Giraffes: Africa's Gentle Giants Natural World

It's an animal you can't help but look up to...

but what do we really know about giraffes?

Somehow, these gentle giants have been overlooked...

..but not by one man.

Having dedicated the last 20 years of his life to them,

Dr Julian Fennessy knows giraffes better than anyone...

Do I get sick of giraffe? Never.

..and what Julian has recently discovered is truly alarming.

I'm absolutely amazed that no-one has a clue -

this silent extinction,

some populations less than 400 individuals in the wild.

That is more endangered than any gorilla,

than almost any large mammal in the world.

In an urgent effort to help,

Julian will travel across Africa,

from Namibia to the unsettled border of Ethiopia and South Sudan,

and on into Uganda to launch a daring rescue mission

with a determined team.

Giraffe is very beautiful. It has to be protected forever.

There is hope, but Julian and his wife, Steph, know they must act now.

It's a very critical time and we have to do something now.

If we don't, in a few years, it might really be too late.

Together, they're standing tall for a remarkable beast -

a true icon of African wildlife.

Giraffe have gone extinct in at least seven countries in Africa.

It's not going to happen again.

There is no giraffe going to go extinct on my watch.

Weighing up to two tonnes,

the giraffe is a colossal animal,

and unlike any other.

You have to love something so big and weird

and sort of, you know, out there.

They're so funky-looking, they don't make sense.

They've got amazing eyelashes

and, you know, a lot of women love giraffe for their eyelashes.

Everybody loves giraffe.

I mean, they're a symbol for so many things around the world.

In a remote valley, Dr Julian Fenessey has found

the intact skeleton of an old bull giraffe.

So, you can see this old bull. He's huge, huge ossicones.

The massive bumps on a giraffe's head aren't horns or antlers -

they're different, and they're called ossicones.

They actually are like cartilage, like in your ear,

and when they're born, they're flat, and then they fold out

and they become bone and fuse to the skull.

The males' ossicones are much larger

and grow increasingly massive over their lives.

This is a couple of vertebrae, here, of the giraffe -

but there's only seven vertebrae in the neck,

just like all humans and all other mammals.

This is the lower leg bone. They kick out at lions

and other predators, they just knock 'em for six, they're dead.

It's about the same size as my daughter.

Julian's kids, Molly and Luca, are seven and ten

and, just like their dad, they love giraffes.

A giraffe is very tall.

It's got lots of dots.

Long legs and ossicones.

And long arms and a long neck.

And a tongue as long as her arm.

Julian and his wife Steph run the Giraffe Conservation Foundation,

or GCF, from their home here in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.

It's the first giraffe charity in the world.

We spend so much time thinking, talking, looking at giraffe.

From here, they work with men and women across the continent

to save the giraffe.

There is a fine line between brave and stupid,

and there's been a bit of a risk, put a lot of money on the line.

A lot of our life savings, really, has gone into this, at the moment.

It's no coincidence that Julian and his family

live in the middle of Namibia.

It's giraffe central.

The giraffe found here are called Angolan giraffes.

They're one of nine different subspecies of giraffe

spread across Africa.

It's just two days' drive from Julian's home

to a very special place called the Hoanib River.

Julian has been studying the giraffes that live here

for almost 20 years.

I mean, I remember coming out here for the first time.

I had no clue, as a young lad who'd come out from Australia,

and I ended up sort of in one of the most harshest deserts in the world.

Giraffe thrive here.

To me, this place is home.

This is where I love to come. This is my own personal space.

I feel like I've grown up with these guys, you know, they're my mates.

Year after year, Julian and Steph have been coming here,

recording every detail of these animals' lives.

This pioneering work is crucial to our understanding of giraffes today.

And look, there's giraffe over there.

Got a couple of females over there. And now we can try and ID them.

'At some stage we decided, let's give it a go.

'There's just no-one else who's looking after giraffe,

'there's no-one, really, doing that job.

'And they're pretty amazing animals.

'I mean, if you just see them out in the wild,

'I don't think there's any animal like them.

'They're so unique and iconic.'

Steph and Julian have gathered tens of thousands of photographs

and meticulous notes in a system they've invented

to tell each giraffe apart.

Every single giraffe has a unique pattern,

just like the fingerprint of a human.

I see a butterfly or I see a sailing boat

in one of the spots, Julian won't see that at all.

I'll see a beer or something like that.

Being Australian, you know, I've got a bit of a focus there.

