Communication Ingenious Animals


Communication

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Millions of us love watching the world's wildlife

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behaving in strange and wonderful ways.

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But what lies at the heart of these extraordinary behaviours?

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Can science explain what's really going on?

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The latest research from all around the world

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is increasing our understanding of animal emotions,

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relationships, intelligence,

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and communication, faster than ever before.

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ROARING

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I'm Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and I've teamed up with wildlife experts

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to travel the globe in search of the most surprising animal stories.

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There, there, there. Wow, look at them.

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Using the very latest camera technology,

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we'll reveal how and why animals do such remarkable things.

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And we'll meet the scientists who dedicate their lives to

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understanding these extraordinary discoveries.

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Tonight, we'll be investigating

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the intriguing world of animal communication.

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HOWLING I'll be in Austria,

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where scientists are reinterpreting the howl of the wolf.

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And asking do these animals really deserve their big, bad reputation?

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HOWLING

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It's quite a noise, isn't it? Really impressive.

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Zoologist Lucy Cooke discovers the communication skills required

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to persuade a penguin raised by people to swim.

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It's a big deal if you're a penguin.

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There's this terrible transition period where you have to do it.

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It's like bungee jumping.

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And conservationist Giles Clark is in Australia,

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to discover how cutting edge communications technology

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is saving an endangered species.

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Each one of those little blue dots is a koala. That's right.

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We can pinpoint exactly where it is. Amazing.

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But first, Patrick Aryee is in the South African bush.

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PATRICK: I'm on the trail of

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an incredible love story between two very different lions.

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Today, they're going to meet for the very first time,

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and it could change our perception about how lions communicate

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with each other.

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I've joined lion expert Jason Turner in Limpopo,

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South Africa's most northern province.

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He's taking me to meet a remarkable lioness who's just been moved

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into the specialist lion reserve.

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This is Cleopatra.

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Look...

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There she is, hidden behind all the branches. That's Cleopatra.

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And she's next to her pal, Swalu.

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And it's so amazing to be this close to these powerful lionesses.

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Look, Cleopatra's lifting up her head.

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'Nine-year-old Cleopatra used to live in the reserve next door.

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'She was moved here recently

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'after years of behaving in a very unusual way.'

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What was it that she was doing?

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What was it about her behaviour that changed?

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She was obsessed with wanting to join the pride of lions

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on this side, so she was at the fence line every day,

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she swam across a river, climbed under an electric fence,

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in order to bond with our male.

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'The male who caught Cleopatra's attention wasn't any old lion.'

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'It was Zukara,

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'one of just 12 white lions left in the wild.'

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'A very rare change in their DNA causes their splendid colour.

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'But it's sadly meant that the white lions

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'have been hunted almost to extinction.'

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'For five years, Cleopatra appeared every day at the fence of

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'Zukara's reserve, obsessively waiting to see him.'

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'Lionesses generally mate with

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'a male who's the head of their own pride,

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'normally a big, dark-maned male.'

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'Jason, who's worked with lions for 20 years,

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'had never seen a lioness go to such lengths to communicate

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'her feelings for a male who was completely out of her reach.'

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This obsessive behaviour of going up and down the fence line,

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putting on seductive moves like you've never seen.

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What kind of seductive moves? So lots of tail swishing.

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The lionesses will roll over.

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They've got this white, sort of very sexy belly

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that they flash at the males.

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Lionesses are arch seducers.

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I mean, seduction was invented by lionesses.

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'We're hoping to see some unique lion behaviour.

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'Today, Zukara and Cleopatra

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'are going to meet face to face for the very first time.'

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'Lion introductions can be extremely unpredictable.'

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'So Zukara has been kept away in an enclosure,

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'giving Cleopatra a chance to get used to her new surroundings

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'and bond with resident lioness Swalu.'

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'Today, the team are opening the gate

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'and releasing Zukara back into the reserve.'

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We're tracking him to see if

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he picks up Cleopatra's scent in the 4,000 acre reserve.

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We've found Zukara. He is a magnificent male - just look at him.

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All the classic features of a big male lion, except for the fact

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that he's white.

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Oh, my goodness.

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GROWLING

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Listen to that!

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GROWLING

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So you can see, he hasn't wasted any time.

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He's doing what we expected him to do,

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and that's the natural male response.

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He's picking up the chemical signals, the pheromones,

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from where Cleopatra scent-marked.

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And that grimace...

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..what he's doing is called flehmen.

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He's picking up the scent. So he knows that she's here.

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He knows that she's here.

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And he's... It looks to me like he's figuring out which way she's gone.

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'Scent markings aren't the only way lions communicate with each other.

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'On the other side of the reserve, the lionesses are on the move.

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'Cleopatra's out in front, picking up Zukara's calls.'

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GROWLING

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GROWLING

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That sound is so impressive!

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'This communication is a good sign,

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'but this is a love story that could end in tears.'

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'Like all lions, Zukara and Cleopatra are powerful creatures.'

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'Males in particular can be extremely aggressive to outsiders.'

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'So even lion expert Jason doesn't know exactly what's going to happen

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'when Zukara and Cleopatra meet.'

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Lions are very fiery animals. They can be very aggressive.

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Of course, they're fierce hunters, predators,

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and the males are incredibly territorial,

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so bringing two adult lions together,

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there's always going to be fireworks.

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'Lionesses often have to work together to defend themselves

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'from other lions, and Jason is hoping that resident female Swalu

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'will help out Cleopatra if things turn nasty with Zukara.'

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'As the sun begins to set,

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'it looks like Zukara and Cleopatra could meet at night.'

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GROWLING

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'We're desperately trying to find them to see their first encounter.

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'How they react in that moment

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'will show us if they have a future together.'

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'We manage to find Zukara.

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'We're going to try and stick with him throughout the night.'

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Got full signal on Zukara.

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'A full signal from Zukara's radio collar

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'means he's within ten metres of us.'

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It's slightly unnerving,

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knowing that there's a lion in this thicket here. You can't see Zukara.

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I'm just trusting in this rickety old machine.

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HE GASPS

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Here he comes, here he comes.

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Zukara just came right next to us.

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He's definitely on the hunt for Cleopatra.

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GROWLING

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ROARING

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'Studies have shown that lions have their own unique voices

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'that other lions can identify.'

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I don't know whether it's the cold air or the night,

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but his roar is definitely echoing a lot louder, or it seems that way.

