0:00:07 > 0:00:11Millions of us love watching the world's wildlife
0:00:11 > 0:00:13behaving in strange and wonderful ways.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23But what lies at the heart of these extraordinary behaviours?
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Can science explain what's really going on?
0:00:32 > 0:00:34The latest research from all around the world
0:00:34 > 0:00:38is increasing our understanding of animal emotions,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40relationships, intelligence,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44and communication, faster than ever before.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46ROARING
0:00:47 > 0:00:52I'm Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and I've teamed up with wildlife experts
0:00:52 > 0:00:57to travel the globe in search of the most surprising animal stories.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00There, there, there. Wow, look at them.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Using the very latest camera technology,
0:01:03 > 0:01:07we'll reveal how and why animals do such remarkable things.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12And we'll meet the scientists who dedicate their lives to
0:01:12 > 0:01:16understanding these extraordinary discoveries.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Tonight, we'll be investigating
0:01:29 > 0:01:32the intriguing world of animal communication.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34HOWLING I'll be in Austria,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37where scientists are reinterpreting the howl of the wolf.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42And asking do these animals really deserve their big, bad reputation?
0:01:42 > 0:01:44HOWLING
0:01:44 > 0:01:46It's quite a noise, isn't it? Really impressive.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51Zoologist Lucy Cooke discovers the communication skills required
0:01:51 > 0:01:55to persuade a penguin raised by people to swim.
0:01:55 > 0:01:56It's a big deal if you're a penguin.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59There's this terrible transition period where you have to do it.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01It's like bungee jumping.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04And conservationist Giles Clark is in Australia,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07to discover how cutting edge communications technology
0:02:07 > 0:02:09is saving an endangered species.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13Each one of those little blue dots is a koala. That's right.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16We can pinpoint exactly where it is. Amazing.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24But first, Patrick Aryee is in the South African bush.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31PATRICK: I'm on the trail of
0:02:31 > 0:02:34an incredible love story between two very different lions.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Today, they're going to meet for the very first time,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43and it could change our perception about how lions communicate
0:02:43 > 0:02:45with each other.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50I've joined lion expert Jason Turner in Limpopo,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53South Africa's most northern province.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58He's taking me to meet a remarkable lioness who's just been moved
0:02:58 > 0:02:59into the specialist lion reserve.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07This is Cleopatra.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08Look...
0:03:10 > 0:03:15There she is, hidden behind all the branches. That's Cleopatra.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19And she's next to her pal, Swalu.
0:03:20 > 0:03:28And it's so amazing to be this close to these powerful lionesses.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30Look, Cleopatra's lifting up her head.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36'Nine-year-old Cleopatra used to live in the reserve next door.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37'She was moved here recently
0:03:37 > 0:03:40'after years of behaving in a very unusual way.'
0:03:43 > 0:03:45What was it that she was doing?
0:03:45 > 0:03:47What was it about her behaviour that changed?
0:03:47 > 0:03:52She was obsessed with wanting to join the pride of lions
0:03:52 > 0:03:57on this side, so she was at the fence line every day,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01she swam across a river, climbed under an electric fence,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05in order to bond with our male.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10'The male who caught Cleopatra's attention wasn't any old lion.'
0:04:12 > 0:04:14'It was Zukara,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16'one of just 12 white lions left in the wild.'
0:04:21 > 0:04:26'A very rare change in their DNA causes their splendid colour.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28'But it's sadly meant that the white lions
0:04:28 > 0:04:31'have been hunted almost to extinction.'
0:04:36 > 0:04:39'For five years, Cleopatra appeared every day at the fence of
0:04:39 > 0:04:42'Zukara's reserve, obsessively waiting to see him.'
0:04:47 > 0:04:49'Lionesses generally mate with
0:04:49 > 0:04:51'a male who's the head of their own pride,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53'normally a big, dark-maned male.'
0:04:56 > 0:04:59'Jason, who's worked with lions for 20 years,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03'had never seen a lioness go to such lengths to communicate
0:05:03 > 0:05:06'her feelings for a male who was completely out of her reach.'
0:05:09 > 0:05:12This obsessive behaviour of going up and down the fence line,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15putting on seductive moves like you've never seen.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19What kind of seductive moves? So lots of tail swishing.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21The lionesses will roll over.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24They've got this white, sort of very sexy belly
0:05:24 > 0:05:26that they flash at the males.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31Lionesses are arch seducers.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40I mean, seduction was invented by lionesses.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46'We're hoping to see some unique lion behaviour.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50'Today, Zukara and Cleopatra
0:05:50 > 0:05:53'are going to meet face to face for the very first time.'
0:05:56 > 0:05:59'Lion introductions can be extremely unpredictable.'
0:06:01 > 0:06:04'So Zukara has been kept away in an enclosure,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07'giving Cleopatra a chance to get used to her new surroundings
0:06:07 > 0:06:10'and bond with resident lioness Swalu.'
0:06:13 > 0:06:16'Today, the team are opening the gate
0:06:16 > 0:06:18'and releasing Zukara back into the reserve.'
0:06:25 > 0:06:27We're tracking him to see if
0:06:27 > 0:06:30he picks up Cleopatra's scent in the 4,000 acre reserve.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39We've found Zukara. He is a magnificent male - just look at him.
0:06:39 > 0:06:45All the classic features of a big male lion, except for the fact
0:06:45 > 0:06:47that he's white.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Oh, my goodness.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59GROWLING
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Listen to that!
0:07:01 > 0:07:03GROWLING
0:07:04 > 0:07:07So you can see, he hasn't wasted any time.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09He's doing what we expected him to do,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11and that's the natural male response.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14He's picking up the chemical signals, the pheromones,
0:07:14 > 0:07:16from where Cleopatra scent-marked.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20And that grimace...
0:07:22 > 0:07:24..what he's doing is called flehmen.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26He's picking up the scent. So he knows that she's here.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28He knows that she's here.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32And he's... It looks to me like he's figuring out which way she's gone.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38'Scent markings aren't the only way lions communicate with each other.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43'On the other side of the reserve, the lionesses are on the move.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47'Cleopatra's out in front, picking up Zukara's calls.'
0:07:48 > 0:07:54GROWLING
0:07:55 > 0:07:57GROWLING
0:07:57 > 0:08:00That sound is so impressive!
0:08:03 > 0:08:06'This communication is a good sign,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09'but this is a love story that could end in tears.'
0:08:11 > 0:08:14'Like all lions, Zukara and Cleopatra are powerful creatures.'
0:08:16 > 0:08:20'Males in particular can be extremely aggressive to outsiders.'