But there's lots of markers how to identify them.

So, we don't only look at the patterns -

we look at the shape of the ossicones

and if they have hair on them or not.

-Old boys, like me.

-Yeah, bald.

Because they know every giraffe as an individual,

they can do what no-one else can,

and follow them over their entire lives -

and today they've found a very old friend.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

-See the black spot on its neck?

-Yeah.

-And on here.

-Look at that.

So we saw this giraffe many, many years before you guys

-were even born. How cool is that?

-Very cool!

This old bull giraffe was first seen

at the very beginning of their studies.

Back then, he was already an adult,

which means that he's over 20 years old, and, as of this moment,

the world's oldest recorded wild giraffe.

We don't know any giraffe that is as old as these in the world.

There just hasn't been the studies available to date.

Until Julian and the GCF's work,

many of the really basic facts about giraffes were missing -

how long can they can live?

How many are there? And even, how far do they roam?

We're seeing giraffe move in distances that we never thought.

Some of them in Namibia are going more than 11,000 square kilometres.

It's absolutely amazing.

Julian has also discovered many of the secrets of their survival -

that they get enough water just from browsing.

The trees, to defend themselves, have developed giant spikes,

poisonous leaves, and have recruited ants to fight the giraffe off.

In response, the giraffe's skin has become tough.

They also have a giant black sun-proof tongue,

and Julian has recorded that they can sniff out the poisonous leaves

and pluck the moister ones.

Most importantly, he has discovered that giraffes are vital pollinators

and seed spreaders. Without the giraffe's landscape gardening,

Africa would change for the worst.

Each year brings new discoveries for Julian.

Technology is now helping him

see the giraffe as he's never seen it before.

-Wow!

-It's so dark, he can't see his own hand in front of his face,

but his camera can peel back the night.

This is like Christmas all at once! It's absolutely brilliant.

Julian can now see that giraffe are surprisingly active at night.

Then he sees something he's never seen before,

just on the limit of what the camera can distinguish.

There is one sitting down, right in front here.

I didn't even see that. I thought it was a tree.

Wow! This guy has just put his neck...

he's just turned it around and he's resting it on his bum.

In the middle of the desert, where lions prowl,

the giraffe has curled up on the ground and gone to sleep.

In zoos, they study it. Basically, when their neck is down,

it's REM sleep, so maybe these giraffe are dreaming.

I've never seen that in the wild.

If they are dreaming, who knows what wild giraffe dream about?

All this is new for Julian.

So, this female has just turned.

That one's just stuck its neck up straight away.

It's sat down.

It went down straight away

and stuck its neck back, started to sleep.

I think they're talking to each other.

There's got to be some communication.

It's like they're taking turns to sleep.

That we don't know for certain

if these massive animals can communicate

or how they sleep in the wild shows how neglected

they've been. So much is new.

WAILING SOUND

Giraffe were thought to be mute until this year,

when these noises were recorded from giraffes in a zoo at night.

WAILING SOUND

Animals which communicate often rely on being in social groups

for their survival.

For the giraffe, discoveries like these, about how they live together,

give Julian vital information that may help him save them.

I don't know anyone who's observed giraffe at night.

And this is the first time it's ever been done, you know?

I know a little bit about giraffe but I've never seen this.

But Julian's most jaw-dropping giraffe discovery is,

alarmingly, the simplest.

He's found that, in just 20 years, the numbers of all giraffe

across Africa have dropped by almost 40%.

I don't know how else to explain it,

but, you know, everyone just thinks they're everywhere

and they're lovely, and they're beautiful, so...

of course they can't be dwindling, the numbers can't be going.

Numbers are plummeting.

We have lost many animals before,

and I just think it would be a really sad world without giraffe.

To put this into perspective,

it's well known that African elephants are in trouble.

Their numbers are falling rapidly,

and there are just almost half a million left...

..but what no-one realised is that there are far fewer giraffes.

There are just 90,000.

Giraffe have already become extinct

in at least seven countries.

Easy targets for poachers,

they are killed for their meat,

and their habitats are being destroyed.

It's frightening, and I think, if we lost them,

I don't know where I would be at.

I really think...I've lost.

Me and so many people around us

have just not done the job we set out to do.

Time is running out

and Julian knows we urgently need

to take our understanding of giraffes to a new level.

He has a revolutionary theory -

that there's not just one species of giraffe,

divided into slightly different sub species,

but there are instead many unique species.

