Safe in Our Hands Mountain Gorilla


Safe in Our Hands

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In the heart of Africa,

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straddling the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and Congo,

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lies a remarkable mountain kingdom.

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It's home to the last 700 mountain gorillas in the world.

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With so few left, they're under constant surveillance

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from a dedicated band of humans.

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A species in intensive care.

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Our cameras have been given privileged access

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to these precious animals

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by the people that record every detail of their lives.

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In this programme, we'll be following

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some of the youngest and most vulnerable gorillas.

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We witness the plight of two orphans caught in a brutal civil war.

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A young female on the cusp of adulthood,

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battling with feelings she's unable to control.

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(DRUMMING)

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And a new gorilla king,

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struggling to earn the respect of the group

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he fought so hard to win.

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In these uncertain times, is the mountain gorilla's future

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safe in our hands?

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On the volcanic slopes of the mountains of Rwanda

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there has been momentous change.

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Titus, the 35-year-old gorilla king, is dead.

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At his peak, he ruled over 25 gorillas

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and became the most successful silverback in recorded history.

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Now his reign is over.

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The young orphan he protected has also lost his struggle for life.

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Titus was hounded to the point of exhaustion by a younger silverback,

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his son, Rano.

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The old ruler simply couldn't fight any more, slowly fading away,

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until finally one morning he simply didn't wake up,

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worn out by life

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and his own son.

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For Rwandan gorilla researcher Felix Ndagijimana, it's the end of an era.

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Titus was one of my favourite gorillas, and I guess,

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well, he was everybody's favourite, not only me.

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Now that Titus has gone, and Rano has taken over the group he's, um,

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I would say that he's keeping the group together,

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and that's the most important,

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but it's really hard for the individuals in the group

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to accept him as the leader, especially Tuck,

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the only female of the group, who had a very close relationship with Titus.

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You can see that the group is not as close as it used to be

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when Titus was still alive.

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THUNDER RUMBLES

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At just 17 years old, Rano is the same age as his father was

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when he became leader of this group.

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But Rano is discovering that to be a great silverback,

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it's not enough just to be the son of a once great king.

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Already, things aren't looking good.

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The other gorillas seem reluctant to accept him as their new leader.

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Tuck, the only female in the group, is on the verge of leaving.

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She only stays because of her young son.

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Before Titus's death, he was a confident four-year-old.

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Now he's regressed, becoming more reliant on his mother.

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Tuck is torn between her duty as a parent and her contempt for Rano.

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This is a group in turmoil,

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and its leader needs to prove himself.

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Can Rano win their confidence and keep the group together?

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Mountain gorillas are a species in intensive care.

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Around 700 remain in the wild,

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and everything humanly possible is done to keep them safe.

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The mountain gorilla vets are a vital part of this effort.

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They're dedicated to monitoring the gorillas' health,

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and can be called upon at a moment's notice.

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Magda Braum is one of those vets.

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She has worked with apes for over ten years.

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Today, she's travelling from her base in Rwanda

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and crossing the border into Congo, to the town of Goma.

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Congo is home to around 200 mountain gorillas,

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about a third of the total population.

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A huge country, it was the location of the Great War of Africa,

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a conflict that began in 1998

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and involved eight nations and around 25 armed groups.

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Today the war's over, but eastern Congo,

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where the mountain gorillas live, is still home to many armed rebels.

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Today, I'm going to Congo to check

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on Ndeze and Ndakazi, our two mountain gorilla orphans.

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They've been with us in the temporary facility in Goma,

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and Goma is not the right climate, it's a very crowded place,

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we have lots and lots of health problems because of that.

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And we were trying for a long time to find them a better area,

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and finally there is the sanctuary in Rumangabo.

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It's actually exactly the place where they come from.

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We had the call from our vets in Goma that they had a bit of a cough,

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which is nothing unusual in this time of year.

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So, most likely, it's nothing serious,

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but, as I said, we have to be sure that they are fit for the move.

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The hope is that the two orphaned gorillas

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will pass Magda's health check

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and be moved from the hot, dusty town to their new home in the forest.

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In the neighbouring country of Uganda,

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in a small house in the middle of the forest,

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lives gorilla scientist Martha Robbins.

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She has studied mountain gorillas for 20 years,

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the past 12 here in Uganda,

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where around 300 mountain gorillas are found.