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I can hear another roar in the distance.

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Hopefully that's Cleopatra responding to him.

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Seems like he's definitely having a conversation

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or communicating with another lion, that's for sure.

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'The way lions communicate and interact is complex

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'and often aggressive, so we don't know how Zukara will react

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'when he meets Cleopatra.'

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'She's been spotted two miles away with Swalu,

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'and she's heading in our direction.'

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'An hour later, Zukara appears by the fence.'

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GROWLING

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My goodness.

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GROWLING

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'Just in front of him are Swalu and Cleopatra.'

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RADIO: Coming up towards you.

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Copy. Got visual.

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We were right behind him going along the fence

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that he first met Cleopatra, which seems quite appropriate.

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Right now, now, now.

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'Suddenly, Zukara and Cleopatra are face to face.'

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'Swalu hangs back.'

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They're so tentative.

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ROARING

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SNARLING

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GROWLING

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ROARING

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GROWLING

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Wow.

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Oh, brilliant.

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SNARLING

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It's unbelievable. That was so electric.

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How amazing's that?

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He came in for them, almost, but they both instantly were like,

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"No, don't try and mess with us at all.

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"We mean business."

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'Their encounter ends with a final scent spray from Zukara.

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'It's one of the many signs

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'that he's receptive to Cleopatra's presence.'

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I've never seen anything quite like it. That was really exciting.

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I'm still pretty shaky.

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I mean, it happened all within a split of a second.

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And you've got these two strong, powerful lions,

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Cleopatra and Zukara, almost doing damage, it seemed.

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Exactly.

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Heated engagement, but you could see more bark than bite.

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No excessive use of violence, really.

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More just demanding respect from each other.

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'Their non-aggressive calls and the lack of violence

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'are signs that as first dates go, this has been a roaring success.'

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'Zukara initially made a beeline for Cleopatra,

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'and in a dramatic act of loyalty, Swalu rushed in to back her up.

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'Together, they stood their ground, with Zukara adopting a position

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'behind the bush, which shows his respect for newcomer Cleopatra.

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'These are all positive signs for a future relationship between

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'Zukara and Cleopatra.'

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This is exactly what you've been waiting for for five years.

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I mean, I'm ecstatic. Bungee jumping's got nothing

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in terms of the adrenaline that I'm feeling right now.

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Those sounds were just phenomenal.

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A week later, and no longer separated by a fence,

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Zukara and Cleopatra are spending most of their time together.

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Their amazing story has given us new insight into the lengths

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a lioness will go to to communicate with and get the male she wants.

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Cleopatra's determination paid off big time.

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She's waited half a decade, and she's finally got what she wanted.

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That first meeting, though, between her and Zukara was just electric.

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You could feel it in the air.

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And I hope they can go on to start a family of their own.

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Back in the UK, Birdland in Gloucestershire is home to

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Britain's only breeding programme for the endangered king penguin.

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And Lucy Cooke's here to investigate

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an unusual story of human communication with animals.

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Can a person teach a penguin how to swim?

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LUCY: Hello.

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Alistair, nice to meet you.

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Hi. Nice to meet you. Hi, there.

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And this... Is Charlotte,

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our 14-month-old king penguin. Hello, Charlotte.

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Nice to meet you. Hello.

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Just tasting me to see if there's anything edible there.

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Oh! It's actually quite painful.

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'Charlotte had an unusual start in life.'

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She was laid as an egg last year by Frank and Lily,

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and within 24 hours, Frank had dropped

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and broken the egg, so we had to take the egg away

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and repair it with a little bit of superglue.

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Wow! You can do that? Yeah.

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You can repair an egg with superglue?

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Yeah, as long as it's not too big a crack.

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'If penguin parents drop an egg, they abandon it,

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'so Charlotte became head keeper Alistair Keane's responsibility.'

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I like to talk to the egg,

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because the parents would call to the chick.

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Do you talk to it in a human voice, or in a penguin?

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I just talk to it like I normally would,

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like I'm talking to you now, so,

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"Keep going, chick. I'll see you soon," and things like that.

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Oh. It sounds really silly, I know.

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'When birds hatch from their eggs, they form an immediate bond

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'with the first living creature they see.

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'It's known as imprinting.

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'The first thing Charlotte saw wasn't her mum -

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'it was Alistair.

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'In the first months of their lives,

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'baby penguins receive hundreds of vital lessons from Mum and Dad,

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'and Alistair had to take on this role for Charlotte.'

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As far as she's concerned, I'm Mum and Dad.

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She's got to give me grandchildren, so to speak,

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in the next few years.

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'By six months, Charlotte was fully grown, with a thick coat of brown,

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'downy feathers, perfectly adapted

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'to keep her warm as she developed.'

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That's her begging for you, isn't it? Yeah.

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She's going, "Dad, feed me, feed me." "Give me some more food."

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'And like a typical king penguin chick at 12 months,

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'Charlotte's coat moulted and she started to transform

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'into the stunning adult she is today.'

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All right, Charlotte?

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So, I think you're getting five stars as a penguin parent,

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from what I can see. Yeah, we've got...

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So far, so good. Then we hit a snag in the fact that

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she just would not go in the pool.

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Oh, no! But she's a penguin! I know.

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Everyone would think they'd take to it really easily,

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but she was having none of it.

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She'd watch everyone else go in for a swim. She would not go in.

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'Despite Alistair's best efforts,

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'Charlotte could not be coaxed into the water.'

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What was going on?

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'In the wild, it's very important that king penguin chicks avoid water

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'while they're still wearing their brown coat of baby feathers.'

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'It's warm, but it's not waterproof.

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'So if it gets wet in the icy waters of the Antarctic,

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'the chicks can drown or die of hypothermia.'

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'Only when they get their waterproof adult plumage

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'do they pluck up the courage to take the plunge.'

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'What surprised Alistair was that, although Charlotte's body

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'was fully-equipped to swim, her mind was clearly saying no.'

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'Perhaps penguin expert professor Rory Wilson

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'can shed light on Charlotte's strange behaviour.'

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Rory, are you surprised by Charlotte's fear of water?

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A bit surprised, but not hugely. It's a big deal if you're a penguin.

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From being a woolly, fluffy thing that lives on land,

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and there's this terrible transition period where you have to do it.

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It's like bungee jumping.

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So I think there's a lot of fear there.

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So what do the parents do in terms of encouraging them into the water?

