Episode 5 Wild Tales

The world is full of amazing animal families.

Tales of life and death happen every day.

For the youngest members, growing up's tough, really tough.

These stories recreate their rollercoaster lives,

here on Wild Tales.

We're following the stories of three fantastic animal characters.

Bill and Ben are two young lions, realising that the world

is much harder when your family isn't around.

Eli and Ebony are two jumbo youngsters,

learning what you have to do to become a grown-up.

And Selkie the seal, who's on his own,

swimming it up in the open ocean.

But where do we start?

Well, hold on, we're about to find out.

First stop is the east African savannah.

Last time on Wild Tales,

Eli's sister Ebony was taken hostage by another herd of elephants,

and she soon realised that this family wasn't friendly.

Her family were on a rescue mission, but will they get her back?

Ebony is still imprisoned in the middle of a strange herd

of elephants, and these strangers won't let her go.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

She cries out desperately.

Finally, her family arrive in a whirlwind of noise and aggression.

Even Eli is involved.

ELEPHANTS TRUMPET FURIOUSLY

There's Ebony, on the left, but the strangers just won't let her go.

The family have to rethink their tactics,

because little Ebony could be squashed underneath this battle.

They've finally done it,

and Ebony's got Mum's guiding trunk to lead her to safety.

That was far too close,

and the herd will be keeping a beady eye on her from now on.

Ebony won't be straying from Mum again in a hurry.

She has really learnt her lesson.

There's nothing more comforting than a good ol' drink

after all that commotion, and this girl can put away 30 pints a day.

This gives the herd a chance to reunite

and start celebrating the victory,

keeping Ebony safe and sound right in the middle,

away from prying trunks.

Well, apart from Eli's, but he's just checking she's OK.

He's too big to be kidnapped,

but at five years old, even Eli's still got a lot to learn.

200 miles north in the Masai Mara, and last time on Wild Tales,

As the Simba family recovered from their run-in with the buffalo,

Bill and Ben were growing up fast.

Their lessons were becoming a bit more serious,

and with their teenage years in front of them,

they had a lot to learn.

Bill and Ben are now two years old.

They're teenagers in cat years,

so are growing like rockets, with attitudes to match...

This is THE golden time for Bill and Ben.

They're still welcome at the family table,

but spend most of their time larking around with their mates.

When you're a lion, this is the ultimate age to be.

And to make things even better, the wildebeest are on their way.

Every year, over a million wildebeest pile into the Masai Mara.

They risk their lives crossing rivers and streams,

and cover hundreds of miles on their journey.

Why?

To eat grass, and they have to pass right through

Bill and Ben's family home, perfect for our two stars.

So at the moment,

the Simba family have a permanently stocked larder.

And there is an addition to their family.

Bill and Ben have a younger sister.

She's five weeks old, and is spending most of the time

away from the violence of pride life.

But like all big brothers,

Bill and Ben still manage to get her involved.

It's all one big game, and great to be one of the big kids,

but they've got to be careful,

they just don't know their own strength.

This furry punchbag is going to grow up tough.

But these beatings don't last long, because lions love to sleep.

Especially when they're teenagers,

and it's far too early for Bill and Ben.

LION SNORES

4,500 miles north, in chilly Scotland.

Last time on Wild Tales,

Selkie was only three weeks old when his mum left him for good.

Without her, the sea suddenly looked like a really scary place to be.

25 and a half days since he was born,

and dawn breaks on a huge day in Selkie's life.

The pups are high and dry sheltering from the wind,

and don't they look different now?

Selkie's lost almost all his white fur,

and now he has his new waterproof coat.

He must be desperate to get out into deep water.

Some of our seal pups are making a break for it already.

Finally, our beach bum is about to become a deep sea diver.

This is a huge moment for Selkie.

If only Mum were here to see him now.

One last look at the beach he used to call home,

and here we go.

Wow, he's finally made it, and it's paradise.

Selkie's weightless. He's perfectly designed for life at sea,

and food is everywhere.

Time to explore his new world...

..but he doesn't know where to go, and he's on his own.

He could really do with Mum's help.

He'd better keep an eye out for danger.

All sorts of monsters lurk in the depths,

and when you live in prime fishing waters, danger is never far away.

Ebony's kidnapping is a distant memory

as the herd move on in search of more lush grass.