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Each day, she ventures out into the forest

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to observe the gorillas first-hand.

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The habitat here is very good for gorillas.

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What makes it so difficult for us to walk around

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is actually great for the gorillas,

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because there's herbaceous vegetation everywhere for the gorillas to eat.

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We have much more fruit trees here, the gorillas definitely like fruit,

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and so that's sort of an added resource for the gorillas.

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Thanks to the work of people like Martha,

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we now know that Ugandan gorillas eat more fruit than the gorillas in Rwanda,

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that they spend more time in the trees,

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and that they have larger home ranges.

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Martha's dedication to studying these animals

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has allowed her to gain the trust of one gorilla in particular,

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the successful silverback leader Rukina.

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He leads a group of 14 that includes six females.

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CREAKING AND CRASHING

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With so many females in his group,

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silverback Rukina's life couldn't be more different

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to that of Rano back in Rwanda.

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The dominant silverback claims exclusive rights to the females

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and, given the chance, will mate every few hours.

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The junior blackbacks can only look on.

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But for one little gorilla,

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the temptation to get involved is just too great.

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Ten-month-old Ponoka is the youngest in the group,

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and although Rukina is probably his father, he could be pushing his luck.

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One in three gorillas die before three years of age.

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The first year is the riskiest.

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Martha can't wait for little Ponoka to reach that milestone.

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Although Ponoka is the youngest in this group,

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he's not the newest arrival.

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That honour goes to a young female called Twijiki.

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Females often move between groups to avoid mating with their fathers,

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and now, in Rukina's group, the innocent-looking Twijiki

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is about to cause chaos.

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SHRIEKING AND GROWLING

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In Rwanda, gorilla researcher Felix is on his way to see

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the new silverback leader, Rano.

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For Felix, this is a chance to reacquaint himself

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with a gorilla he knew many years ago,

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and find out how the new leader and the old female, Tuck, are getting on.

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There's little doubt that silverback Rano would love

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to claim his hard-earned right to the female in his group.

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But at 37 years old, Tuck is most definitely not interested in sex.

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Nearly all females stop by their mid to late 30s.

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Unfortunately, Rano doesn't know this...

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..and keeps trying to impress her with his displays of strength.

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But all this seems to do is make Tuck more determined to ignore him.

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As Rano continues to hound Tuck, her sons come to her defence.

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Now the smallest gorilla in the group decides

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to show the mighty silverback Rano who's in charge.

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This is hardly the great leader in control.

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Pushed around by the youngest male in the group,

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and spurned by Tuck, the only female, things couldn't get much worse.

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Just 40 kilometres away in the forests of Uganda,

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things are stirring for the eight-year-old female, Twijiki.

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She arrived in the group just two months ago,

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and Martha's log shows that, up until now,

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she's been keeping a low profile.

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But today she only has eyes for Rukina, her silverback leader.

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The way she's staring at him like that, that's classic solicitation.

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Very subtle, as gorillas are.

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She wants to mate. I'm not sure he does.

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Advancing on him, she tightens her lips

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and stares straight into his eyes,

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sure signs that she wants to mate.

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But Rukina's group contains plenty of females for him to choose from,

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and he doesn't appear especially interested.

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Finally, Rukina relents.

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Yep, yep, yep, there you go.

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Twijiki's entered a period called oestrus,

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a monthly occurrence for gorillas, and the only time they can get pregnant.

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And usually they'll mate about once an hour.

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There we go.

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For the next few days, Twijiki's sole aim will be to mate.

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They are very active in soliciting the males.

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So, yeah, it is almost like they're...

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It's a different gorilla from one day to the next,

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depending on if they're in oestrus or not.

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Possessed by her hormones, she turns once more to the silverback,

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but he's not interested.

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Twijiki will have to look elsewhere.

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She decides to try her luck

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with the more junior gorillas, the blackbacks.

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Twijiki might not know any better, but the blackback is only too aware

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that if he gets caught, there'll be trouble.

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The dominant silverback holds priority,

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and won't put up with this sort of behaviour.

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Despite Rukina's efforts to break up the young couple's embrace,

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sneaky mating does happen.

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Genetic tests have revealed

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that about 15% of infants are not fathered by the dominant silverback.

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It was a mating like this, between Ponoka's mother and a blackback,

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that Martha saw before the young Ponoka was born.