BIRDS CAW

If Julian knows how many species there are,

he can see which are most in trouble

and take immediate action to save them...

..but only by analysing the genes inside the giraffe

can Julian prove how different they are.

To do this, he's been taking samples of their skin and testing their DNA.

The information inside

tiny plugs of skin like this

could give Julian the power to save whole species

we didn't even know existed.

Julian has got the DNA

from almost every wild giraffe population in Africa.

Before he can run a species analysis,

he needs a final sample from a population called Nubian giraffes.

There are perhaps just 650 left in the wild.

This group live far from Namibia, in Ethiopia,

right on the war-torn border with South Sudan.

BIRDS CHEEP

ROOSTER CROWS

Julian has never been here before.

Being away from the family all the time is not easy.

They are my life, but so is giraffe and giraffe conservation,

and it's tough work.

From the capital, Addis Ababa,

it's two days' travel west...

..to one of Africa's most remote national parks, Gambela.

Years ago, flying across Gambela,

spotters recorded a wealth of wildlife

somehow flourishing on the edge of a warzone...

ELEPHANTS TRUMPET

..but, since then, the situation has changed.

All Julian has seen so far is fires and cows.

-This place is mad.

-COW MOOS

The population in Ethiopia is going up by two million a year.

There's refugees pouring across the border.

To get his sample, Julian must find

the last surviving giraffes in the park.

I'm hoping to find...

hundreds of giraffe, let's be honest.

But there is no hope of that, sadly.

You know, if we can find 10, 20 giraffe

that would be a great start, you know?

Get a sample count, a sample number, of what's out there.

But the signs aren't good

when he sees his first wild animals

on the backs of eight heavily armed poachers.

THEY SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE

They're all sitting here with AK-47s -

and it looks like there's been

at least six kob that have been poached.

Yeah, it's a little bit of a heated discussion.

So, let's hope they can move on,

take his names and we go from there.

With one gun against eight,

there's little Julian's scout can do but send them on their way.

If this is what's happened to the kob,

no wonder there's literally a handful of giraffe

probably left in this place.

The last surviving giraffe are thought to have moved

deeper into the park,

an area engulfed in conflict and even harder to control.

It's another two days before Julian

reaches the international team he'll be working with.

They've assembled to find and satellite-tag

many different animals in the park.

Julian has brought with him four giraffe GPS collars.

These will allow him to follow the giraffe,

tracking their movements from space.

We want to be able to monitor them,

get some DNA, because we really have no clue what giraffe they are.

Almost nothing about this vast park is known.

With no roads or fences, it only exists on paper.

To even find the giraffe is going to be a huge challenge.

The only solution is to use a helicopter.

Now, they have a rare opportunity to shed light on the animals

that live in this remote land and begin to try to protect them.

With Julian is vet Andre Uys.

This is... This is a once in a lifetime job, really.

We know very little about these animals.

It's actually quite exciting, and valuable data will come out.

They all know the stakes are high.

TRANQUILLISER SHOT

ELEPHANTS TRUMPET

ELEPHANT GROWLS

OK, we've got her. She's in front of us. Thanks, Nick.

The team set to work,

satellite-collaring a range of animals.

-That's perfect, huh?

-27, 27.

'Generally, they don't give you much warning before they wake up.'

She's starting to come out of the anaesthetic.

Come on, guys. Get back to the helicopter.

But the days tick by.

And, in all their flights, they have seen no giraffe.

Now Julian has just two more days.

To go home not even having found a single giraffe would be devastating.

The team focuses on wooded areas,

because giraffe can spend three quarters of their time browsing.

Then, in a patch of trees right on the Sudanese border,

Julian sees what he's come for -

a herd of 30 giraffe.

Andre takes the shot.

TRANQUILLISER SHOT

'We have to give them massively high doses to get them down,

'so it's critical for me

'to get to the giraffe as soon as possible

'after it's gone down,

'to administer an antidote and get its respiration back to normal.'

The giraffe is now totally awake.

Just the team holds it down.

They keep her calm with a blanket over her eyes.

Time is critical for Julian to take his DNA sample

from the least intrusive place.

It'd be fine if I take a tip off the ear.

Just hold her a bit.

Just...

OK, that's just... That's fine.

Next, the team gently secure the GPS collar.

COLLAR TWISTS

Now, they'll be able to track where this giraffe roams

and see if she crosses the border into South Sudan.