0:08:22 > 0:08:26'So even lion expert Jason doesn't know exactly what's going to happen
0:08:26 > 0:08:28'when Zukara and Cleopatra meet.'
0:08:30 > 0:08:34Lions are very fiery animals. They can be very aggressive.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Of course, they're fierce hunters, predators,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39and the males are incredibly territorial,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42so bringing two adult lions together,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45there's always going to be fireworks.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48'Lionesses often have to work together to defend themselves
0:08:48 > 0:08:52'from other lions, and Jason is hoping that resident female Swalu
0:08:52 > 0:08:56'will help out Cleopatra if things turn nasty with Zukara.'
0:09:00 > 0:09:02'As the sun begins to set,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05'it looks like Zukara and Cleopatra could meet at night.'
0:09:07 > 0:09:12GROWLING
0:09:16 > 0:09:20'We're desperately trying to find them to see their first encounter.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22'How they react in that moment
0:09:22 > 0:09:24'will show us if they have a future together.'
0:09:27 > 0:09:28'We manage to find Zukara.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32'We're going to try and stick with him throughout the night.'
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Got full signal on Zukara.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40'A full signal from Zukara's radio collar
0:09:40 > 0:09:43'means he's within ten metres of us.'
0:09:49 > 0:09:51It's slightly unnerving,
0:09:51 > 0:09:56knowing that there's a lion in this thicket here. You can't see Zukara.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03I'm just trusting in this rickety old machine.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11HE GASPS
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Here he comes, here he comes.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Zukara just came right next to us.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32He's definitely on the hunt for Cleopatra.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35GROWLING
0:10:38 > 0:10:45ROARING
0:10:45 > 0:10:48'Studies have shown that lions have their own unique voices
0:10:48 > 0:10:50'that other lions can identify.'
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I don't know whether it's the cold air or the night,
0:10:56 > 0:11:01but his roar is definitely echoing a lot louder, or it seems that way.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03I can hear another roar in the distance.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Hopefully that's Cleopatra responding to him.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Seems like he's definitely having a conversation
0:11:10 > 0:11:14or communicating with another lion, that's for sure.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21'The way lions communicate and interact is complex
0:11:21 > 0:11:25'and often aggressive, so we don't know how Zukara will react
0:11:25 > 0:11:27'when he meets Cleopatra.'
0:11:31 > 0:11:34'She's been spotted two miles away with Swalu,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36'and she's heading in our direction.'
0:11:42 > 0:11:46'An hour later, Zukara appears by the fence.'
0:11:46 > 0:11:48GROWLING
0:11:49 > 0:11:51My goodness.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53GROWLING
0:11:53 > 0:11:55'Just in front of him are Swalu and Cleopatra.'
0:11:57 > 0:11:59RADIO: Coming up towards you.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Copy. Got visual.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06We were right behind him going along the fence
0:12:06 > 0:12:10that he first met Cleopatra, which seems quite appropriate.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Right now, now, now.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17'Suddenly, Zukara and Cleopatra are face to face.'
0:12:18 > 0:12:20'Swalu hangs back.'
0:12:24 > 0:12:26They're so tentative.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34ROARING
0:12:34 > 0:12:36SNARLING
0:12:36 > 0:12:39GROWLING
0:12:39 > 0:12:41ROARING
0:12:41 > 0:12:48GROWLING
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Wow.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Oh, brilliant.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56SNARLING
0:12:57 > 0:13:01It's unbelievable. That was so electric.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04How amazing's that?
0:13:04 > 0:13:08He came in for them, almost, but they both instantly were like,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11"No, don't try and mess with us at all.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14"We mean business."
0:13:14 > 0:13:17'Their encounter ends with a final scent spray from Zukara.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19'It's one of the many signs
0:13:19 > 0:13:22'that he's receptive to Cleopatra's presence.'
0:13:23 > 0:13:26I've never seen anything quite like it. That was really exciting.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28I'm still pretty shaky.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31I mean, it happened all within a split of a second.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34And you've got these two strong, powerful lions,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Cleopatra and Zukara, almost doing damage, it seemed.
0:13:38 > 0:13:39Exactly.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43Heated engagement, but you could see more bark than bite.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48No excessive use of violence, really.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51More just demanding respect from each other.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56'Their non-aggressive calls and the lack of violence
0:13:56 > 0:14:00'are signs that as first dates go, this has been a roaring success.'
0:14:02 > 0:14:06'Zukara initially made a beeline for Cleopatra,
0:14:06 > 0:14:12'and in a dramatic act of loyalty, Swalu rushed in to back her up.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15'Together, they stood their ground, with Zukara adopting a position
0:14:15 > 0:14:20'behind the bush, which shows his respect for newcomer Cleopatra.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24'These are all positive signs for a future relationship between
0:14:24 > 0:14:27'Zukara and Cleopatra.'
0:14:27 > 0:14:32This is exactly what you've been waiting for for five years.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35I mean, I'm ecstatic. Bungee jumping's got nothing
0:14:35 > 0:14:39in terms of the adrenaline that I'm feeling right now.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Those sounds were just phenomenal.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46A week later, and no longer separated by a fence,
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Zukara and Cleopatra are spending most of their time together.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Their amazing story has given us new insight into the lengths
0:14:55 > 0:15:00a lioness will go to to communicate with and get the male she wants.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Cleopatra's determination paid off big time.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10She's waited half a decade, and she's finally got what she wanted.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14That first meeting, though, between her and Zukara was just electric.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16You could feel it in the air.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19And I hope they can go on to start a family of their own.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31Back in the UK, Birdland in Gloucestershire is home to
0:15:31 > 0:15:36Britain's only breeding programme for the endangered king penguin.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38And Lucy Cooke's here to investigate
0:15:38 > 0:15:42an unusual story of human communication with animals.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Can a person teach a penguin how to swim?
0:15:50 > 0:15:51LUCY: Hello.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Alistair, nice to meet you.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Hi. Nice to meet you. Hi, there.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58And this... Is Charlotte,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01our 14-month-old king penguin. Hello, Charlotte.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Nice to meet you. Hello.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Just tasting me to see if there's anything edible there.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Oh! It's actually quite painful.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14'Charlotte had an unusual start in life.'
0:16:14 > 0:16:18She was laid as an egg last year by Frank and Lily,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and within 24 hours, Frank had dropped
0:16:21 > 0:16:24and broken the egg, so we had to take the egg away
0:16:24 > 0:16:27and repair it with a little bit of superglue.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Wow! You can do that? Yeah.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31You can repair an egg with superglue?