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Discovering who fathered little Ponoka is important

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if Martha is to understand the secret world of gorillas.

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The only way she can solve this mystery is with a paternity test.

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Oh, yeah, ha-ha! That would be Ponoka.

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Yeah. So, the size of the dung corresponds to the size of the gorilla.

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So we've been looking for some time now to get the faeces from Ponoka

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-and today we succeeded.

-Yeah.

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Tiny, tiny, tiny.

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Martha will send this sample to a laboratory,

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where Ponoka's genetic profile will be compared

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to that of the silverback, Rukina.

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-Do you have the pen?

-Yeah.

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OK, great.

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In Congo, Magda is getting ready to meet the two orphaned mountain gorillas,

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and check that they are healthy enough to be moved to their new home.

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(THEY CONVERSE IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)

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Ndeze and Ndakazi's stories began in 2007...

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..when six mountain gorillas were killed in execution-style attacks,

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most likely linked to the illegal charcoal trade.

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Two-month-old Ndakazi was found clinging to the dead body of his mother,

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who had been shot through the back of the head.

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Around the same time, three-month-old Ndeze was discovered

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next to his dead mother.

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Altogether, five gorillas from his family had been killed,

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including the once mighty silverback Senkwekwe,

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whose body was ceremoniously carried off the mountain.

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These atrocities shocked the world,

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but the real struggle was keeping the two young orphans alive.

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It's all right.

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They survived, but because of their contact with humans,

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they are unlikely to go back into the wild.

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However, soon they will be moved

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from this cramped back garden to a purpose-built sanctuary,

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close to the forest that should be their natural home.

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Good...

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Oh, don't be shy!

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Come, come.

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To prepare for the move, the orphans are being introduced to the car

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that will eventually transport them.

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Good.

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Give me your hand.

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Good.

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That's good.

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It's very important that they know what's happening.

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We don't try to sneak on them and do things by surprise.

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Magda is happy that the orphans are healthy.

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But before she leaves Congo, there is a family of gorillas

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that she needs to check up on, one closely connected to the orphans.

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In Rwanda, the old female, Tuck, has so far chosen

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to stay with silverback Rano and his small, disgruntled band of gorillas.

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As their leader, one of Rano's responsibilities

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is to keep the group safe.

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But now he is taking them out of the National Park

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and onto the farmland that surrounds it.

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Rano is desperate to gain the group's respect.

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Leading the gorillas out of the park to find a tasty treat

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could be a way of winning them over.

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But it's not without risk.

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Nestling beneath the volcanoes is the bustling town of Ruhengeri.

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Its ever-expanding population needs feeding,

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which means the last few hundred mountain gorillas on Earth

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face stiff competition for resources.

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Potatoes are the main crop grown here,

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but the gorillas ignore these and go in search of a different delicacy.

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Eucalyptus. These fast-growing trees are planted by locals

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to be used for building materials.

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This sort of damage does bring the gorillas into conflict with humans.

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But this is not the only concern for those looking after them.

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By coming onto the farmland,

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the gorillas are exposed to human diseases.

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Gorillas have little immunity to our illnesses.

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Even a simple cough or cold could kill them.

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Much work is being done to make people aware of the risks and benefits

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of having mountain gorillas living alongside them.

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CHILDREN SING

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BELL RINGS

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And where better to start than with the next generation?

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At this school, the Art of Conservation team

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are teaching Rwandan children all about gorillas.

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So approximately how many mountain gorillas are alive today?

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(MAN TRANSLATES)

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(IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)

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TRANSLATOR: About 700 up to 800.

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Just as important as learning about mountain gorillas

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is the fact that the gorillas

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are helping to give something back to the local community.

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Money from gorilla tourism is used to build the very schools

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in which the children have their lessons.

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The future of the mountain gorilla

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is in the hands of the people that share this land.

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If both can benefit from this relationship,

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the gorilla's future will be more secure.

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At Martha's forest home in Uganda,

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the results of Ponoka's paternity test have arrived.

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So I just checked my e-mail and the subject heading is,

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"The paternity of Ponoka is solved."

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So I'm very curious to see, because he's nearly one year old.

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Yeah. "So if there's no other options,

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"the case for Rukina as father is quite strong. Congrats."

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So yeah, Rukina's the dad. That's exciting. Now we know.