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They're brutal. It's tough love, and it's do or die.

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The king penguin chicks,

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they actually go through the whole winter starving.

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They'll get the odd meal from their parents and go down to about 7kg -

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really, really thin and miserable.

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It's hunger that drives young penguins to overcome their fears

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and enter the sea to catch fish.

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'But Alistair wasn't prepared to

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'take this tough love approach with Charlotte.

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'He'd have to find another way to get her to swim.'

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First, the thing we tried to do is push her in.

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She jumped straight back out, had none of that.

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'No matter how hard he tried,

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'it became clear that gentle persuasion was not going to work.'

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'Alistair had to resort to more dramatic methods.'

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We've got a rock in the middle of the pool.

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I took her and sat her on the rock,

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so she had to get wet to get back out.

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'After hours of intense encouragement,

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'Charlotte decided to take control of her fear.'

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It's the only time I've ever seen a king penguin

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with both feet off the ground.

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She went in feet-first, almost a cannonball.

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'Alistair and Charlotte had cracked it.'

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'And once she was in the water,

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'Charlotte's instinct to swim kicked in.'

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'Four months later on, thanks to Alistair's coaching,

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'Charlotte loves nothing more than a dip in the pool.'

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She's getting very good now.

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She's doing everything we expect her to do.

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She's the first one in there most days, the last one out.

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You're a proud dad.

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Proud dad, yeah.

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Very much so.

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HUGH: I'm in the forests of north west Austria,

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on my way to meet an animal whose fearsome jaws

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and spine-tingling howl has landed it with a big, bad reputation.

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HOWLING

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Here, ground-breaking research into how wolves communicate

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and how their pack is structured is questioning the very essence

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of what it is to be a wolf.

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HOWLING

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The Wolf Science Centre is home to 12 wolves.

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This is surely the most fabled of animal villains.

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And in Europe and North America,

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they've been hunted to the brink of extinction.

0:22:450:22:47

Centuries of myths and fairy tales have given the wolf a bit of

0:22:490:22:53

an image problem, but they've got no time for legends and stories here.

0:22:530:22:58

They're dedicated to finding out the scientific truth

0:22:580:23:00

about what really makes wolves tick.

0:23:000:23:03

To better understand how they communicate and interact,

0:23:060:23:09

researchers here work with timber wolves, the largest of all wolves.

0:23:090:23:13

In the wild, they're specialised pack hunters

0:23:150:23:18

of bison, moose and elk.

0:23:180:23:19

All the wolves here are captive-bred -

0:23:220:23:25

hand-reared for the first five months of their lives

0:23:250:23:27

before being allowed to socialise into small packs.

0:23:270:23:31

This helps to make them tolerant of people,

0:23:310:23:34

so the team can study their behaviour up close.

0:23:340:23:37

GROWLING

0:23:370:23:39

Let's go in.

0:23:400:23:42

Kurt Kotrschal is in charge here,

0:23:420:23:45

and he wants me to meet the wolf pack straight away.

0:23:450:23:48

Just think about them as big dogs.

0:23:500:23:54

So when they come running down, keep relaxed.

0:23:540:23:57

You can pet them from the side. Never from above.

0:23:570:24:00

Eye contact is OK? Eye contact... They don't see that as a challenge?

0:24:000:24:03

No, I find eye contact is totally OK,

0:24:030:24:06

but they should never have the impression that you want

0:24:060:24:09

something from them because that makes them suspicious.

0:24:090:24:11

OK, can we open the gate?

0:24:130:24:15

Hey!

0:24:180:24:20

Oh! Hey!

0:24:220:24:24

They're not slow to come and say hi.

0:24:240:24:26

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

0:24:260:24:29

OK, checking us out a little bit.

0:24:300:24:31

We've got one over here and...

0:24:330:24:34

SNARLING Ooh. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

0:24:340:24:37

Never mind, they don't mean you.

0:24:370:24:40

Nothing to do with me. That's between them, is it? Yeah.

0:24:400:24:43

We never interfere in their social affairs. No, of course.

0:24:430:24:48

Tussles like this might look traumatic, but in wolf speak,

0:24:480:24:51

Tala's simply demanding some respect from youngster Chitto.

0:24:510:24:55

Hello. Hello. Come here.

0:24:570:24:59

This is Aragorn, our big guy. Aragorn?

0:24:590:25:03

He's number two in the pack. Ooh!

0:25:030:25:05

Well, that was a definite nibble.

0:25:050:25:07

It's pretty unpolite not to let him lick.

0:25:090:25:12

Isn't he nice?

0:25:120:25:13

That was amazing.

0:25:130:25:15

Talk about eye contact...

0:25:150:25:16

He wanted to greet you.

0:25:180:25:20

My heart rate's up just a little bit, but what an experience.

0:25:200:25:25

They are formidable creatures.

0:25:250:25:27

'Being able to closely observe the way wolves interact

0:25:280:25:31

'with each other is changing our perception of them.'

0:25:310:25:34

'It's long been thought that

0:25:360:25:37

'the pack is held together by an aggressive alpha male,

0:25:370:25:41

'and the principal loyalties and bonds

0:25:410:25:43

'of the other pack members are always to him.'

0:25:430:25:46

'But when Dr Simon Townsend and the team

0:25:480:25:50

'removed different members from the group,

0:25:500:25:53

'they began to notice that there was something more complex

0:25:530:25:58

'going on with the pack dynamic.'

0:25:580:26:00

So today, we'll remove Aragorn.

0:26:000:26:03

And then we're going to look at the behaviour of

0:26:030:26:05

all the other wolves remaining in the pack.

0:26:050:26:08

'In experiments separating one wolf -

0:26:080:26:10

'in this case, second in command Aragorn -

0:26:100:26:13

'the rest of the pack has a very distinctive reaction.'

0:26:130:26:16

HOWLING

0:26:180:26:22

ALL HOWL

0:26:220:26:24

OK.

0:26:240:26:26

'Scientists believe the wolves are trying to call back

0:26:280:26:32

'their missing pack member.'

0:26:320:26:34

HOWLING

0:26:340:26:37

It's quite a noise, isn't it? Really impressive. Very.

0:26:370:26:40

'Their howls can be heard more than four miles away,

0:26:430:26:46

'and wolves can recognise the individual calls of their pack.'

0:26:460:26:50

HOWLING

0:26:500:26:53

'But when Simon analysed the howls, he discovered something surprising.