0:16:31 > 0:16:33Yeah, as long as it's not too big a crack.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38'If penguin parents drop an egg, they abandon it,
0:16:38 > 0:16:42'so Charlotte became head keeper Alistair Keane's responsibility.'
0:16:42 > 0:16:44I like to talk to the egg,
0:16:44 > 0:16:46because the parents would call to the chick.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Do you talk to it in a human voice, or in a penguin?
0:16:49 > 0:16:51I just talk to it like I normally would,
0:16:51 > 0:16:52like I'm talking to you now, so,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55"Keep going, chick. I'll see you soon," and things like that.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Oh. It sounds really silly, I know.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02'When birds hatch from their eggs, they form an immediate bond
0:17:02 > 0:17:04'with the first living creature they see.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07'It's known as imprinting.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10'The first thing Charlotte saw wasn't her mum -
0:17:10 > 0:17:12'it was Alistair.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14'In the first months of their lives,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18'baby penguins receive hundreds of vital lessons from Mum and Dad,
0:17:18 > 0:17:22'and Alistair had to take on this role for Charlotte.'
0:17:22 > 0:17:25As far as she's concerned, I'm Mum and Dad.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28She's got to give me grandchildren, so to speak,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30in the next few years.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37'By six months, Charlotte was fully grown, with a thick coat of brown,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40'downy feathers, perfectly adapted
0:17:40 > 0:17:42'to keep her warm as she developed.'
0:17:45 > 0:17:47That's her begging for you, isn't it? Yeah.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50She's going, "Dad, feed me, feed me." "Give me some more food."
0:17:50 > 0:17:53'And like a typical king penguin chick at 12 months,
0:17:53 > 0:17:58'Charlotte's coat moulted and she started to transform
0:17:58 > 0:18:01'into the stunning adult she is today.'
0:18:01 > 0:18:03All right, Charlotte?
0:18:03 > 0:18:06So, I think you're getting five stars as a penguin parent,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08from what I can see. Yeah, we've got...
0:18:08 > 0:18:11So far, so good. Then we hit a snag in the fact that
0:18:11 > 0:18:13she just would not go in the pool.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Oh, no! But she's a penguin! I know.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Everyone would think they'd take to it really easily,
0:18:18 > 0:18:19but she was having none of it.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23She'd watch everyone else go in for a swim. She would not go in.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25'Despite Alistair's best efforts,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29'Charlotte could not be coaxed into the water.'
0:18:37 > 0:18:39What was going on?
0:18:45 > 0:18:49'In the wild, it's very important that king penguin chicks avoid water
0:18:49 > 0:18:53'while they're still wearing their brown coat of baby feathers.'
0:18:54 > 0:18:57'It's warm, but it's not waterproof.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01'So if it gets wet in the icy waters of the Antarctic,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04'the chicks can drown or die of hypothermia.'
0:19:07 > 0:19:10'Only when they get their waterproof adult plumage
0:19:10 > 0:19:13'do they pluck up the courage to take the plunge.'
0:19:17 > 0:19:21'What surprised Alistair was that, although Charlotte's body
0:19:21 > 0:19:25'was fully-equipped to swim, her mind was clearly saying no.'
0:19:28 > 0:19:31'Perhaps penguin expert professor Rory Wilson
0:19:31 > 0:19:34'can shed light on Charlotte's strange behaviour.'
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Rory, are you surprised by Charlotte's fear of water?
0:19:40 > 0:19:44A bit surprised, but not hugely. It's a big deal if you're a penguin.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47From being a woolly, fluffy thing that lives on land,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50and there's this terrible transition period where you have to do it.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52It's like bungee jumping.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54So I think there's a lot of fear there.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58So what do the parents do in terms of encouraging them into the water?
0:19:58 > 0:20:00They're brutal. It's tough love, and it's do or die.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02The king penguin chicks,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05they actually go through the whole winter starving.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09They'll get the odd meal from their parents and go down to about 7kg -
0:20:09 > 0:20:11really, really thin and miserable.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15It's hunger that drives young penguins to overcome their fears
0:20:15 > 0:20:18and enter the sea to catch fish.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22'But Alistair wasn't prepared to
0:20:22 > 0:20:26'take this tough love approach with Charlotte.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29'He'd have to find another way to get her to swim.'
0:20:31 > 0:20:33First, the thing we tried to do is push her in.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38She jumped straight back out, had none of that.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42'No matter how hard he tried,
0:20:42 > 0:20:47'it became clear that gentle persuasion was not going to work.'
0:20:49 > 0:20:53'Alistair had to resort to more dramatic methods.'
0:20:53 > 0:20:55We've got a rock in the middle of the pool.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57I took her and sat her on the rock,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59so she had to get wet to get back out.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04'After hours of intense encouragement,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07'Charlotte decided to take control of her fear.'
0:21:07 > 0:21:10It's the only time I've ever seen a king penguin
0:21:10 > 0:21:12with both feet off the ground.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14She went in feet-first, almost a cannonball.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18'Alistair and Charlotte had cracked it.'
0:21:20 > 0:21:22'And once she was in the water,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25'Charlotte's instinct to swim kicked in.'
0:21:27 > 0:21:31'Four months later on, thanks to Alistair's coaching,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34'Charlotte loves nothing more than a dip in the pool.'
0:21:36 > 0:21:37She's getting very good now.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40She's doing everything we expect her to do.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43She's the first one in there most days, the last one out.
0:21:48 > 0:21:49You're a proud dad.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Proud dad, yeah.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53Very much so.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12HUGH: I'm in the forests of north west Austria,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15on my way to meet an animal whose fearsome jaws
0:22:15 > 0:22:20and spine-tingling howl has landed it with a big, bad reputation.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23HOWLING
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Here, ground-breaking research into how wolves communicate
0:22:26 > 0:22:30and how their pack is structured is questioning the very essence
0:22:30 > 0:22:33of what it is to be a wolf.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35HOWLING
0:22:35 > 0:22:39The Wolf Science Centre is home to 12 wolves.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43This is surely the most fabled of animal villains.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45And in Europe and North America,
0:22:45 > 0:22:47they've been hunted to the brink of extinction.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53Centuries of myths and fairy tales have given the wolf a bit of
0:22:53 > 0:22:58an image problem, but they've got no time for legends and stories here.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00They're dedicated to finding out the scientific truth
0:23:00 > 0:23:03about what really makes wolves tick.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09To better understand how they communicate and interact,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13researchers here work with timber wolves, the largest of all wolves.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18In the wild, they're specialised pack hunters
0:23:18 > 0:23:19of bison, moose and elk.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25All the wolves here are captive-bred -
0:23:25 > 0:23:27hand-reared for the first five months of their lives
0:23:27 > 0:23:31before being allowed to socialise into small packs.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34This helps to make them tolerant of people,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37so the team can study their behaviour up close.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39GROWLING
0:23:40 > 0:23:42Let's go in.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Kurt Kotrschal is in charge here,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48and he wants me to meet the wolf pack straight away.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Just think about them as big dogs.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57So when they come running down, keep relaxed.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00You can pet them from the side. Never from above.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03Eye contact is OK? Eye contact... They don't see that as a challenge?