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Knowing the gorilla's paternity helps Martha paint

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a much more accurate picture of gorilla life.

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Although little Ponoka is the son of Rukina,

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this doesn't make his first year any easier.

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At ten months, he's still pretty wobbly on his legs,

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and only just beginning to explore his jungle playground.

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But once he reaches his first birthday,

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his chances of survival will increase.

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Through her close scrutiny of this gorilla family,

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Martha is finding silverback Rukina to be a very successful leader.

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Part of this success is his ability to attract females.

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Unlike Rano, whose only female is the elderly Tuck, Rukina has six females,

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including the newly arrived Twijiki.

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Young females often move between groups

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to avoid breeding with their fathers,

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but today, young Twijiki seems happy to mate with just about anyone.

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She's already nearly been caught with one of the blackbacks,

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and that's a dangerous game to be playing.

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Her behaviour has certainly stirred up the group.

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GROWLING AND SHRIEKING

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Twijiki has now positioned herself between two blackbacks.

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Both are interested... but she seems to have a favourite.

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GRUNTING

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The spurned blackback spoils their game.

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They started to mate,

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but then the other blackback grunted at them aggressively, very loudly.

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And then they stopped and the female moved off.

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There was a chance that Rukina would come running.

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If this goes on for much longer,

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the youngsters are certain to get caught.

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THUNDER RUMBLES

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In Rwanda, Felix has received the news

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about Rano leading his group onto the farmland.

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He decides to find them.

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Although Rano needs the group to help him attract more females,

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the group needs Rano.

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Without him, the male blackbacks are too young

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to take on the responsibilities of leadership,

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and the group would fall apart.

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But now it's Rano's leadership skills that are about to be tested to the limit.

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There's another group close by,

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so what now they're doing is, you know, the chest beats,

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hooting from one side and then from the other side as well.

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HOOTING AND GRUNTING

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It's not uncommon

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for gorilla groups to meet,

0:34:480:34:50

and although potentially dangerous,

0:34:500:34:53

it's a chance for females to switch groups.

0:34:530:34:56

Felix is concerned that Tuck, the only female in the group,

0:34:590:35:03

may take this opportunity to leave.

0:35:030:35:06

But Rano seems prepared to risk life and limb trying to hold on to her,

0:35:060:35:11

even though she's spurned him.

0:35:110:35:14

Why he's so determined to keep hold of Tuck is a mystery,

0:35:140:35:17

especially since she's unable to breed.

0:35:170:35:20

For whatever reason, he continues to put on an impressive display

0:35:230:35:27

in the hope he can ward off any challenger.

0:35:270:35:30

ROARING AND WHOOPING

0:35:340:35:37

The whooping is thought to be a way of filling the chest with air

0:35:370:35:40

to help increase the effect of the chest beat.

0:35:400:35:44

And right now, Rano needs to sound as impressive and as powerful as he can.

0:35:440:35:49

Felix radios the rangers tracking the other group.

0:35:510:35:55

They are very close.

0:35:580:36:00

(CHEST BEATS)

0:36:020:36:05

The other group is about 200 metres.

0:36:060:36:10

This could be dangerous for Felix and his rangers.

0:36:140:36:18

No-one wants to get caught up in the middle of full-on gorilla warfare.

0:36:180:36:22

But it's terrible news for Rano, as it now seems inevitable

0:36:240:36:28

that he will have to face up to a fight with another silverback.

0:36:280:36:32

To make matters worse,

0:36:340:36:36

Tuck is definitely showing signs of interest in what's going on.

0:36:360:36:40

Oh, come on, Tuck, where are you going?

0:36:420:36:44

Already the blackbacks from both groups have started to mix,

0:36:460:36:51

but this is not their fight.

0:36:510:36:53

It's all down to the silverbacks now.

0:36:530:36:56

WHOOPING

0:36:580:37:00

Rano holds back with Tuck...

0:37:000:37:03

..but a clash seems unavoidable.

0:37:040:37:07

And Tuck doesn't make things any easier, as she follows Rano.

0:37:120:37:17

This is a real test of Rano's skills as a leader.

0:37:230:37:28

With three silverbacks and seven females, the rival group is a big one.

0:37:280:37:32

There's three silverbacks in there.

0:37:410:37:43

These females could use this opportunity to join Rano,

0:37:470:37:50

so the rival silverbacks are understandably cautious.