Time to let her go.

OK, Pablo, get off, get off, get off...

PANTING

-She got me in the shins with her horns.

-Ah.

Jesus!

Mm, I'm sore.

It's like being beaten with a ten-pound mallet on your shin.

-Fantastic, guys.

-LAUGHTER

A little bit of DNA.

-Let's get on with it.

-Next one.

Soon, now, Julian will know if his theory is correct.

We've always known giraffes look different in different places

across the continent.

But are they as different as Julian thinks?

This is really exciting stuff.

This is the first DNA sample.

It's a little piece of tissue, that's all it is.

But it's got a big mystery inside of it.

We want to send it off to Germany, get it analysed

and who knows? This is the key to understanding giraffe.

Now they can all be compared to each other.

Julian has just one last flight.

He desperately wants to get more giraffe.

It's all a bit of a mad rush this morning. We were all ready to go,

and we've just got another passenger

from the wildlife authority that we have to take with.

Literally, this is my last day. I'm out this evening.

So we've got to get out there and see if we can find these guys.

HELICOPTER WHIRS Without warning,

the government insist on an official accompanying the team

on their last day, so there's no room for cameras...

HELICOPTER WHIRS

..but the helicopter returns much earlier than expected -

and it's soon clear why.

They've been shot at.

We basically flew over some guys with some cattle in the park.

We saw the two rifles point up

and then we heard...bang.

The team is still in shock.

We all thought that basically the chopper had been hit somewhere,

so we thought, we've got to get out of here really quickly.

Luckily, no-one was hit, er...

and that's the end of the collaring.

That's the end of the giraffe collaring. It's...

It's just too unsafe.

It's a bloody warzone out there, it's crazy.

The team can't find where the bullet hit,

but it's ended Julian's mission.

We're just trying to help giraffe, trying to help conservation.

We don't even know what flavour giraffe it is out there.

Let's hope the sample we've got...

we can take that and figure out who's who.

Julian must leave.

He carries a single precious cargo.

Nothing shakes you up more

than having some AK-47s fired at you in a helicopter.

Scary.

I tell you what, I'm happy to leave.

I want to get home to the family, get on with life.

HELICOPTER WHIRS

Within a year, a helicopter was shot down

and the pilot killed by poachers in Tanzania.

In the last decade, it's estimated over 1,000 rangers

have been killed while protecting wild animals,

in a war with poachers

increasingly funded by organised crime.

The early results from the DNA analysis are just coming in,

and they are very significant.

As Julian suspected, it looks like there isn't just one,

but perhaps four or five separate species of giraffe...

..and the Nubian giraffes in Ethiopia should be reclassified

as one of the rarest species on Earth.

Their only other large population is in Uganda.

Here, the giraffes were thought to be different,

and called Rothschild's giraffes.

But they are the same.

In total, there's just 2,150 survivors

of this potentially new species left in the wild.

This is Murchison Falls National Park,

Uganda's largest and oldest conservation area.

BIRDS CHEEP

It is the last great stronghold of the Rothschild's giraffe.

Over 1,000 live here.

They are very distinctive, with lighter coats,

white stockinged legs

and - not three - but five ossicones.

In the ground beneath their feet

lie three quarters of Uganda's oil deposits,

and plans to drill are underway.

Keeping this fragile population safe

will now be Julian and the team's biggest priority.

An entire species of giraffe could rely on it.

If something goes wrong here in Murchison Falls,

Rothschild's giraffe could be extinct in no time.

The time is now.

If we don't come together to save giraffe, it could be too late.

Losing this new species would be a disaster.

Julian and the Uganda Wildlife Authority

have a daring plan to protect these giraffe for generations.

Currently, the giraffes all live on one side of the Nile -

they can't cross it.

The plan is more ambitious than anything they've done before.

They are going to catch giraffes from the north side

and start a new giraffe population across the river,

away from the oil drilling.

This is Tom Okello, Murchison Falls' Park Manager.

In all, you should not keep all your eggs in one basket.

we first keep some stock out of the oil area,

so that, in the event that some impacts may come out of oil,

we have a safe population somewhere else.

To carry out this mission,

the men and women in charge of caring for Uganda's wildlife

have gathered from across the entire country.

Gorilla doctors from the mountains,

the chief vets of the other great parks of Uganda,

rangers from Murchison Falls itself.

And Julian has brought along a secret weapon...

vet Dr Pete Morkel.