0:26:530:26:59

'Different wolves would howl louder and longer

0:26:590:27:01

'when certain individuals were removed.'

0:27:010:27:04

'It looks as if within the pack, it isn't all about the alpha male.

0:27:060:27:10

'The wolves each have their own particular best friends.'

0:27:100:27:14

'This has overturned the traditional view of the alpha-dominated,

0:27:150:27:20

'top-down wolf hierarchy,

0:27:200:27:22

'and opened the door to completely new thinking

0:27:220:27:25

'about this iconic species.

0:27:250:27:28

'Researcher Dr Friederike Range has devised another experiment

0:27:280:27:32

'that looks at a different form of wolf communication -

0:27:320:27:36

'their body language.

0:27:360:27:39

'Friederike wanted to test the theory that the co-operation

0:27:390:27:42

'required for hunting could actually make wolves a more tolerant species

0:27:420:27:46

'than their closest relatives, domesticated dogs.'

0:27:460:27:51

So this experiment is about challenging the prevailing view

0:27:510:27:54

that dogs are more tolerant than wolves? Yes.

0:27:540:27:57

So what we do is we put a bowl of food between two animals,

0:27:570:28:01

and we see who's sharing the food and who's not.

0:28:010:28:03

So if they share, there's tolerance,

0:28:030:28:05

but if one of them pushes all the others out the way,

0:28:050:28:08

not so tolerant. Exactly. It's quite easy and straightforward.

0:28:080:28:12

'First up, it's the dogs.

0:28:120:28:14

'Will Meru share his food with junior pack member Hiari?'

0:28:140:28:18

So come on, dogs, prove that you can be tolerant!

0:28:200:28:23

Come on. You can do it.

0:28:240:28:26

Open, open, open.

0:28:270:28:29

Ah.

0:28:340:28:35

Someone's not getting a look-in at all. No.

0:28:370:28:40

And he knows the consequences of coming close to this one

0:28:400:28:43

when he's eating.

0:28:430:28:45

Yes. Doesn't even dare to get close to the food.

0:28:450:28:49

'Not only does Meru refuse to share, but the hierarchy's so ingrained

0:28:490:28:54

'that Hiari knows not even to try to challenge him.'

0:28:540:28:58

OK.

0:28:580:28:59

'And every time we run the test, it's the same story.

0:28:590:29:03

'No dinner for the underdog.'

0:29:030:29:06

Ah, just getting to lick the plate when there's nothing left.

0:29:070:29:10

'Man's best friend - not quite as tolerant as we thought.'

0:29:120:29:16

So how will the wolves fare?

0:29:190:29:22

We've got Kaspar, the alpha male...

0:29:220:29:25

..and junior pack member Shima.

0:29:290:29:32

So if the old assumptions about wolves are true,

0:29:340:29:37

Kaspar here, the alpha male,

0:29:370:29:39

he's going to wolf down all the food

0:29:390:29:42

and Shima is not going to have a look-in.

0:29:420:29:44

That's correct.

0:29:440:29:45

Given what we've just seen with those dogs,

0:29:470:29:50

you've got to back Kaspar to scoff the lot, really, haven't you?

0:29:500:29:53

Whoa.

0:30:100:30:11

That's extraordinary.

0:30:130:30:15

What a difference!

0:30:150:30:17

That really is surprising.

0:30:170:30:20

The way they went at it, you thought,

0:30:200:30:21

"There's got to be a fight." But it just doesn't happen.

0:30:210:30:24

Yep. And they're happy.

0:30:240:30:25

'Unlike the dogs, even though Kaspar is the dominant male,

0:30:280:30:32

'he tolerates sharing with Shima.'

0:30:320:30:35

It's completely equal.

0:30:350:30:38

I mean, everything about it looks equal and balanced. Yeah.

0:30:380:30:41

'This remarkable sharing behaviour is further proof

0:30:430:30:47

'that the wolf pack is much friendlier

0:30:470:30:49

'and less hierarchical than previously thought.'

0:30:490:30:52

It's almost like the dog pack's living in a dictatorship

0:30:550:30:58

and the wolf pack is in a bit more of a democracy.

0:30:580:31:00

Something like that, yes.

0:31:000:31:02

Amazing.

0:31:020:31:04

And they don't take long to polish it off.

0:31:040:31:06

Well, Kaspar, I don't know what to say.

0:31:080:31:10

You've really impressed me today.

0:31:100:31:12

Excellent table manners, outstanding toleration of your friend there.

0:31:120:31:16

A lesson to us all. Yes.

0:31:160:31:19

Be tolerant like a wolf. Be tolerant like a wolf.

0:31:190:31:23

'The researchers here now suggest that as dogs became domesticated,

0:31:230:31:28

'they learned to scavenge for food as individuals,

0:31:280:31:32

'making them less inclined to share.

0:31:320:31:34

'Whereas wolves have always hunted together to bring down big prey

0:31:340:31:39

'and so tolerance, communication and friendship within the pack

0:31:390:31:43

'have helped them to succeed and survive.'

0:31:430:31:46

What's been fantastic for me, coming here,

0:31:460:31:49

is to see how a bit of smart science

0:31:490:31:52

can push old prejudices about an animal out of the way

0:31:520:31:55

in favour of new insights and understanding.

0:31:550:31:58

So who's afraid of the big,

0:31:580:32:00

friendly, co-operative, tolerant wolf?

0:32:000:32:04

Not me.

0:32:040:32:06

WOLVES HOWL

0:32:060:32:08

On the other side of the planet, conservationist Giles Clark

0:32:160:32:19

is in the eucalyptus forests of Queensland, Australia,

0:32:190:32:23

to explore one of the latest hi-tech conservation projects.

0:32:230:32:27

He wants to discover if

0:32:290:32:30

communications technology designed for the military

0:32:300:32:33

can save an iconic species that we're putting under huge pressure.

0:32:330:32:37

The koala.

0:32:390:32:40

Deforestation isn't just wiping out animals

0:32:420:32:45

in remote places like the Amazon.

0:32:450:32:47

It's happening in towns and cities like this one - Brisbane.

0:32:470:32:50

'Nine-month-old orphan Rocket

0:32:540:32:57

'is one of the recent victims of rapid urban expansion

0:32:570:33:00

'here in Queensland,

0:33:000:33:01

'where the koala population has plummeted by over 40%.'

0:33:010:33:06

You can really feel how sharp those claws are!