0:37:500:37:54

It's quite serious.

0:38:020:38:04

Everybody's here, all the females.

0:38:040:38:06

Everybody's interested in the other group,

0:38:060:38:10

so it's a very tense situation.

0:38:100:38:13

If this escalates, Rano could be badly hurt.

0:38:200:38:24

The silverbacks posture to each other,

0:38:260:38:28

turning side on to show their full might.

0:38:280:38:31

Rano must stand his ground if he wants to hold on to his group.

0:38:310:38:36

You need to go up there, because that can be nasty sometimes.

0:38:360:38:41

As the gorillas size each other up,

0:38:470:38:50

Rano's stoic defence of Tuck seems to be working.

0:38:500:38:54

The silverbacks realise that none of the females are ready to move...

0:39:000:39:04

..and since no-one wants to fight,

0:39:050:39:09

things begin to calm down.

0:39:090:39:11

As the gorillas start to disperse,

0:39:190:39:22

Felix senses that the situation has been defused.

0:39:220:39:26

Rano has handled this potentially disastrous encounter

0:39:360:39:41

with great skill and courage.

0:39:410:39:43

Whether this has been appreciated by Tuck and the rest of the group

0:39:460:39:51

remains to be seen.

0:39:510:39:52

In Congo, gorilla vet Magda is on her way to visit

0:40:260:40:30

the family of one of the orphans.

0:40:300:40:32

News has reached her of a newborn baby in the group,

0:40:340:40:37

and she wants to make sure it's healthy.

0:40:370:40:40

This is the biggest group on Congolese side.

0:40:520:40:56

36 individuals, and a very unusual thing - only one silverback.

0:40:560:40:59

Usually, in big groups like this, we have three, four, sometimes five silverbacks.

0:40:590:41:04

In Congo side, since April this year, we introduced masks,

0:41:040:41:09

so, because of the health reasons and disease transmission,

0:41:090:41:12

we all wear masks when we watch gorillas.

0:41:120:41:15

Congo is the first country to insist

0:41:230:41:26

that all visitors to the gorillas put on face masks

0:41:260:41:29

to prevent the spread of human disease.

0:41:290:41:31

It's especially important,

0:41:390:41:41

as these are some of the least visited mountain gorillas in the world.

0:41:410:41:45

(MAGDA CROONS)

0:41:450:41:47

Magda makes reassuring gorilla sounds

0:41:470:41:49

so that they are fully aware of her presence.

0:41:490:41:52

(SHE CROONS)

0:41:520:41:54

He's got his lunchbox with him.

0:41:550:41:57

It's an amazing time of year for gorillas now in all Virungas, with bamboo shoots.

0:42:000:42:05

That's probably 90% easily of their diet at this time of year.

0:42:050:42:09

I haven't seen this group before, but that's a very interesting group.

0:42:240:42:28

That's by far the biggest of all the Congolese groups.

0:42:280:42:32

And especially we would like to see the female, Maisha, today,

0:42:320:42:35

maybe we are lucky to see her,

0:42:350:42:37

because she's the youngest in the history mother.

0:42:370:42:40

She's only six years old and she already has a three-week-old baby.

0:42:400:42:43

So we will try to see her if we are lucky.

0:42:430:42:47

Trying to see a mother and baby in a group still suspicious of humans

0:42:510:42:55

is proving to be difficult.

0:42:550:42:58

But at last, Magda is able to get a glimpse of the newly born baby.

0:43:020:43:07

Sometimes, with young females like this, they are confused,

0:43:160:43:20

they don't know how to take care of the baby,

0:43:200:43:22

and babies die within a few days. But this baby's already three weeks old.

0:43:220:43:27

It's holding well, it's active,

0:43:270:43:29

starts already looking at its surroundings.

0:43:290:43:31

So I think it's going to be OK.

0:43:310:43:33

With the birth of this baby, the group is slowly rebuilding itself

0:43:360:43:41

after the horrors of the gorilla murders.

0:43:410:43:44

War, poaching, armed rebels...

0:43:460:43:50

the problems facing gorillas in Congo are immense.

0:43:500:43:55

But despite all this,

0:43:570:43:59

the Congolese are forging ahead with gorilla conservation.

0:43:590:44:02

Looking after the animals are over 650 dedicated rangers.