0:24:03 > 0:24:06No, I find eye contact is totally OK,
0:24:06 > 0:24:09but they should never have the impression that you want
0:24:09 > 0:24:11something from them because that makes them suspicious.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15OK, can we open the gate?
0:24:18 > 0:24:20Hey!
0:24:22 > 0:24:24Oh! Hey!
0:24:24 > 0:24:26They're not slow to come and say hi.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:24:30 > 0:24:31OK, checking us out a little bit.
0:24:33 > 0:24:34We've got one over here and...
0:24:34 > 0:24:37SNARLING Ooh. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Never mind, they don't mean you.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Nothing to do with me. That's between them, is it? Yeah.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48We never interfere in their social affairs. No, of course.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Tussles like this might look traumatic, but in wolf speak,
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Tala's simply demanding some respect from youngster Chitto.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Hello. Hello. Come here.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03This is Aragorn, our big guy. Aragorn?
0:25:03 > 0:25:05He's number two in the pack. Ooh!
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Well, that was a definite nibble.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12It's pretty unpolite not to let him lick.
0:25:12 > 0:25:13Isn't he nice?
0:25:13 > 0:25:15That was amazing.
0:25:15 > 0:25:16Talk about eye contact...
0:25:18 > 0:25:20He wanted to greet you.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25My heart rate's up just a little bit, but what an experience.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27They are formidable creatures.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31'Being able to closely observe the way wolves interact
0:25:31 > 0:25:34'with each other is changing our perception of them.'
0:25:36 > 0:25:37'It's long been thought that
0:25:37 > 0:25:41'the pack is held together by an aggressive alpha male,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43'and the principal loyalties and bonds
0:25:43 > 0:25:46'of the other pack members are always to him.'
0:25:48 > 0:25:50'But when Dr Simon Townsend and the team
0:25:50 > 0:25:53'removed different members from the group,
0:25:53 > 0:25:58'they began to notice that there was something more complex
0:25:58 > 0:26:00'going on with the pack dynamic.'
0:26:00 > 0:26:03So today, we'll remove Aragorn.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05And then we're going to look at the behaviour of
0:26:05 > 0:26:08all the other wolves remaining in the pack.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10'In experiments separating one wolf -
0:26:10 > 0:26:13'in this case, second in command Aragorn -
0:26:13 > 0:26:16'the rest of the pack has a very distinctive reaction.'
0:26:18 > 0:26:22HOWLING
0:26:22 > 0:26:24ALL HOWL
0:26:24 > 0:26:26OK.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32'Scientists believe the wolves are trying to call back
0:26:32 > 0:26:34'their missing pack member.'
0:26:34 > 0:26:37HOWLING
0:26:37 > 0:26:40It's quite a noise, isn't it? Really impressive. Very.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46'Their howls can be heard more than four miles away,
0:26:46 > 0:26:50'and wolves can recognise the individual calls of their pack.'
0:26:50 > 0:26:53HOWLING
0:26:53 > 0:26:59'But when Simon analysed the howls, he discovered something surprising.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01'Different wolves would howl louder and longer
0:27:01 > 0:27:04'when certain individuals were removed.'
0:27:06 > 0:27:10'It looks as if within the pack, it isn't all about the alpha male.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14'The wolves each have their own particular best friends.'
0:27:15 > 0:27:20'This has overturned the traditional view of the alpha-dominated,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22'top-down wolf hierarchy,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25'and opened the door to completely new thinking
0:27:25 > 0:27:28'about this iconic species.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32'Researcher Dr Friederike Range has devised another experiment
0:27:32 > 0:27:36'that looks at a different form of wolf communication -
0:27:36 > 0:27:39'their body language.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42'Friederike wanted to test the theory that the co-operation
0:27:42 > 0:27:46'required for hunting could actually make wolves a more tolerant species
0:27:46 > 0:27:51'than their closest relatives, domesticated dogs.'
0:27:51 > 0:27:54So this experiment is about challenging the prevailing view
0:27:54 > 0:27:57that dogs are more tolerant than wolves? Yes.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01So what we do is we put a bowl of food between two animals,
0:28:01 > 0:28:03and we see who's sharing the food and who's not.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05So if they share, there's tolerance,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08but if one of them pushes all the others out the way,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12not so tolerant. Exactly. It's quite easy and straightforward.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14'First up, it's the dogs.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18'Will Meru share his food with junior pack member Hiari?'
0:28:20 > 0:28:23So come on, dogs, prove that you can be tolerant!
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Come on. You can do it.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Open, open, open.
0:28:34 > 0:28:35Ah.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Someone's not getting a look-in at all. No.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43And he knows the consequences of coming close to this one
0:28:43 > 0:28:45when he's eating.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Yes. Doesn't even dare to get close to the food.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54'Not only does Meru refuse to share, but the hierarchy's so ingrained
0:28:54 > 0:28:58'that Hiari knows not even to try to challenge him.'
0:28:58 > 0:28:59OK.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03'And every time we run the test, it's the same story.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06'No dinner for the underdog.'
0:29:07 > 0:29:10Ah, just getting to lick the plate when there's nothing left.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16'Man's best friend - not quite as tolerant as we thought.'
0:29:19 > 0:29:22So how will the wolves fare?
0:29:22 > 0:29:25We've got Kaspar, the alpha male...
0:29:29 > 0:29:32..and junior pack member Shima.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37So if the old assumptions about wolves are true,
0:29:37 > 0:29:39Kaspar here, the alpha male,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42he's going to wolf down all the food
0:29:42 > 0:29:44and Shima is not going to have a look-in.
0:29:44 > 0:29:45That's correct.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Given what we've just seen with those dogs,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53you've got to back Kaspar to scoff the lot, really, haven't you?
0:30:10 > 0:30:11Whoa.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15That's extraordinary.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17What a difference!
0:30:17 > 0:30:20That really is surprising.
0:30:20 > 0:30:21The way they went at it, you thought,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24"There's got to be a fight." But it just doesn't happen.
0:30:24 > 0:30:25Yep. And they're happy.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32'Unlike the dogs, even though Kaspar is the dominant male,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35'he tolerates sharing with Shima.'