0:33:060:33:08

Are you going back?

0:33:090:33:11

'Koalas like Rocket are coming under threat

0:33:110:33:14

'as new roads, and most recently, a new railway line,

0:33:140:33:17

'are slicing through the ancient eucalyptus forest they live in.'

0:33:170:33:21

Now a team of conservationists is coming to the rescue

0:33:240:33:28

of the small koala population that is clinging on.

0:33:280:33:31

They have fitted over 200 koalas

0:33:340:33:36

with sophisticated satellite trackers.

0:33:360:33:39

It's a pioneering new technique

0:33:390:33:42

which is having a remarkable impact.

0:33:420:33:44

This communications technology means the team,

0:33:460:33:49

led by Tosh Tucker,

0:33:490:33:51

can pinpoint the location of every koala

0:33:510:33:54

and easily find and capture individuals

0:33:540:33:56

to monitor the health of this fragile population

0:33:560:33:59

in a way they never could before.

0:33:590:34:02

We're going to go look for Gonzo today. Gonzo?! Yeah.

0:34:020:34:05

He's one of our little boys on this site.

0:34:050:34:08

This is our site here.

0:34:080:34:09

Wow. And each one of those little blue dots is a koala? That's right.

0:34:110:34:14

That is truly incredible. And is it real-time?

0:34:140:34:18

There's a slight lag, but every four hours we get a transmission.

0:34:180:34:22

'It only takes a few seconds to find Gonzo's name on the map,

0:34:220:34:26

'and he looks dangerously close to the road.'

0:34:260:34:29

So that'll... So this is him, by the looks of it? That's Gonzo. Yep.

0:34:290:34:32

And this big highway is what we can hear over the back? Yeah.

0:34:320:34:36

Once we get an idea where he is,

0:34:360:34:38

I'll put his frequency in and we can pinpoint exactly where he is.

0:34:380:34:42

It makes it a lot easier to find him.

0:34:420:34:44

'The tracker picks up Gonzo's frequency almost immediately.'

0:34:440:34:48

'And we're off on his trail.'

0:34:500:34:52

Sounds like he's just in this patch here.

0:34:580:35:00

Start looking up? Yep.

0:35:000:35:02

Should just be right here somewhere, mate.

0:35:030:35:06

Right. So he's in there somewhere. There he is, mate.

0:35:060:35:08

Just look in that vine, near the acacia.

0:35:080:35:11

He's just sitting... Oh, yeah, I've got him. ..in that fork there.

0:35:110:35:15

Let's do it.

0:35:160:35:17

'With Gonzo located, Tosh calls in his team.'

0:35:180:35:22

'The plan is to get Gonzo down to change his radio collar

0:35:240:35:27

'and give him a thorough health check.'

0:35:270:35:29

Right, just got to get him down to that lateral.

0:35:290:35:32

'In close-knit koala communities,

0:35:320:35:35

'disease can quickly spread and wipe out entire groups.'

0:35:350:35:39

Nice and easy.

0:35:390:35:41

'So it's vital the team can make sure every koala

0:35:410:35:44

'is in the best possible health if this population is to survive.'

0:35:440:35:49

Grab him, man.

0:35:490:35:51

All right, Giles. Come in there, mate.

0:35:530:35:55

Just put him under the bottom there.

0:35:550:35:57

Hello, little fella.

0:35:580:36:00

'A handful of fresh leaves, and Gonzo's ready for his check-up,

0:36:020:36:06

'which each koala gets twice a year.'

0:36:060:36:09

He's loving it. Yeah, it'll calm him right down.

0:36:090:36:12

He's happy as Larry.

0:36:120:36:14

'Vet Dr John Hanger has been treating koalas for over 20 years.'

0:36:140:36:19

'Back at his surgery, Gonzo is sedated.'

0:36:220:36:25

Just give him a once-over, hey?

0:36:310:36:33

'First, John checks Gonzo's heart.'

0:36:340:36:37

Sounds good.

0:36:380:36:39

'Next he checks Gonzo's sharp teeth are all present and correct,

0:36:390:36:44

'and then onto his all-important tracker collar.'

0:36:440:36:48

Just make sure there's plenty of growing space in there

0:36:480:36:51

because the youngsters are growing rapidly,

0:36:510:36:53

so we need to make sure this doesn't get too tight.

0:36:530:36:56

'He then takes a look his feet.' A great big blister.

0:36:560:37:00

That's not normal. No, OK. We should get a photo of that.

0:37:000:37:04

'Gonzo's blistered foot is nothing serious, but even so,

0:37:040:37:08

'John will keep a record of it.

0:37:080:37:10

'Finally, John uses an ultrasound to scan Gonzo's kidneys, stomach

0:37:100:37:15

'and bowel to check he's processing all that eucalyptus properly.'

0:37:150:37:20

So there's the bladder there - the black structure there.

0:37:200:37:24

You can see the fermenting part to the bowel.

0:37:240:37:27

'Eucalyptus is poisonous to many animals

0:37:270:37:30

'and impossible for them to digest,

0:37:300:37:32

'but koalas have a special bacteria in their stomachs

0:37:320:37:36

'that can break it down.

0:37:360:37:38

'This movement is a sign that all is well with Gonzo.'

0:37:380:37:41

You can really see that movement.

0:37:410:37:43

They are just leaf-processing machines, really.

0:37:430:37:47

They certainly are.

0:37:470:37:48

He's really starting to wake up.

0:37:480:37:50

I think we should think about getting him back into that forest.

0:37:500:37:54

OK...hey?

0:37:550:37:57

'Gonzo has been given a clean bill of health,

0:37:590:38:03

'but John isn't going to return him just to any old tree.

0:38:030:38:07

'Until around two years of age,

0:38:070:38:09

'koalas like Gonzo prefer to be close to their mums,

0:38:090:38:13

'and using the satellite technology again,

0:38:130:38:16

'John can track down Gonzo's mum.'

0:38:160:38:19

We'll just scan down here to find her name.

0:38:190:38:22

These are all the koalas with those special collars on.

0:38:220:38:25

'Her name is Jadore, and with a click of his mouse,

0:38:250:38:29

'he has found her.'

0:38:290:38:31

OK, so she's hanging around here at the moment.

0:38:310:38:34

This tells us that the last upload from her collar was five hours ago.

0:38:340:38:38

So with a bit of luck, she'll still be at that point,

0:38:380:38:41

or if she's not there, hopefully she'll be fairly close.