At this time of the year, every elephant in the area

knows to head to the marshes beneath Mount Kilimanjaro.

Its snow-capped peaks are melting

and keeping the grassy surrounds lush and green.

We're not talking one or two families, but hundreds of them.

Eli's the odd one out. He's one of the only boys,

cos elephant families are almost all girls.

So where are all the males? Well, they're on their way.

This giant bull knows to head to the marsh,

because the girls are there, and that's what he's after.

He probably weighs six tons, and is four metres tall.

Like Mount Everest when you're Ebony's size.

This is prime time for Eli to learn the do's and don'ts

of bull elephant life.

He'd better concentrate, cos he only gets the opportunity

to study these lot for a few days a year.

The big male will hang around until one of the females is ready to mate.

It won't be long,

and hopefully there will be no competition between now and then,

but judging by his broken tusks,

this bruiser's been in more than one or two fights in the past.

Our bull is not the only one in the region.

Males are turning up from all around, like bees to a honeypot.

When there are this many boys together,

fights are inevitable.

Not far away,

it looks like these two giants are on a crash course

for an almighty battle.

Eli and Ebony had better keep out of the way.

Three months later in Bill and Ben's world,

and the wildebeest migration has vanished

just as quickly as it appeared.

Our brothers are getting huge,

and are a starting to get fluffy around the edges.

These lion hoodies are how you can tell them apart

from the other teenagers in the gang.

With food harder to come by, for them, at least,

they've joined forces with some likeminded youths,

and the gang have gone walkabout.

But this is absolute madness. A fully grown buffalo,

and for once, he's minding his own business.

The challenge is all part of the fun,

and this is a great opportunity to show off.

It's like a game of cat and mouse,

except this mouse could kill any of the cubs in seconds.

Especially if they get near his horns.

Curiosity could well kill our cats.

The teenagers could never kill a buffalo.

Buffs weigh over a ton,

so this is surely just one big game for Bill and Ben,

but a game so dangerous

that some of the cubs are losing their lion's courage already.

When you're young, you feel invincible,

and Bill certainly needs to be if he's going to pull off this stunt.

That hide is like armour plating,

and Bill realizes he's bitten off more than he can chew.

The buff can get out at any time, and if he does,

our gang could be in serious trouble.

It's time to beat a hasty retreat

and find something else to play with.

The kids aren't done on their adventure just yet.

Back with Eli and Ebony's herd, and all's quiet for now.

But trouble is brewing between two huge bulls.

Eli races forwards for a front row seat.

This is a huge lesson for his next stage in life.

The bulls face each other,

using their ears to look as big as possible.

They'll do anything to avoid a battle...

because when you're this big, fights can be fatal.

These giants are almost the same size and age,

and neither wants to give way,

which means a fight is inevitable.

Bull African elephants aren't the biggest land mammals on Earth

for no reason.

These battles can go on for ten hours or more.

Ebony watches the action through mum Ella's legs.

She's not going any closer, and with good reason.

But Eli can't help himself. This is fascinating.

Each of these bruisers weighs as much as seven cars.

All that tusk, muscle and flesh can do some serious damage.

It is an extraordinarily dangerous moment for them both.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

Eli watches as the loser is chased off.

That's how to do it,

and he's already practising. Eli has learnt a valuable lesson.

When you're a bull elephant,

you have to fight your corner to get the girls,

and doesn't Eli know that now?

Practice makes perfect,

but he'll have to wait until he's 30 before he's in with a chance

of winning a fight like the one he's just seen.

Up in Scotland,

and Selkie's settling in nicely to his watery home.

When you're new to the ocean,

you need regular breaks,

and he's heading for a sunbathing rock,

but round the headland, a pod of killer whales is coming towards him,

and these brutes have only got one thing on their minds.

These eight metres long wolves of the sea weigh as much as a bus,

and can swim at 35 miles per hour.

They scour the coast looking for food,

and love seals...

..for breakfast.

The whales know that the rock is a prime hunting spot,

and the water's so dirty that Selkie won't be able to see them

until it's too late.

WHALE SQUEAKS

But he's heard something,

and his instinct kicks in like a rifle bullet.

He's got to get out of the water fast,

or his life at sea will be over before it's begun.

And he's not alone.

The killer whales are getting closer by the second.

Only 50 metres from Selkie, the whales pick up a couple of victims.