I love giraffes.

It's quite remarkable that such a...

..strangely put together beast functions so well.

Catching and moving a wild giraffe is difficult and dangerous.

Pete has done it hundreds of times.

It is an unusual type of capture.

That animal is totally awake.

It is a stressful situation, but it does work very well.

It's the accepted way of catching giraffe, here in Africa.

Before the team learns on a giraffe, Pete is training them on himself.

If that animal falls more than two or three times,

it says, "That's it, I'm finished".

It's not good for the giraffe.

The team is going to have to guide any giraffe they catch

into a trailer, using ropes.

We need someone giving good control.

We need the people responsive.

They must be strong, they must be intelligent, eh?

There's no chance for sleeping. I will show you.

Are you ready?

You must allow me to move forward, otherwise we will never load it.

You must let me go. You must let me move.

-ALL TALK

-You must let me move.

Cos I don't want stay here the whole day.

ALL TALK

-So, what you want to do is stand to a little to one side.

-Yeah.

ALL SHOUT

LAUGHTER

You want to have these giraffe delivered safe and sound,

that's the primary objective.

That's what's most important to me.

CAR ENGINE RUNS

It's 5am, and the team is preparing for their first day.

WATER RUNS

-Did you sleep well?

-ALL:

-Yes.

-Are we ready to go?

-ALL:

-Yes.

All right.

Three of the vets are also Christian pastors.

Muhangi, you lead us in prayer.

Almighty Father, we thank you for your love for us.

We surrender every one of us into your care...

They have two weeks to catch and transport 20 giraffe.

Protect us while we are in the wilderness. Amen.

-ALL:

-Amen.

The group is inexperienced, but, as Julian and Pete know,

the only way to learn is to get your hands on a giraffe.

We are going into action now.

The catching team moves ahead carefully.

They are looking to create a breeding herd,

so are after young, healthy females and just three or four males.

They hope the new population will quickly swell.

The rest of the cars hang back,

ready to run in once they've caught a giraffe.

It's in! The drug is in.

Even a small giraffe is so strong

that no team could catch it just with ropes,

and the dart in its rump carries such strong sedative

that the animal must be given an antidote within 20 minutes.

But it's also a waiting game,

because, if they try to catch it too soon,

it could startle and run away.

Two minutes.

The team watch for signs the drugs are taking effect.

Four minutes.

Everyone knows their job in theory...

ALL TALK HURRIEDLY

..but the giraffe is extremely unpredictable

and the capture becomes chaotic.

ALL SHOUT

The team is wary -

a giraffe kick could decapitate a man.

ALL SHOUT

Finally, they bring it down safely,

but it's not a textbook capture.

ALL SHOUT

Julian and vet Pete step in.

Pete is in charge of the antidote.

Give the antidote, gentlemen.

Where's the antidote? Where's the antidote?

We poleaxe them with chemicals, really.

So if you don't give the antidote immediately it's going to die.

The antidote is in in time.

Now the giraffe is wide awake,

Julian keeps it from struggling by sitting on its neck.

Putting on the blindfold just sedates her a lot,

so, hopefully, she's being a bit more relaxed now.

-It's just measuring the ossicone.

-Ten.

And, by doing that, we can figure out...

There's hardly any research ever been done.

Nine.

Hopefully, we can just build up more information over time.

-It's nine and a half, maybe.

-OK.

Come on, guys!

The calmer they keep the giraffe, the easier the next stage will be.

We have some water?

It's on the ground for over ten minutes

while the team take measurements and samples and position their trailer.

-Who has the spray?

-Spray, please.

Spray, spray, spray!

It's all right, we don't have to shout. We just keep nice and slow.

Just easygoing.

It's time to loop ropes around it,

which they'll use, as Pete demonstrated,

to guide the blindfolded giraffe into its trailer.

THEY SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE

I think Julian is the last one to sit on the neck.

ALL TALK

Now they're helping it up, they're pushing it up.

ALL TALK

THEY SHOUT

Hold on. Wait, wait, wait!

POLE CLANGS

I find it quite emotional, I'm actually quite close to tears.

Erm, it's just...

You don't normally see them so close and get so close.

It's stressful for everyone, and it's a big learning curve.

For a giraffe to stand up is a huge effort.

The team is wary of exhausting this one.

Let it go. Let this thing go.

-Let it go?

-Yeah.

OK, let this one go?

Can the pilot move?

