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  • After more than two months of filming, the Wild Canadian Year team captured a first.

  • Footage of a wild lynx hunting a snowshoe hare.

  • Everyone knew this was going to be one of the series' most difficult shoots.

  • Up for the challenge was Canadian camerman Sam Ellis.

  • who went to the Yukon to see if he could film these elusive animals.

  • The plan was to search for lynx tracks and follow them to find the animals.

  • "These tracks here to the left, were here yesterday"

  • "and now we have all these other ones here."

  • But the lynx were incredibly elusive.

  • "We play this game of cat and mouse, I didn't get any footage today but"

  • "I was probably snowshoeing with three cats for about four hours."

  • So Sam tries another approach.

  • Here, some of the lynx have radio collars

  • and Sam got permission from the scientists to tune in.

  • While Sam knows where the lynx are, he still can't see them.

  • The bush is so thick, the lynx can keep out of sight if they want to.

  • "I think the most frustrating thing about these cats is they're so elusive, that even with the telemetry"

  • "even though we know they're right in front of us, we still can't find them sometimes."

  • "They're just that good at being hidden."

  • But there's one lynx that is beginning to make himself visible to Sam.

  • A male the researchers call "Mad Max".

  • Slowly, day by day, Mad Max is learning to trust Sam.

  • "He's comfortable enough you can see, he's actually going to sleep."

  • "He does not see us as a threat."

  • "It's amazing to be this close to a wild Canadian lynx"

  • "and knowing that we're not disrupting his natural behaviour."

  • Their unique relationship opens a window into the world of the lynx that no one has had before.

  • It's one thing to be close to Max when he's resting

  • but it's another to get close when he's hunting.

  • I've seen him chase two rabbits today

  • and uh, missed the opportunity twice.

  • But then, Mad Max suddenly realized that having Sam around,

  • could work to his advantage.

  • "Today, Mad Max, he became even more comfortable with me than he has before."

  • "We've always had to use the telemetry to find where he is and once when we find him he's okay with me being around"

  • "Today, he was making himself visible."

  • "Kind of coming up to me, saying like 'I'm here', and the walking in front of me, kind of luring me. "

  • "And I'm like okay. I always kinda had a feeling he might like having me around because I could be spooking rabbits."

  • "It kinda works to his benefit."

  • "Just a typical Sunday, talking my cat for a walk."

  • But it's still a struggle to get the camera in the right place at the right time.

  • And keeping up with the natural pace of a wild lynx is no easy feat.

  • Max glides easily across the snow

  • whereas Sam breaks through with every step.

  • After two months of grueling effort, Sam still has nothing.

  • As close as they've become, Sam is no match for Max in this snowy world.

  • And then one day, Sam finally gets a break.

  • "It was brilliant. I came down and I saw this rabbit in this wide-open meadow."

  • "The cat was stalking left, and I thought 'there's no way he doesn't see this rabbit in front of me'"

  • "So I set the camera down and started rolling on this rabbit."

  • "The cat did this big "J" stroke, all the way around into the meadow, and the rabbit was completely oblivious."

  • "They started coming right to the camera"

  • "He got within 3 feet before the rabbit even took off"

  • "and then they both came running, they ran right by the camera at a super high speed slow motion."

  • "I was just hoping not to shake the camera and not lose the focus. "

  • "I think it was... the best day of my life."

  • It took a special form of determination, and a remarkable relationship between cat and cameraman.

  • to finally claim this wildlife film first.

After more than two months of filming, the Wild Canadian Year team captured a first.

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