0:44:040:44:10

Often outnumbered and outgunned,

0:44:100:44:12

over 130 have lost their lives in the line of duty.

0:44:120:44:18

One of the biggest battles is against the illegal charcoal makers.

0:44:180:44:23

Every year, hundreds of tonnes of charcoal are taken from the forest.

0:44:240:44:29

For the local population it's their main cooking fuel.

0:44:290:44:33

Demand is high, and some of it comes from within the National Park

0:44:350:44:39

where the gorillas are found.

0:44:390:44:42

It's the rangers' job

0:44:420:44:44

to shut down these illegal charcoal-making operations.

0:44:440:44:48

But it's no good cutting off the supply if the demand is still there,

0:44:490:44:54

so, ingeniously in Congo,

0:44:540:44:57

they have come up with an alternative cooking fuel -

0:44:570:45:00

briquettes.

0:45:000:45:03

The briquettes can be produced from all sorts of materials,

0:45:050:45:08

including wood chippings, cardboard, even unused husks of rice.

0:45:080:45:14

The process is simple,

0:45:170:45:19

and just requires a pressing machine to create the briquette.

0:45:190:45:23

It's environmentally friendly, and gorilla friendly.

0:45:320:45:36

So far, 600 briquette-making machines have been distributed,

0:45:360:45:41

producing over 3,000 sacks of briquettes each month,

0:45:410:45:46

and creating more than 3,000 jobs.

0:45:460:45:48

It's a great success story, and one that will help secure

0:45:500:45:53

the future of people and gorillas in Congo.

0:45:530:45:57

In Uganda, Martha's gorilla group is travelling deep into the forest.

0:46:180:46:23

Gorillas can have a home range of up to 20 square kilometres,

0:46:270:46:32

and Rukina's group is nearing the very furthest boundary of their range.

0:46:320:46:36

This is a four-hour hike for Martha and the team.

0:46:380:46:43

But it's the only way for Martha to see

0:46:440:46:47

if young female Twijiki is still causing chaos in the group.

0:46:470:46:52

They finally settle, and Martha gets a chance

0:47:020:47:04

to look for the young troublemaker, Twijiki.

0:47:040:47:08

She finds the younger members of the group playing in the undergrowth.

0:47:170:47:22

But it's not just the juveniles enjoying this game.

0:47:240:47:28

Twijiki is also there

0:47:280:47:31

and all three are chuckling in delight.

0:47:310:47:34

It's really nice because Twijiki, the young female, was playing

0:48:030:48:07

and so, again, just how she's not quite an adult, but still not quite a kid.

0:48:070:48:12

So some days she's a young lady, but today she's trying to be a kid.

0:48:120:48:16

Twijiki's venture into adulthood is temporarily on hold.

0:48:180:48:24

And with that, the temptation for the blackbacks to misbehave has gone...

0:48:270:48:32

for now.

0:48:320:48:34

The group has travelled close to the very centre of Bwindi

0:48:420:48:46

and the great swamp from which the park got its name.

0:48:460:48:50

As the light starts to fade,

0:49:160:49:18

the smaller gorillas take to the trees to build their nests.

0:49:180:49:23

They make a fresh nest each night.

0:49:250:49:27

A springy bed of folded branches makes a great natural mattress.

0:49:270:49:31

Nothing beats a newly made bed in your own home.

0:49:350:49:39

But for tonight, it's Martha and her team

0:49:390:49:42

who will be without their creature comforts.

0:49:420:49:45

Instead of trudging home, they decide to camp out for the night.

0:49:550:50:00

Martha always enjoys a night under the stars,

0:50:070:50:11

but tonight there's another reason she wants to be near the gorillas.

0:50:110:50:16

There's a milestone coming up, and Martha can't miss it.

0:50:160:50:20

BIRDS SING

0:50:300:50:33

Daybreak in Uganda.

0:50:400:50:42

Martha is first up.

0:50:430:50:45

For her, this is an eagerly awaited day.

0:50:450:50:48

She's just a 20-minute walk from the gorillas' nesting site.

0:50:590:51:03

And here's what Martha has waited all year to see -

0:51:360:51:40

at last little Ponoka is one.

0:51:400:51:43

This is sort of a milestone for Ponoka.

0:51:450:51:48

About one in three infants don't live past age three,

0:51:480:51:53

so there's very high infant mortality.