To be safe, vet Dr Margaret Dricuru

makes a call.

Everyone to one side, please.

-The giraffe is going to get up.

-Everyone to one side.

I think it's not a good idea to keep trying.

The welfare issues - that's the reason we've let it go.

Back at their base, the team have built a boma -

an enclosure for the 20 giraffes to go into.

But, for now, it remains empty.

It's not a great start.

Undeterred, they are still aiming for two giraffes by sundown.

Ranger Francis Adiyokan lives here

and he loves these animals.

The giraffe is very beautiful.

It is a design which God has created on the world.

So I feel like they have to stay in the world forever.

Because, if God meant for it to end,

he would have put an expiry date,

which means that it has to be protected forever.

So I am very happy to protect giraffe.

'At the end of the day, when you're capturing a giraffe,

'you're just focused.

'It's all about having that giraffe come down safely

'and get up safely.

'I'm just totally focused.'

Although many of the team are wild animal vets,

few have actually touched a giraffe before -

like Dr Eddy Kambale.

'I am already very excited to work with a giraffe

'for my first time, since I was born.'

I just used to read books,

but now I am feeling the reality of what it means,

being and working with a giraffe.

We have few of them so we need to keep some, yeah.

Yeah, good.

To push blood up their huge necks to their brains,

giraffes have the largest heart of all the land mammals.

It can weigh over 10kg and beats twice as fast as our own.

When it was running, the heartbeat was much higher.

But right now it's settling down,

so the rate has reduced.

How's the breathing? It's good?

Breathing is fine and it's very regular.

It's a very relaxed giraffe.

For me, I feel attached.

Yeah. Yeah.

GIRAFFE BLEAT

OK, everyone, I think let's let the animal properly stand up.

Let it get up strongly onto its feet before we start to pull it.

'Catching the giraffe, it's something that I learnt from Pete.

'You know, if he says things can be done, you do it.

'And you're out there and you're there for the giraffe.'

Giraffes use their powerful necks to batter other giraffes.

Oh!

But Julian has to stay close to stop the giraffe from hurting itself.

When it's down, you sort of go,

"OK quick, rush. Let's get all the things done.

"Let's make it safe, let's make it and sound".

And you're just waiting for that moment for it to get up safely.

Slowly, the team is learning that, to move a giraffe,

you cannot pull it.

Instead, you must gently guide it.

DOOR SHUTS

Fantastic, eh?

Absolutely bloody brilliant.

There she goes. Hopefully, er...

we'll see her soon, at the boma.

Bloody brilliant.

This is my first translocation I'm actually involved in.

I've heard lots of stories, but I've never been there.

The reality of it is actually quite tough,

because it's very intrusive for the animals.

I think we just have to keep in mind why we are doing it.

The blindfold calms the giraffe on the slow 10 miles back to the boma.

I'll take the blindfold off.

Before she can be released, Pete needs to climb up

and brave the giant neck to free the giraffe from her blindfold.

He knows it's vital to keep calm.

GIRAFFE CLOMPS

OK.

GIRAFFE CLOMPS

Finally, the first giraffe is in the boma.

Because giraffe are social animals,

left alone overnight,

this one might panic and hurt itself.

The team are under pressure -

they must now catch her a companion.

The next giraffe is much bigger and stronger.

ALL SHOUT

The team hold their nerve as one tonne of giraffe kicks out at them.

ROPE CREAKS

It's been a long day... GIRAFFE CLOMPS

GIRAFFE CANTERS ..but two healthy females

are now safely in the boma.

Just 18 more giraffes to go.

These two giraffe that are now out there in the boma,

we don't know if they have feelings,

if they have family bonds.

Are they sad? I don't know.

The team will now pull back

to leave the giraffe alone overnight.

Let's hope the lovely ladies have a good night and we'll go from there.

BIRDS CHEEP

GIRAFFE BLEAT

'OK, let's humble ourselves and we pray.

'We pray that, Lord, you will protect the animals

'we are going to capture,

'you protect us who are going to capture,

'we pray that the animals and the personnel will be safe

'and we pray that, Lord, my God,

'that you give us great success

'and we pray that, at the end of this exercise,

'we shall accomplish the target.

'In Jesus' name we pray.

-'Amen.'

-ALL:

-'Amen.'

ALL SHOUT

Over the next few days, with guidance from Julian and Pete,

the team grows in confidence.

Personally, I try to keep things sort of under control.