0:30:35 > 0:30:38It's completely equal.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41I mean, everything about it looks equal and balanced. Yeah.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47'This remarkable sharing behaviour is further proof
0:30:47 > 0:30:49'that the wolf pack is much friendlier
0:30:49 > 0:30:52'and less hierarchical than previously thought.'
0:30:55 > 0:30:58It's almost like the dog pack's living in a dictatorship
0:30:58 > 0:31:00and the wolf pack is in a bit more of a democracy.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02Something like that, yes.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Amazing.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06And they don't take long to polish it off.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10Well, Kaspar, I don't know what to say.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12You've really impressed me today.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Excellent table manners, outstanding toleration of your friend there.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19A lesson to us all. Yes.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23Be tolerant like a wolf. Be tolerant like a wolf.
0:31:23 > 0:31:28'The researchers here now suggest that as dogs became domesticated,
0:31:28 > 0:31:32'they learned to scavenge for food as individuals,
0:31:32 > 0:31:34'making them less inclined to share.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39'Whereas wolves have always hunted together to bring down big prey
0:31:39 > 0:31:43'and so tolerance, communication and friendship within the pack
0:31:43 > 0:31:46'have helped them to succeed and survive.'
0:31:46 > 0:31:49What's been fantastic for me, coming here,
0:31:49 > 0:31:52is to see how a bit of smart science
0:31:52 > 0:31:55can push old prejudices about an animal out of the way
0:31:55 > 0:31:58in favour of new insights and understanding.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00So who's afraid of the big,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04friendly, co-operative, tolerant wolf?
0:32:04 > 0:32:06Not me.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08WOLVES HOWL
0:32:16 > 0:32:19On the other side of the planet, conservationist Giles Clark
0:32:19 > 0:32:23is in the eucalyptus forests of Queensland, Australia,
0:32:23 > 0:32:27to explore one of the latest hi-tech conservation projects.
0:32:29 > 0:32:30He wants to discover if
0:32:30 > 0:32:33communications technology designed for the military
0:32:33 > 0:32:37can save an iconic species that we're putting under huge pressure.
0:32:39 > 0:32:40The koala.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45Deforestation isn't just wiping out animals
0:32:45 > 0:32:47in remote places like the Amazon.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50It's happening in towns and cities like this one - Brisbane.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57'Nine-month-old orphan Rocket
0:32:57 > 0:33:00'is one of the recent victims of rapid urban expansion
0:33:00 > 0:33:01'here in Queensland,
0:33:01 > 0:33:06'where the koala population has plummeted by over 40%.'
0:33:06 > 0:33:08You can really feel how sharp those claws are!
0:33:09 > 0:33:11Are you going back?
0:33:11 > 0:33:14'Koalas like Rocket are coming under threat
0:33:14 > 0:33:17'as new roads, and most recently, a new railway line,
0:33:17 > 0:33:21'are slicing through the ancient eucalyptus forest they live in.'
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Now a team of conservationists is coming to the rescue
0:33:28 > 0:33:31of the small koala population that is clinging on.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36They have fitted over 200 koalas
0:33:36 > 0:33:39with sophisticated satellite trackers.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42It's a pioneering new technique
0:33:42 > 0:33:44which is having a remarkable impact.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49This communications technology means the team,
0:33:49 > 0:33:51led by Tosh Tucker,
0:33:51 > 0:33:54can pinpoint the location of every koala
0:33:54 > 0:33:56and easily find and capture individuals
0:33:56 > 0:33:59to monitor the health of this fragile population
0:33:59 > 0:34:02in a way they never could before.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05We're going to go look for Gonzo today. Gonzo?! Yeah.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08He's one of our little boys on this site.
0:34:08 > 0:34:09This is our site here.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14Wow. And each one of those little blue dots is a koala? That's right.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18That is truly incredible. And is it real-time?
0:34:18 > 0:34:22There's a slight lag, but every four hours we get a transmission.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26'It only takes a few seconds to find Gonzo's name on the map,
0:34:26 > 0:34:29'and he looks dangerously close to the road.'
0:34:29 > 0:34:32So that'll... So this is him, by the looks of it? That's Gonzo. Yep.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36And this big highway is what we can hear over the back? Yeah.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38Once we get an idea where he is,
0:34:38 > 0:34:42I'll put his frequency in and we can pinpoint exactly where he is.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44It makes it a lot easier to find him.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48'The tracker picks up Gonzo's frequency almost immediately.'
0:34:50 > 0:34:52'And we're off on his trail.'
0:34:58 > 0:35:00Sounds like he's just in this patch here.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02Start looking up? Yep.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06Should just be right here somewhere, mate.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08Right. So he's in there somewhere. There he is, mate.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Just look in that vine, near the acacia.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15He's just sitting... Oh, yeah, I've got him. ..in that fork there.
0:35:16 > 0:35:17Let's do it.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22'With Gonzo located, Tosh calls in his team.'
0:35:24 > 0:35:27'The plan is to get Gonzo down to change his radio collar
0:35:27 > 0:35:29'and give him a thorough health check.'
0:35:29 > 0:35:32Right, just got to get him down to that lateral.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35'In close-knit koala communities,
0:35:35 > 0:35:39'disease can quickly spread and wipe out entire groups.'
0:35:39 > 0:35:41Nice and easy.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44'So it's vital the team can make sure every koala
0:35:44 > 0:35:49'is in the best possible health if this population is to survive.'
0:35:49 > 0:35:51Grab him, man.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55All right, Giles. Come in there, mate.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Just put him under the bottom there.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00Hello, little fella.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06'A handful of fresh leaves, and Gonzo's ready for his check-up,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09'which each koala gets twice a year.'
0:36:09 > 0:36:12He's loving it. Yeah, it'll calm him right down.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14He's happy as Larry.
0:36:14 > 0:36:19'Vet Dr John Hanger has been treating koalas for over 20 years.'
0:36:22 > 0:36:25'Back at his surgery, Gonzo is sedated.'
0:36:31 > 0:36:33Just give him a once-over, hey?
0:36:34 > 0:36:37'First, John checks Gonzo's heart.'
0:36:38 > 0:36:39Sounds good.
0:36:39 > 0:36:44'Next he checks Gonzo's sharp teeth are all present and correct,
0:36:44 > 0:36:48'and then onto his all-important tracker collar.'
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Just make sure there's plenty of growing space in there
0:36:51 > 0:36:53because the youngsters are growing rapidly,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56so we need to make sure this doesn't get too tight.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00'He then takes a look his feet.' A great big blister.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04That's not normal. No, OK. We should get a photo of that.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08'Gonzo's blistered foot is nothing serious, but even so,
0:37:08 > 0:37:10'John will keep a record of it.