0:38:410:38:44

But we'll be tracking her with the conventional telemetry gear

0:38:440:38:47

as well to make sure. To really home in on the spot. That's right.

0:38:470:38:50

This technology, it's incredible,

0:38:500:38:52

the access that it's given you, and the information.

0:38:520:38:55

Yes. It's allowing us to monitor the koalas far more intensively

0:38:550:38:58

than we could have otherwise and that means we can intervene

0:38:580:39:02

much more quickly if they get into trouble.

0:39:020:39:05

'Gonzo has just recovered from his anaesthetic

0:39:080:39:11

'and we're off to track down his mum and set him free.'

0:39:110:39:15

Sort of getting the strongest signal from... Around this area?

0:39:160:39:20

That sort of area. Is that her?

0:39:200:39:22

A koala in a tree? Well done, Giles!

0:39:220:39:25

I think that is her. There she is. Right up here. Yep.

0:39:250:39:27

'We spot Gonzo's mum and release him in a nearby tree.'

0:39:270:39:31

Gonzo steps out tentatively at first

0:39:370:39:40

but he is soon back in the swing of things.

0:39:400:39:42

Off he goes! He's not hanging around.

0:39:450:39:48

'So far, with the help of this communication technology,

0:39:480:39:52

'the team have helped protect over 400 koalas.'

0:39:520:39:55

'The hope is this technology could one day

0:39:570:40:00

'be rolled out across Australia

0:40:000:40:02

'to help some of the 100,000 koalas who live in the wild.'

0:40:020:40:06

'This extraordinary project shows that as we continue to

0:40:070:40:11

'encroach on the environment, it is possible to reduce

0:40:110:40:14

'the negative impact we can have on wildlife.'

0:40:140:40:17

In British Columbia on the West Coast of Canada, this footage

0:40:260:40:29

caught on camera phone shows a family of killer whales or orcas.

0:40:290:40:34

They're one of the ocean's smartest animals,

0:40:340:40:37

and this group is behaving in a truly bizarre way.

0:40:370:40:41

Holy Moley.

0:40:410:40:44

Oh, my God! This is crazy.

0:40:440:40:47

Could these highly unusual orca antics give us new insights

0:40:480:40:53

into the sophisticated ways that these amazing marine animals

0:40:530:40:57

socialise and communicate?

0:40:570:40:59

This family group has come right into the shoreline

0:41:000:41:03

and they appear to be rubbing their bellies on the pebbles.

0:41:030:41:08

We asked marine biologist Jackie Hildering

0:41:080:41:10

what she thinks is going on.

0:41:100:41:12

The first time I ever witnessed the behaviour

0:41:150:41:19

was actually only hearing it and not seeing it.

0:41:190:41:22

I had an underwater microphone so I could hear the whales

0:41:220:41:26

communicating back and forth.

0:41:260:41:28

But also I could hear the rocks going shk-shk-shk over one another

0:41:280:41:33

as you have these long skids across the smooth rocks.

0:41:330:41:37

Jackie is convinced the orcas are deliberately and repeatedly

0:41:380:41:42

rubbing their bodies along the pebbles.

0:41:420:41:44

They'll get down low and scratch every part of their bodies,

0:41:470:41:50

skidding across smooth rocks.

0:41:500:41:52

At first, scientists thought

0:41:540:41:56

this was an extreme orca exfoliation system -

0:41:560:41:59

that the killer whales were trying to remove parasites from their skin.

0:41:590:42:03

But if this was a purely practical habit,

0:42:060:42:08

you'd expect it would be something

0:42:080:42:10

all the orcas in these waters would do.

0:42:100:42:13

Whereas in fact, researchers know that it's very few groups

0:42:140:42:18

who have been observed behaving in this way.

0:42:180:42:20

Why on earth would it be that one population

0:42:230:42:25

would be rubbing off parasites - have parasites! -

0:42:250:42:27

when the others wouldn't?

0:42:270:42:29

Oh, my God.

0:42:290:42:30

The breakthrough came from listening to the clicks and squeaks

0:42:300:42:34

from the orcas that accompanied this belly-rubbing behaviour.

0:42:340:42:37

The sheer intensity of their communication

0:42:390:42:42

suggested a surprising interpretation.

0:42:420:42:44

The sounds being made, it is quite something.

0:42:460:42:49

It's the same sort of calls that they make when family groups

0:42:490:42:55

meet up with one another, so this had to be social behaviour.

0:42:550:43:00

And it probably feels darn good.

0:43:030:43:05

My belief is it's a whale massage.

0:43:070:43:10

It seems that taking time out for a feel-good pebble massage

0:43:100:43:14

has become a social tradition for this family,

0:43:140:43:18

for the sheer fun of it.

0:43:180:43:20

And there's another surprise, too.

0:43:200:43:22

We've known for a while that orcas communicate vital survival lessons

0:43:220:43:26

like hunting skills to the next generation.

0:43:260:43:30

But now we have evidence that just like us,

0:43:300:43:33

they can also communicate family traditions down the generations.

0:43:330:43:37

It's absolutely the case that this behaviour is passed on

0:43:390:43:42

from generation to generation.

0:43:420:43:45

One of the young killer whales in the footage

0:43:450:43:48

now has her own calves and is teaching them to beach rub.

0:43:480:43:52

Oh, my God!

0:43:520:43:54

In much warmer waters surrounding the islands of the Bahamas,

0:44:060:44:10

Lucy Cooke is heading to a unique research site

0:44:100:44:13

that's giving us new insights into how sharks interact with each other.

0:44:130:44:18

Mention the word shark,

0:44:200:44:22

and most people think of lone, mindless, mechanistic killers.

0:44:220:44:27

But I've come to investigate brand-new research

0:44:270:44:31

that claims to have discovered that sharks could be social,

0:44:310:44:34

make friendships, and even have personalities.

0:44:340:44:37

Up to now, most shark research has concentrated on

0:44:430:44:46

the behaviour of individuals prowling the ocean's depths.

0:44:460:44:51

You can just see the little clearing there with that sand tongue.

0:44:510:44:54

It's really hidden away.

0:44:540:44:57

'But Dr Tristan Guttridge from the Bimini Shark Lab

0:44:570:45:01

'is taking me to a special lagoon where it's possible to see

0:45:010:45:04

'how sharks behave together.'

