus of "small wild cats." The latter include the squirrel-size rusty spotted cat and Africa’s black-footed cat—a tabby-like charmer whose unmatched success rate for catching small prey statistically wins it the title of the deadliest of all the species. The closing episode, "Science and Secrets," addresses human-feline interactions, such as conservation of endangered species (bringing back the Iberian lynx from the very edge of extinction, although there is no mention of the recent disappearance of the Tasmanian tiger), while also looking at how wildlife cinematographers captured the incredible high-tech footage of the animals here. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (C. Cassady)