0:37:10 > 0:37:15'Finally, John uses an ultrasound to scan Gonzo's kidneys, stomach
0:37:15 > 0:37:20'and bowel to check he's processing all that eucalyptus properly.'
0:37:20 > 0:37:24So there's the bladder there - the black structure there.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27You can see the fermenting part to the bowel.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30'Eucalyptus is poisonous to many animals
0:37:30 > 0:37:32'and impossible for them to digest,
0:37:32 > 0:37:36'but koalas have a special bacteria in their stomachs
0:37:36 > 0:37:38'that can break it down.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41'This movement is a sign that all is well with Gonzo.'
0:37:41 > 0:37:43You can really see that movement.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47They are just leaf-processing machines, really.
0:37:47 > 0:37:48They certainly are.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50He's really starting to wake up.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54I think we should think about getting him back into that forest.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57OK...hey?
0:37:59 > 0:38:03'Gonzo has been given a clean bill of health,
0:38:03 > 0:38:07'but John isn't going to return him just to any old tree.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09'Until around two years of age,
0:38:09 > 0:38:13'koalas like Gonzo prefer to be close to their mums,
0:38:13 > 0:38:16'and using the satellite technology again,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19'John can track down Gonzo's mum.'
0:38:19 > 0:38:22We'll just scan down here to find her name.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25These are all the koalas with those special collars on.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29'Her name is Jadore, and with a click of his mouse,
0:38:29 > 0:38:31'he has found her.'
0:38:31 > 0:38:34OK, so she's hanging around here at the moment.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38This tells us that the last upload from her collar was five hours ago.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41So with a bit of luck, she'll still be at that point,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44or if she's not there, hopefully she'll be fairly close.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47But we'll be tracking her with the conventional telemetry gear
0:38:47 > 0:38:50as well to make sure. To really home in on the spot. That's right.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52This technology, it's incredible,
0:38:52 > 0:38:55the access that it's given you, and the information.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58Yes. It's allowing us to monitor the koalas far more intensively
0:38:58 > 0:39:02than we could have otherwise and that means we can intervene
0:39:02 > 0:39:05much more quickly if they get into trouble.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11'Gonzo has just recovered from his anaesthetic
0:39:11 > 0:39:15'and we're off to track down his mum and set him free.'
0:39:16 > 0:39:20Sort of getting the strongest signal from... Around this area?
0:39:20 > 0:39:22That sort of area. Is that her?
0:39:22 > 0:39:25A koala in a tree? Well done, Giles!
0:39:25 > 0:39:27I think that is her. There she is. Right up here. Yep.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31'We spot Gonzo's mum and release him in a nearby tree.'
0:39:37 > 0:39:40Gonzo steps out tentatively at first
0:39:40 > 0:39:42but he is soon back in the swing of things.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48Off he goes! He's not hanging around.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52'So far, with the help of this communication technology,
0:39:52 > 0:39:55'the team have helped protect over 400 koalas.'
0:39:57 > 0:40:00'The hope is this technology could one day
0:40:00 > 0:40:02'be rolled out across Australia
0:40:02 > 0:40:06'to help some of the 100,000 koalas who live in the wild.'
0:40:07 > 0:40:11'This extraordinary project shows that as we continue to
0:40:11 > 0:40:14'encroach on the environment, it is possible to reduce
0:40:14 > 0:40:17'the negative impact we can have on wildlife.'
0:40:26 > 0:40:29In British Columbia on the West Coast of Canada, this footage
0:40:29 > 0:40:34caught on camera phone shows a family of killer whales or orcas.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37They're one of the ocean's smartest animals,
0:40:37 > 0:40:41and this group is behaving in a truly bizarre way.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44Holy Moley.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47Oh, my God! This is crazy.
0:40:48 > 0:40:53Could these highly unusual orca antics give us new insights
0:40:53 > 0:40:57into the sophisticated ways that these amazing marine animals
0:40:57 > 0:40:59socialise and communicate?
0:41:00 > 0:41:03This family group has come right into the shoreline
0:41:03 > 0:41:08and they appear to be rubbing their bellies on the pebbles.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10We asked marine biologist Jackie Hildering
0:41:10 > 0:41:12what she thinks is going on.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19The first time I ever witnessed the behaviour
0:41:19 > 0:41:22was actually only hearing it and not seeing it.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26I had an underwater microphone so I could hear the whales
0:41:26 > 0:41:28communicating back and forth.
0:41:28 > 0:41:33But also I could hear the rocks going shk-shk-shk over one another
0:41:33 > 0:41:37as you have these long skids across the smooth rocks.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42Jackie is convinced the orcas are deliberately and repeatedly
0:41:42 > 0:41:44rubbing their bodies along the pebbles.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50They'll get down low and scratch every part of their bodies,
0:41:50 > 0:41:52skidding across smooth rocks.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56At first, scientists thought
0:41:56 > 0:41:59this was an extreme orca exfoliation system -
0:41:59 > 0:42:03that the killer whales were trying to remove parasites from their skin.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08But if this was a purely practical habit,
0:42:08 > 0:42:10you'd expect it would be something
0:42:10 > 0:42:13all the orcas in these waters would do.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18Whereas in fact, researchers know that it's very few groups
0:42:18 > 0:42:20who have been observed behaving in this way.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Why on earth would it be that one population
0:42:25 > 0:42:27would be rubbing off parasites - have parasites! -
0:42:27 > 0:42:29when the others wouldn't?
0:42:29 > 0:42:30Oh, my God.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34The breakthrough came from listening to the clicks and squeaks
0:42:34 > 0:42:37from the orcas that accompanied this belly-rubbing behaviour.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42The sheer intensity of their communication
0:42:42 > 0:42:44suggested a surprising interpretation.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49The sounds being made, it is quite something.
0:42:49 > 0:42:55It's the same sort of calls that they make when family groups
0:42:55 > 0:43:00meet up with one another, so this had to be social behaviour.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05And it probably feels darn good.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10My belief is it's a whale massage.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14It seems that taking time out for a feel-good pebble massage
0:43:14 > 0:43:18has become a social tradition for this family,
0:43:18 > 0:43:20for the sheer fun of it.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22And there's another surprise, too.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26We've known for a while that orcas communicate vital survival lessons
0:43:26 > 0:43:30like hunting skills to the next generation.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33But now we have evidence that just like us,
0:43:33 > 0:43:37they can also communicate family traditions down the generations.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42It's absolutely the case that this behaviour is passed on
0:43:42 > 0:43:45from generation to generation.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48One of the young killer whales in the footage
0:43:48 > 0:43:52now has her own calves and is teaching them to beach rub.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54Oh, my God!