'If you get stressed, people around you get stressed.

'They want to know that you're in control

'and you're working with them.'

'This is very important.

'It's the first time that a Ugandan team has done this.

'And this is very good for the country.'

'We're here to save giraffe.

'All you want to know is that it's safe and sound

'and, once it's off and gone, then you can start to relax.'

Soon, the two giraffes in the boma are joined by others.

This is the beginning of the small population

that will form a genetic arc to take across the Nile.

GRUNTING

Determined to fill the boma in the little time they've got,

the team starts at dawn every day

and finishes after sunset.

Their passion for this animal sustains their work.

They're very gracious animals

and, for that reason, I really love them a lot.

Giraffes are majestic animals.

They oversee the forest.

It's my animal because it's calm

and I love its colours.

It's one of the most beautiful creatures in the world.

APPLAUSE

GIRAFFE CLOMPS

'We are learning. Thank you.'

-'Well done, Pete. That's cool.'

-'That was much better.'

-MOLLY:

-'It's really cool to see my dad save the giraffe,

'because there's not lots around.

'I want to be just like my dad is

'and I want to help all the giraffe.

'And if there's only a couple left,

'I'll try and work harder.'

The tired team knows the end is in sight.

You're all right, mate. You're all right, mate.

That way, that way. You'll be good, mate.

The pioneer giraffe colony is complete.

Five of the giraffes are special -

they've been fitted with satellite tracking collars.

But one young male is special for a different reason.

-LUCA:

-'There's one giraffe that I like the best

'and he just has the funny lip.'

Yeah, I can see it, just there.

-And his name is Melvyn.

-GIRAFFE CLOMPS

He just looks so hilarious,

and his head looks like a seahorse head.

And every time he eats he looks very grumpy.

THEY LAUGH

Stage One is complete.

The team can now rest before their final challenge as the night falls.

Soon, these giraffes will go where no giraffes have gone before.

HIPPO SNORTS

Throughout the mission,

the rangers have also been carrying out their other duties...

GRUNTING

..patrolling the park to protect the animals here.

Murchison Falls is next to Lake Albert.

On the other side is the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The human populations all around are growing,

and some people cross into the park to trap and poach

the wild animals, using metal snares.

They feel pain, like us.

When we are denying their right to move,

their right to eat,

their right to be alive in the world...

We don't want to lose them, we don't want them also to suffer.

They have to be free.

Also the same way God created them.

So we are not happy with those poachers.

By Tom's office, two large huts

are stuffed full of the poacher's equipment

that his rangers have found here

in the last year alone.

If an elephant or giraffe becomes trapped, this is the result.

If they can be reached in time,

the snares can be removed and the animals saved...

..but, sometimes, they're too late.

Dr Eric Enyel, the park vet,

has been tracking a snared elephant for days.

He's just caught up with it.

But it died an hour ago.

The wire caught it in a very wrong place.

It was unable to feed.

We have not lost them to poachers for a very long time.

It's now coming to a year plus.

It's not a good happening.

It is really very sad for us.

And this is a very big loss.

This one is still a young bull.

It has gone with all its genetic material. Gone.

The elephant is taken to be buried,

and its tusks removed, so that no poacher can profit from them.

It is a stark reminder of how vulnerable

the Rothschild's giraffes are,

with over half of their entire population in just one place.

Now, it's time.

The team are preparing for the final stage of the mission.

The giraffes will be split into three groups.

They'll be driven for many hours and across the Nile.

To distract them on the journey,

the rangers cover the truck with delicious leaves.

This specially prepared vehicle

has been paid for by the donations of hundreds of people

from across the world.

If you've got giraffe in the boma,

you don't relax until they're released.

I still get worried until that last giraffe runs out of a truck

and is off, safe and sound.

RANGERS SHOUT

Murchison Falls has never seen anything like it.

The giraffes are seeing the world from an angle

even higher than they're used to.

Because of its precious cargo,

the convoy heads out slowly.

The team have put bars between the giraffes to help them stay upright.

It's such a delicate situation

that eight men must ride up with them

to keep constant watch, at the risk of being licked with a giant tongue.

Melvyn is in the middle,

so has to be handed his travelling snacks.

After four slow hours of driving,

they reach an obstacle no truck or giraffe can cross without help...

..the Nile.

The water here will flow over 4,000 miles,

across the Sudan and into Egypt,

before it finally meets the sea.