It must be terrifying. These lot don't stand a chance.

As the whales reach the rock, Selkie swims for his life.

He's trying to get on the rock, but he's fallen in!

He's made it in the nick of time.

As the whales swim off,

our young star climbs as far away from them as he can get.

The teenage gang are busy beating each other up,

which is a lot more fun than the marsh buffalo.

All this play fighting may look like fun,

but it does have a serious side.

The cubs are practising for when they're older,

and they really need to be king and queens of the beasts.

When they get bored of that,

it's time to wander around the hood looking for something else to annoy.

And that something has caught Bill's eye.

A spitting cobra,

and our stupid teenagers just can't help themselves.

It's like they're hypnotised!

Cobras have a hidden weapon, fangs on top of their mouths

that squirt venom with incredible accuracy,

and that venom is like acid.

They always go for the eyes of their opponent,

and the venom could blind a lion.

But do Bill and Ben keep their distance? Of course not.

Making mistakes may be all part of growing up,

but the way Ben is going, even nine lives might not be enough.

The only thing that saves him

is that another show-off gets even closer,

The slithery water pistol is cocked, ready to fire.

Suddenly, the "who can get closest?" game is over,

and it's ended in tears,

Think shampoo in your eyes, and times it by 100.

It could so easily have been Ben.

Sometimes they have to learn the hard way,

and it's the second scare in a day for our gang.

For now, their curiosity has been beaten out of them,

so the best plan is to head back to the pride,

where, with a bit of luck, there'll be dinner on the table.

After all the action, it's time for a family celebration

in the world's biggest playground.

Eli has said goodbye to the males for another year,

but he's still practising,

and spending more and more time away from the herd with his mates.

Ebony's doing what she does best.

She's got Mum's milk for at least another year,

so she's full of energy.

When you're a young elephant, growing up is all about learning,

and your family is your fortress,

so having the best jumbo mum in the whole wide world

makes life pretty good,

especially when milk's always on tap.

Once he's sure the killer whales have gone,

Selkie slips back into the water with food on his mind.

He's got to work out how to fish, and there's no-one to teach him.

Our star's in at the deep end.

It's lucky that he's got all that fat to keep him warm and well,

which gives him plenty of time to perfect his fishing techniques.

He uses his whiskers as fingers, feeling his way through the sand,

and scores his first fishy meal.

Maybe it's not so bad out here after all!

Back with the Simba family, and life returns to normal for Bill and Ben.

It looks like all the gang

have recovered from the run-in with the cobra,

and as usual, the little ones are getting a hard time.

Life's definitely better back with Dad

and the rest of the Simba family,

and the brothers show him that he's still boss.

Mum and the other girls have been shopping,

dinner's on the table, and our teenagers are starving,

so they tuck into what may be their last supper with the Simba family.

Growing up is anything but plain sailing.

Our stars have come through

the obstacle course that is surviving in the wild,

Many youngsters don't make it this far,

and at times it's been tough, really tough.

For Bill and Ben, fighting buffalo was a huge problem,

But Mum came to the rescue.

Eli nearly drowned as he took the toughest swimming lesson

known to elephant-kind.

In Scotland, Selkie's waterworld nearly sunk our star

when he bumped into a pod of killer whales.

It wasn't just how to avoid being killed

that our five mini explorers had to take on board.

Eli bits and pieces caused him no end of trouble.

Selkie had to learn to avoid the heavyweights on his crowded beach.

Whilst Bill and Ben had to watch Mum shopping.

Then they had to catch it...

..but it wasn't easy.

Our stars have beaten the odds to get this far,

and with luck, they've got a great future ahead of them.

For Bill and Ben, the end of family life is in sight.

Any day now, they could leave the pride,

and go it alone to become kings of their own family.

Eli will also leave his family in a few years,

but little Ebony will stay for life.

In ten or 12 years,

she'll be able to have her own babies. Imagine that.

And Selkie has five years of sunbathing,

fishing, and playing around ahead of him,

because being young is the ultimate age to be,

and it's been a whole load of fun.

Our fat acrobat was in his element burning blubber in the open ocean.

And Bill and Ben were definitely the kings of mischief.

our terrible two just never stopped.

And playing didn't get better than when Ebony was involved.

But for now, we've got to leave them.

After all, the world's a big place,

and there are lots more Wild Tales to tell.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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