0:44:06 > 0:44:10In much warmer waters surrounding the islands of the Bahamas,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13Lucy Cooke is heading to a unique research site
0:44:13 > 0:44:18that's giving us new insights into how sharks interact with each other.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22Mention the word shark,
0:44:22 > 0:44:27and most people think of lone, mindless, mechanistic killers.
0:44:27 > 0:44:31But I've come to investigate brand-new research
0:44:31 > 0:44:34that claims to have discovered that sharks could be social,
0:44:34 > 0:44:37make friendships, and even have personalities.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46Up to now, most shark research has concentrated on
0:44:46 > 0:44:51the behaviour of individuals prowling the ocean's depths.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54You can just see the little clearing there with that sand tongue.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57It's really hidden away.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01'But Dr Tristan Guttridge from the Bimini Shark Lab
0:45:01 > 0:45:04'is taking me to a special lagoon where it's possible to see
0:45:04 > 0:45:07'how sharks behave together.'
0:45:09 > 0:45:11'I've been assured that these mangrove roots
0:45:11 > 0:45:16'make the alleyway so narrow that only small sharks can fit through.'
0:45:17 > 0:45:21The tide is going this way, and the sharks travel with it.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24It's like a secret shark alley.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32Wow!
0:45:32 > 0:45:36So, this is it! Beautiful, isn't it? Yeah!
0:45:36 > 0:45:39You'd never know it was here, would you?
0:45:39 > 0:45:42'Research has recently discovered that young sharks
0:45:42 > 0:45:44'were using this lagoon as a kind of nursery -
0:45:44 > 0:45:48'a safe haven to rest and feed in as they grew up.'
0:45:49 > 0:45:54'And it's not long before I see my very first shark.'
0:45:56 > 0:46:00There we go. A nice, beautiful one coming.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02Really healthy-looking sharks in here as well.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08'The sharks here are juvenile lemon sharks.'
0:46:10 > 0:46:13'Adults can grow to up to three metres long,
0:46:13 > 0:46:15'and have powerful jaws.'
0:46:16 > 0:46:18I've got to ask.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20Do they bite? Am I in any...?
0:46:20 > 0:46:25We have food with us, so you'll see a massive switch in behaviour.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27At the moment they're just patrolling around,
0:46:27 > 0:46:28they're very calm.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30They look kind of cautious, actually.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33To be honest, they look more nervous of me than I am of them.
0:46:33 > 0:46:34Yeah, absolutely.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37'It was long assumed that sharks were generally loners
0:46:37 > 0:46:42'and would only communicate with others to fight over food...
0:46:42 > 0:46:47'or mate, but their behaviour here is suggesting that's not the case.'
0:46:47 > 0:46:51What we found over the years is that they actually follow each other.
0:46:51 > 0:46:52They socialise in this area.
0:46:52 > 0:46:57So they're not just randomly swimming around solitary,
0:46:57 > 0:46:59they are actually following each other in groups
0:46:59 > 0:47:02and they switch groups and change groups over time,
0:47:02 > 0:47:04and they seem to have actual kind of friends, really,
0:47:04 > 0:47:08that they prefer to associate with. Wow.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10'And when the team put food into the water
0:47:10 > 0:47:13'to observe what happened when sharks fed,
0:47:13 > 0:47:16'there were further surprising insights into their behaviour.'
0:47:18 > 0:47:21What you'll see is that some will come in sooner than others.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25I don't think it's purely because one is hungrier than another one,
0:47:25 > 0:47:28it's actually one of them will take a greater risk than the other one.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30Some being bolder than others, too.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35So you can do that, and then wiggle it.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39That's it. Here's one coming in now. They're coming in!
0:47:43 > 0:47:44That's it. And let them go.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50This is quite a big one, isn't it?
0:47:50 > 0:47:54'Pretty soon, I'm surrounded by a dozen sharks.'
0:47:55 > 0:47:58There's a lot of them around me now.
0:47:58 > 0:47:59Oi!
0:47:59 > 0:48:03Now they're really getting excited. There you go.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07'They do all seem to behave in different ways towards the food.'
0:48:09 > 0:48:12'Some really play the tough guy.'
0:48:12 > 0:48:15Oi! Just calm down.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18'Others are a little more shy.' You've got him.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20Hello!
0:48:20 > 0:48:22There you go.
0:48:22 > 0:48:23See him shake his head?
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Yeah.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28You can see some of them are less inquisitive than others,
0:48:28 > 0:48:30some of them come steaming in,
0:48:30 > 0:48:32and I think it's the same with lots of animals,
0:48:32 > 0:48:34that they have these different personalities.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36Ooh!
0:48:36 > 0:48:37Fantastic.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42'Tristan has been putting his observation
0:48:42 > 0:48:46'that sharks might have different personalities to the test.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50'We've called in a line-up of volunteers.
0:48:50 > 0:48:54'Personality used to be seen as a highly developed trait
0:48:54 > 0:48:57'only found in dogs and primates.'
0:48:57 > 0:48:59Slightly insane.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01OK, if you want to hop over here... OK. I don't want to...
0:49:01 > 0:49:05'So how will our sharks fare?'
0:49:05 > 0:49:06Lovely!
0:49:06 > 0:49:11'To start, we need to transfer our first suspect into the test pen.'
0:49:11 > 0:49:13In you go! In she goes!
0:49:15 > 0:49:19So this, this is a shark personality test.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21And the way that it works is
0:49:21 > 0:49:24we're going to lower a strange object into the pen
0:49:24 > 0:49:29and then observe how different sharks react to that object.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33'If they really do have personalities,
0:49:33 > 0:49:36'each shark should behave differently when they see
0:49:36 > 0:49:40'this strange stripy pole descend into their space.'
0:49:40 > 0:49:42Let the test begin.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44'Our first volunteer
0:49:44 > 0:49:48'almost immediately goes to investigate the new object.'
0:49:50 > 0:49:53Checking it out... I thought that was boldness!
0:49:53 > 0:49:55Certainly wasn't scared of it.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58I thought it went in, it came in and went and checked it out.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05Before we lowered that, it was circling the edge.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08And now it's completely changed its behaviour
0:50:08 > 0:50:12and it's just doing pass-bys, isn't it?
0:50:12 > 0:50:14It's totally checking it out.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18It's a bold shark. It's a bold shark.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23'It's time to test our next shark.
0:50:23 > 0:50:28'Will it behave differently, showing it has a different personality?'