0:45:040:45:07

'I've been assured that these mangrove roots

0:45:090:45:11

'make the alleyway so narrow that only small sharks can fit through.'

0:45:110:45:16

The tide is going this way, and the sharks travel with it.

0:45:170:45:21

It's like a secret shark alley.

0:45:220:45:24

Wow!

0:45:300:45:32

So, this is it! Beautiful, isn't it? Yeah!

0:45:320:45:36

You'd never know it was here, would you?

0:45:360:45:39

'Research has recently discovered that young sharks

0:45:390:45:42

'were using this lagoon as a kind of nursery -

0:45:420:45:44

'a safe haven to rest and feed in as they grew up.'

0:45:440:45:48

'And it's not long before I see my very first shark.'

0:45:490:45:54

There we go. A nice, beautiful one coming.

0:45:560:46:00

Really healthy-looking sharks in here as well.

0:46:000:46:02

'The sharks here are juvenile lemon sharks.'

0:46:040:46:08

'Adults can grow to up to three metres long,

0:46:100:46:13

'and have powerful jaws.'

0:46:130:46:15

I've got to ask.

0:46:160:46:18

Do they bite? Am I in any...?

0:46:180:46:20

We have food with us, so you'll see a massive switch in behaviour.

0:46:200:46:25

At the moment they're just patrolling around,

0:46:250:46:27

they're very calm.

0:46:270:46:28

They look kind of cautious, actually.

0:46:280:46:30

To be honest, they look more nervous of me than I am of them.

0:46:300:46:33

Yeah, absolutely.

0:46:330:46:34

'It was long assumed that sharks were generally loners

0:46:340:46:37

'and would only communicate with others to fight over food...

0:46:370:46:42

'or mate, but their behaviour here is suggesting that's not the case.'

0:46:420:46:47

What we found over the years is that they actually follow each other.

0:46:470:46:51

They socialise in this area.

0:46:510:46:52

So they're not just randomly swimming around solitary,

0:46:520:46:57

they are actually following each other in groups

0:46:570:46:59

and they switch groups and change groups over time,

0:46:590:47:02

and they seem to have actual kind of friends, really,

0:47:020:47:04

that they prefer to associate with. Wow.

0:47:040:47:08

'And when the team put food into the water

0:47:080:47:10

'to observe what happened when sharks fed,

0:47:100:47:13

'there were further surprising insights into their behaviour.'

0:47:130:47:16

What you'll see is that some will come in sooner than others.

0:47:180:47:21

I don't think it's purely because one is hungrier than another one,

0:47:210:47:25

it's actually one of them will take a greater risk than the other one.

0:47:250:47:28

Some being bolder than others, too.

0:47:280:47:30

So you can do that, and then wiggle it.

0:47:320:47:35

That's it. Here's one coming in now. They're coming in!

0:47:350:47:39

That's it. And let them go.

0:47:430:47:44

This is quite a big one, isn't it?

0:47:470:47:50

'Pretty soon, I'm surrounded by a dozen sharks.'

0:47:500:47:54

There's a lot of them around me now.

0:47:550:47:58

Oi!

0:47:580:47:59

Now they're really getting excited. There you go.

0:47:590:48:03

'They do all seem to behave in different ways towards the food.'

0:48:030:48:07

'Some really play the tough guy.'

0:48:090:48:12

Oi! Just calm down.

0:48:120:48:15

'Others are a little more shy.' You've got him.

0:48:150:48:18

Hello!

0:48:180:48:20

There you go.

0:48:200:48:22

See him shake his head?

0:48:220:48:23

Yeah.

0:48:230:48:25

You can see some of them are less inquisitive than others,

0:48:250:48:28

some of them come steaming in,

0:48:280:48:30

and I think it's the same with lots of animals,

0:48:300:48:32

that they have these different personalities.

0:48:320:48:34

Ooh!

0:48:340:48:36

Fantastic.

0:48:360:48:37

'Tristan has been putting his observation

0:48:390:48:42

'that sharks might have different personalities to the test.

0:48:420:48:46

'We've called in a line-up of volunteers.

0:48:460:48:50

'Personality used to be seen as a highly developed trait

0:48:500:48:54

'only found in dogs and primates.'

0:48:540:48:57

Slightly insane.

0:48:570:48:59

OK, if you want to hop over here... OK. I don't want to...

0:48:590:49:01

'So how will our sharks fare?'

0:49:010:49:05

Lovely!

0:49:050:49:06

'To start, we need to transfer our first suspect into the test pen.'

0:49:060:49:11

In you go! In she goes!

0:49:110:49:13

So this, this is a shark personality test.

0:49:150:49:19

And the way that it works is

0:49:190:49:21

we're going to lower a strange object into the pen

0:49:210:49:24

and then observe how different sharks react to that object.

0:49:240:49:29

'If they really do have personalities,

0:49:310:49:33

'each shark should behave differently when they see

0:49:330:49:36

'this strange stripy pole descend into their space.'

0:49:360:49:40

Let the test begin.

0:49:400:49:42

'Our first volunteer

0:49:420:49:44

'almost immediately goes to investigate the new object.'

0:49:440:49:48

Checking it out... I thought that was boldness!

0:49:500:49:53

Certainly wasn't scared of it.

0:49:530:49:55

I thought it went in, it came in and went and checked it out.

0:49:550:49:58

Before we lowered that, it was circling the edge.

0:50:010:50:05

And now it's completely changed its behaviour

0:50:050:50:08

and it's just doing pass-bys, isn't it?

0:50:080:50:12

It's totally checking it out.

0:50:120:50:14

It's a bold shark. It's a bold shark.

0:50:140:50:18

'It's time to test our next shark.

0:50:200:50:23

'Will it behave differently, showing it has a different personality?'

0:50:230:50:28

I reckon this one's going to be timid.

0:50:320:50:35

Timid?! Yep.

0:50:350:50:37

I'm going bold. You're going bold on this one? Yeah.

0:50:370:50:40

I'm going bold.

0:50:400:50:41

'My shark senses were right.

0:50:440:50:47

'Our second candidate seems determined

0:50:470:50:49

'to avoid the stripy pole altogether.'

0:50:490:50:52

It's hugging the edge.

0:50:520:50:54

Yeah, nowhere near as much interest.

0:50:540:50:56

You can see the difference between the two.

0:50:560:50:59

That's the cool thing to pick out.