0:51:530:51:55

But most of the deaths occur in the first year.

0:51:550:51:58

So now that Ponoka's reached one,

0:51:580:52:00

the likelihood of him surviving goes up dramatically.

0:52:000:52:04

The population of mountain gorillas is so small that every single individual counts.

0:52:050:52:11

It's nice to think that in 15, 20 years,

0:52:110:52:14

he might be a dominant silverback of his own group.

0:52:140:52:18

I hope I'm still here then.

0:52:180:52:20

I won't be running up these hills quite as fast, I guess. I hope so.

0:52:200:52:24

Reaching his first birthday is the first

0:52:260:52:29

of many challenges he will face growing up as a male gorilla.

0:52:290:52:34

But with a successful silverback leader like Rukina heading up his family,

0:52:340:52:39

things are already looking good for his future.

0:52:390:52:42

Under the watchful eye of Martha,

0:52:440:52:47

Rukina is proving to be both a good father and a strong leader.

0:52:470:52:51

My hopes for Rukina and the rest of his group

0:52:530:52:57

is that they live a natural, normal life span in a well-protected park.

0:52:570:53:02

At the moment, Bwindi is quite well protected, so I have reason to hope.

0:53:020:53:08

In Congo, it's also a big day for the orphaned gorillas.

0:53:340:53:39

At last they're on the move.

0:53:390:53:41

Having been passed healthy by Magda,

0:53:480:53:50

they are driven two hours to their new home.

0:53:500:53:53

It's this kind of commitment to the last few hundred mountain gorillas

0:54:010:54:05

that's essential if they are to survive into the next century.

0:54:050:54:10

Now they are finally able to enjoy living in a much more suitable home.

0:54:260:54:32

They can never go back into the wild,

0:54:330:54:35

as it's unlikely they would be accepted into a group.

0:54:350:54:39

But they have each other,

0:54:390:54:40

and their new home is as close as can be to the forest they came from.

0:54:400:54:45

But what of the brave silverback leader Rano,

0:55:110:55:14

living on the slopes of the Rwandan volcanoes?

0:55:140:55:18

Has the group finally accepted him?

0:55:180:55:20

They certainly seem a lot more relaxed and at ease with each other.

0:55:310:55:35

Maybe Rano's heroic stand against a larger, stronger group

0:55:470:55:51

has convinced the others that he might be a leader worth following.

0:55:510:55:56

But what of his future?

0:56:000:56:02

They all need each other.

0:56:050:56:09

Rano, as the dominant silverback,

0:56:090:56:11

needs all the support he can get from these guys,

0:56:110:56:14

so let's, you know, give them some time,

0:56:140:56:17

three, four years, they will grow and they will start to interact,

0:56:170:56:22

having these encounters with other groups,

0:56:220:56:25

and they will eventually attract females.

0:56:250:56:29

My hopes for Rano, I really hope, you know, he does

0:56:290:56:32

get some more females in the future.

0:56:320:56:35

I do like Rano.

0:56:350:56:37

He still has a long way to go

0:56:380:56:40

before he reaches the status of his father,

0:56:400:56:43

the legendary Titus.

0:56:430:56:45

It would certainly help if he could attract more females,

0:56:450:56:49

but with the hard-earned support of his fellow gorillas,

0:56:490:56:53

at least he has the chance to follow in his father's footsteps.

0:56:530:56:57

Rano is also lucky because, as well as his group,

0:56:570:57:02

he has the support of a dedicated team of scientists...

0:57:020:57:06

..trackers...

0:57:070:57:08

..and vets...

0:57:100:57:11

all working to ensure the future remains bright

0:57:110:57:15

for every gorilla in this precious mountain kingdom.

0:57:150:57:20

Rano, in his forest home in the heart of Africa,

0:57:330:57:36

is one of the last 700 mountain gorillas

0:57:360:57:40

that together are a species in intensive care.

0:57:400:57:44

But it's exactly this kind of care and attention

0:57:510:57:55

that has ensured that, for the past 20 years,

0:57:550:57:58

mountain gorilla populations haven't dropped, or just stayed still,

0:57:580:58:03

they've actually risen.

0:58:030:58:06

Could the last few hundred mountain gorillas

0:58:080:58:11

finally be safe in our hands?

0:58:110:58:14

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0:58:380:58:41

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0:58:410:58:44

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