0:50:32 > 0:50:35I reckon this one's going to be timid.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37Timid?! Yep.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40I'm going bold. You're going bold on this one? Yeah.
0:50:40 > 0:50:41I'm going bold.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47'My shark senses were right.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49'Our second candidate seems determined
0:50:49 > 0:50:52'to avoid the stripy pole altogether.'
0:50:52 > 0:50:54It's hugging the edge.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56Yeah, nowhere near as much interest.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59You can see the difference between the two.
0:50:59 > 0:51:01That's the cool thing to pick out.
0:51:02 > 0:51:03'Tristan and his team
0:51:03 > 0:51:07'have repeatedly tested over 300 lemon sharks.'
0:51:08 > 0:51:13'Each one consistently showed its own unique response to the object.'
0:51:14 > 0:51:16'And this suggests for the first time
0:51:16 > 0:51:19'that sharks really do have personalities.'
0:51:21 > 0:51:23So this isn't just a freak,
0:51:23 > 0:51:25that it's bold today but it could be timid tomorrow?
0:51:25 > 0:51:28You believe that these are fixed personality types?
0:51:28 > 0:51:31Absolutely. If we test this shark next week,
0:51:31 > 0:51:35it should do the same behaviour, or very similar. Cool.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40'We're only just beginning to understand the complexities
0:51:40 > 0:51:43'of shark communication and interaction,
0:51:43 > 0:51:47'but the team believe that having different personality types
0:51:47 > 0:51:51'actually helps sharks thrive as a species.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55'They can exploit all the food sources available to them,
0:51:55 > 0:51:57'with some who pick off the easy targets,
0:51:57 > 0:52:00'and high rollers who take on the big prey.'
0:52:05 > 0:52:09Sharks may all look the same but behind those fixed grins,
0:52:09 > 0:52:12there's actually a whole range of personalities.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17It seems that success if you're a shark
0:52:17 > 0:52:20isn't all about physical perfection.
0:52:20 > 0:52:25Personality also plays a really important role.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37So far we've found out just how subtle and sophisticated
0:52:37 > 0:52:40communication between animals can be.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43And now we're going to meet one more clever creature
0:52:43 > 0:52:46who uses its remarkable powers of communication
0:52:46 > 0:52:50to get exactly what it wants from us.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57In the quiet town of Lecanto in Florida,
0:52:57 > 0:53:02Alberta and Chuck Holloway have been receiving strange deliveries.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04We've got a ballpoint pen.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08This is a bone, a screw.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10We don't know what this is.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13We've got a piece of bark, coins,
0:53:13 > 0:53:16and we have this diamond chip bracelet.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20Chuck had been putting bird food out on their driveway
0:53:20 > 0:53:21for almost a year
0:53:21 > 0:53:26when he noticed an unfamiliar object among the empty peanut shells.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30I came out to put the feed out
0:53:30 > 0:53:35and approximately right along in here
0:53:35 > 0:53:38was the toy car. And...
0:53:38 > 0:53:41how'd it get here?!
0:53:44 > 0:53:46Strange, that's all I can say.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery,
0:53:50 > 0:53:55Chuck set up motion-triggered cameras to monitor the scene.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58And they soon revealed who was leaving the gifts.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03CROW CAWS It was the local crows.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09Scientists know that crows are smart birds, reckoned in some tests
0:54:09 > 0:54:13to show the problem-solving abilities of a seven-year-old child.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16When the bird food ran out,
0:54:16 > 0:54:20Chuck and Alberta's crows would often drop off a gift.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24So far, they've left 57 different items.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29Studies have shown that crows can recognise and remember
0:54:29 > 0:54:33individual human faces, and Chuck believes that
0:54:33 > 0:54:37he might even have received gifts fetched specially for him.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43This piece is a piece of PVC fitting.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47I was working on the sprinklers in the side yard,
0:54:47 > 0:54:52so I had PVC stuff out there, and all of a sudden it shows up.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55You know, like... In the feeding tray. Like they were watching!
0:54:55 > 0:54:58Like this was, "He's doing that, so maybe he'd like this."
0:55:02 > 0:55:04Thanks to the internet,
0:55:04 > 0:55:07we know this intriguing crow behaviour isn't a one-off.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09People from all around the world
0:55:09 > 0:55:11have been reporting the same phenomenon.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15This is my personal favourite.
0:55:15 > 0:55:21Crow expert Doctor John Withey helps to explain what's going on.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24And this is when he dropped this thing. OK.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27Studies have shown that crows also give each other
0:55:27 > 0:55:29gifts of food and shiny objects.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34Sometimes it's young crows sharing food with
0:55:34 > 0:55:36a more dominant individual.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40Sometimes it's between male and females that are paired.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43But is this more than just a way of saying thank you?
0:55:45 > 0:55:49From a young age, crows learn that sharing can be rewarding.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53Their expectation is, I share food now
0:55:53 > 0:55:57and I might receive something from you in the future.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05Now it seems that crows could actually be capable of
0:56:05 > 0:56:09entering a kind of trading relationship with humans.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15We get the gift when the food is empty.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17I'm looking at it that they're bartering.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21Like, "I'll give you this if you give us some more food."
0:56:21 > 0:56:23It sounds like this association of,
0:56:23 > 0:56:26"If we bring something, then the food comes back."
0:56:26 > 0:56:29They're certainly capable of that kind of learning.
0:56:29 > 0:56:34Whether this is a case of crows seeking friendships with humans
0:56:34 > 0:56:38or that these super smart birds have learned how to manipulate us
0:56:38 > 0:56:42into giving them what they want, there's certainly no doubt
0:56:42 > 0:56:46that science is revealing extraordinary powers of persuasion
0:56:46 > 0:56:49on the part of one of the world's brightest birds.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56'Next time, we reveal new insights
0:56:56 > 0:57:00'into some of the most amazing anatomies in the animal kingdom.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03'Giles is in Australia with a kangaroo
0:57:03 > 0:57:06'that's happier up a tree than hopping through the outback.'
0:57:07 > 0:57:12'Lucy's in Costa Rica to find out if the sloth's famed laziness
0:57:12 > 0:57:15'could be the key to its success.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18'Patrick's in South Africa where there's quite a bit going on
0:57:18 > 0:57:21'between the ears of the bat-eared fox.'
0:57:21 > 0:57:23Here he comes!
0:57:23 > 0:57:25'And I'm in the French Alps
0:57:25 > 0:57:29to see what it takes to train an eagle to fly at 1,500 metres.'
0:58:01 > 0:58:04THEME PLAYS: The Apprentice