Just a few miles upstream,

the torrent is so strong it can cut through mountains.

But here the river becomes calmer.

The banks and the water are a havens for wildlife...

BIRDS CAW

..and the current is gentle enough for a ferry to drive across it.

HIPPO GRUNTS

HIPPOS GRUNT

All the years of hard work from Julian and Steph

are paying off in a truly extraordinary sight.

How often do you see a giraffe on a boat?

SHE LAUGHS

If anything goes wrong here, it would be a catastrophe.

I can count one, two, three, four, five.

Six. Where's Melvyn?

-MOLLY:

-At the end!

-Ah!

He's looking where he's going, he's checking out.

No giraffe has ever seen anything like this before.

The ferry safely pulls in,

and the passengers enter a land untrodden by giraffe.

We're on the way.

We've just crossed over the Nile River with six giraffe.

I've never been so stressed in my life.

VAN RUMBLES

GRUNTING

This side of the river is wilder.

Nothing as tall as a giraffe has eaten the trees here,

so the rangers and Julian clear the way

for the world's tallest living load.

None of this would have happened

if Julian's life hadn't suddenly changed course over two decades ago.

As I grew up, I really wanted to be a stockbroker.

Unfortunately, my dad died when I was 16.

So it was tough.

I realised that I didn't want to spend my life behind a desk.

I wanted to do something more than make a few bucks.

I'm really happy that I've changed my game,

and now I think I have the most amazing life in the world.

If Julian and Steph can show this translocation works...

That is great. Keep going.

..it will be the beginning of even bigger missions to save giraffe.

But they cannot do it alone.

What we need and what we'll always need is money.

I've been doing giraffe for 15 years without being paid a cent.

If things can be done, you do it,

and you're out there and you're there for the giraffe.

Everyone, apart from the giraffes,

knows that their long journey is finally at an end.

-We have to open... Stop.

-We have to open the door first, Allen.

There's no time for hesitation.

The longer they're inside, the more chances of an accident.

Kennedy, you come out. Out.

-Let us pull.

-Are the bars all gone?

-The bars are all gone.

-CLINKING

The team creep back, so the nervous giraffes can see it's clear ahead.

Come on, Melvyn, be the man.

Melvyn and the others make their move.

Come on!

Well done, guys.

APPLAUSE

See them all going through there, guys.

'When it happens, it's amazing.

'All the guys we've worked with,

'it's been an amazing effort, you know, and super proud.

'Super proud that we've been able to do an amazing job together.'

-We are feeling great.

-Yes!

-This a great success.

All the animals are released, they are all alive, no problem.

Giraffe after giraffe runs off into a new life.

GIRAFFE CLOMP

Goodbye! Bye-bye!

The team can finally celebrate.

In this historic moment, Dr Andrew Seguya,

the head of the Uganda Wildlife Authority,

has come along to join them.

'I'm very, very proud of them.

'Look at them - these guys have worked for the last few weeks.

-'They have put in everything.

-THEY SING

'They have left their families, they have come here,'

they have slept in the bush.

Most importantly, they have shown the love for the giraffe.

They have handled them with a lot of care,

with a lot of love and with a lot of professionalism.

I'm very, very proud of them.

THEY SING

But, also, it is really one of those exciting days for conservation.

CHANTING AND CLAPPING

This is the just the beginning.

The Ugandan team will now continue their mission

to save giraffes and other endangered animals

across the entire country.

THEY SING

For Julian and Steph, it's a very personal moment.

After 15 years of hard and dangerous work,

they can finally see the tide starting to turn.

'If you had that moment every day,

'I don't reckon you'd be able to sustain yourself.

'My heart wouldn't be able to survive, let's be honest.'

-LUCA:

-'Melvyn was the funny one with the funny lips.

'I miss him now, but at least he's not in a zoo.'

-STEPH:

-'We did that, we actually made a difference here.

'And I think that is something really amazing.

'And not too many people can say, in their lives,

'that they actually have made a difference.'

Over the coming months, the giraffes range far and wide.

The readings from their GPS collars

show them travelling hundreds of miles,

as they explore their new home.

The team are planning more translocations

to further swell the colony...

..and soon they hope that new giraffe calves

will be born on both sides of the Nile.

Across the continent, Julian and the team

are working closely with African governments

and the people who live alongside these gentle giants

to secure a better future for all giraffe.

CHANTING AND CLAPPING

LAUGHTER