0:50:590:51:01

'Tristan and his team

0:51:020:51:03

'have repeatedly tested over 300 lemon sharks.'

0:51:030:51:07

'Each one consistently showed its own unique response to the object.'

0:51:080:51:13

'And this suggests for the first time

0:51:140:51:16

'that sharks really do have personalities.'

0:51:160:51:19

So this isn't just a freak,

0:51:210:51:23

that it's bold today but it could be timid tomorrow?

0:51:230:51:25

You believe that these are fixed personality types?

0:51:250:51:28

Absolutely. If we test this shark next week,

0:51:280:51:31

it should do the same behaviour, or very similar. Cool.

0:51:310:51:35

'We're only just beginning to understand the complexities

0:51:370:51:40

'of shark communication and interaction,

0:51:400:51:43

'but the team believe that having different personality types

0:51:430:51:47

'actually helps sharks thrive as a species.

0:51:470:51:51

'They can exploit all the food sources available to them,

0:51:510:51:55

'with some who pick off the easy targets,

0:51:550:51:57

'and high rollers who take on the big prey.'

0:51:570:52:00

Sharks may all look the same but behind those fixed grins,

0:52:050:52:09

there's actually a whole range of personalities.

0:52:090:52:12

It seems that success if you're a shark

0:52:140:52:17

isn't all about physical perfection.

0:52:170:52:20

Personality also plays a really important role.

0:52:200:52:25

So far we've found out just how subtle and sophisticated

0:52:330:52:37

communication between animals can be.

0:52:370:52:40

And now we're going to meet one more clever creature

0:52:400:52:43

who uses its remarkable powers of communication

0:52:430:52:46

to get exactly what it wants from us.

0:52:460:52:50

In the quiet town of Lecanto in Florida,

0:52:530:52:57

Alberta and Chuck Holloway have been receiving strange deliveries.

0:52:570:53:02

We've got a ballpoint pen.

0:53:020:53:04

This is a bone, a screw.

0:53:040:53:08

We don't know what this is.

0:53:080:53:10

We've got a piece of bark, coins,

0:53:100:53:13

and we have this diamond chip bracelet.

0:53:130:53:16

Chuck had been putting bird food out on their driveway

0:53:160:53:20

for almost a year

0:53:200:53:21

when he noticed an unfamiliar object among the empty peanut shells.

0:53:210:53:26

I came out to put the feed out

0:53:280:53:30

and approximately right along in here

0:53:300:53:35

was the toy car. And...

0:53:350:53:38

how'd it get here?!

0:53:380:53:41

Strange, that's all I can say.

0:53:440:53:46

Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery,

0:53:460:53:50

Chuck set up motion-triggered cameras to monitor the scene.

0:53:500:53:55

And they soon revealed who was leaving the gifts.

0:53:550:53:58

CROW CAWS It was the local crows.

0:54:000:54:03

Scientists know that crows are smart birds, reckoned in some tests

0:54:050:54:09

to show the problem-solving abilities of a seven-year-old child.

0:54:090:54:13

When the bird food ran out,

0:54:130:54:16

Chuck and Alberta's crows would often drop off a gift.

0:54:160:54:20

So far, they've left 57 different items.

0:54:200:54:24

Studies have shown that crows can recognise and remember

0:54:260:54:29

individual human faces, and Chuck believes that

0:54:290:54:33

he might even have received gifts fetched specially for him.

0:54:330:54:37

This piece is a piece of PVC fitting.

0:54:400:54:43

I was working on the sprinklers in the side yard,

0:54:430:54:47

so I had PVC stuff out there, and all of a sudden it shows up.

0:54:470:54:52

You know, like... In the feeding tray. Like they were watching!

0:54:520:54:55

Like this was, "He's doing that, so maybe he'd like this."

0:54:550:54:58

Thanks to the internet,

0:55:020:55:04

we know this intriguing crow behaviour isn't a one-off.

0:55:040:55:07

People from all around the world

0:55:070:55:09

have been reporting the same phenomenon.

0:55:090:55:11

This is my personal favourite.

0:55:130:55:15

Crow expert Doctor John Withey helps to explain what's going on.

0:55:150:55:21

And this is when he dropped this thing. OK.

0:55:210:55:24

Studies have shown that crows also give each other

0:55:240:55:27

gifts of food and shiny objects.

0:55:270:55:29

Sometimes it's young crows sharing food with

0:55:310:55:34

a more dominant individual.

0:55:340:55:36

Sometimes it's between male and females that are paired.

0:55:360:55:40

But is this more than just a way of saying thank you?

0:55:400:55:43

From a young age, crows learn that sharing can be rewarding.

0:55:450:55:49

Their expectation is, I share food now

0:55:510:55:53

and I might receive something from you in the future.

0:55:530:55:57

Now it seems that crows could actually be capable of

0:56:020:56:05

entering a kind of trading relationship with humans.

0:56:050:56:09

We get the gift when the food is empty.

0:56:110:56:15

I'm looking at it that they're bartering.

0:56:150:56:17

Like, "I'll give you this if you give us some more food."

0:56:170:56:21

It sounds like this association of,

0:56:210:56:23

"If we bring something, then the food comes back."

0:56:230:56:26

They're certainly capable of that kind of learning.

0:56:260:56:29

Whether this is a case of crows seeking friendships with humans

0:56:290:56:34

or that these super smart birds have learned how to manipulate us

0:56:340:56:38

into giving them what they want, there's certainly no doubt

0:56:380:56:42

that science is revealing extraordinary powers of persuasion

0:56:420:56:46

on the part of one of the world's brightest birds.

0:56:460:56:49

'Next time, we reveal new insights

0:56:540:56:56

'into some of the most amazing anatomies in the animal kingdom.

0:56:560:57:00

'Giles is in Australia with a kangaroo

0:57:000:57:03

'that's happier up a tree than hopping through the outback.'

0:57:030:57:06

'Lucy's in Costa Rica to find out if the sloth's famed laziness

0:57:070:57:12

'could be the key to its success.

0:57:120:57:15

'Patrick's in South Africa where there's quite a bit going on

0:57:150:57:18

'between the ears of the bat-eared fox.'

0:57:180:57:21

Here he comes!

0:57:210:57:23

'And I'm in the French Alps

0:57:230:57:25

to see what it takes to train an eagle to fly at 1,500 metres.'

0:57:250:57:29

THEME PLAYS: The Apprentice

0:58:010:58:04

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