Episode 1 The Secret Life of Elephants

They care for friend and family like few other animals.

Like us, they feel emotion.

They may even be aware of their own mortality.

Yet there's still so very much we don't know about elephants.

Here in northern Kenya

a unique project is opening a window into their secret beguiling world.

This man, Iain Douglas-Hamilton,

has spent more than 40 years living with elephants,

sometimes even risking his life to study and protect them.

Alongside his team we'll be tracking elephants with revolutionary technology,

following their epic journeys through the wilderness

and experiencing their struggles to survive.

We'll be watching them grow up, come of age, and flex their muscles.

Above all, we'll be trying to get inside the mind of an elephant, and

revealing for the first time just how much like us they really are.

Here in Samburu, northern Kenya, lives one of

the most important populations of wild elephants in Africa.

For the Save the Elephants team these are special animals,

they've watched and studied them daily since 1997.

This is the Winds family,

18 animals that love and look after each other.

But today, 18 elephants have become 19.

Harmattan, the matriarch of the group has given birth.

Surrounded by a forest of trunks and legs is her newborn baby,

little Breeze.

For elephant expert David Daballen, this is a moment to cherish.

He can recognise over 600 individual elephants

and now he can add Breeze to the list.

Elephants are sensitive parents,

Harmattan gently reassures her newborn using trunk and feet.

Just like a human baby, Breeze must suckle every couple of hours.

But her senses are still awakening.

At this tender age the teat can be hard to find.

It's October, and the weather is hot and dry.

The family must drink, which means a daily walk to the river.

It's a long way for little legs.

Harmattan needs to be vigilant, this area is home to lions,

the single biggest threat to an elephant under the age of two.

David has other concerns, too.

Her last calf actually only lasted three days.

We found it dead.

The only thing we could think was just it was sick and it died.

It is one of these things that really makes you feel so bad,

and very sympathetic to the family.

For seven years, David Daballen has run the Save the Elephants field research project.

His daily observations are critical to their mission,

studying and protecting elephants to ensure they have a future in Africa.

Iain Douglas-Hamilton is the founder of the group.

He's lived with elephants since the 1960s.

His pioneering approach has led to ground-breaking discoveries about their lives.

The extraordinary thing about elephants is that

they have these similarities to us.

The strongest parallels are in the obvious emotions that they have -

grief, anger, lust... So many things the same as us.

You see elephant emotion in the tenderness

and the intelligent concern the mother has for her baby.

The short hand we use is to say that she's loving.

Like people, elephants are very much individuals

and Iain's radio collaring work

is revealing just how differently each one behaves.

Every hour, the collars create a GPS text message,

which is then sent to the team's computers via satellite.

That's his last 14 days of travel.

Can we look at what Mountain Bull has been doing?

By monitoring exactly where they go and what they do,

the team are making important discoveries about elephants' lives

and finding new ways of protecting them in the wild.

She had to break the fence here.

But first, you have to put the collar on the elephant

and that's far from easy.

Dr Stephen Chege, a leading vet from the Kenya Wildlife Service,

is at the heart of the operation.

In the next few days he will be attempting to anaesthetise

and collar two target elephants.

A collaring operation begins in the early morning

with a team of scouts searching the reserve for target elephants.

Leading the Scout party is Iain's daughter, Saba.

She literally grew up with elephants,

they've been part of her life since she was a baby.

I think probably my first vivid memories of elephants

was being charged, which, of course, was terrifying as a child.

My father's strategy of dealing with aggression

was just to sit tight and sit very quiet, and I learnt over the years,

and learnt quite fast,

and picked up from him ways to behave around elephants.

The elephant to be darted is Anastasia,

from a family called the Royals.

Her radio collar battery needs to be replaced urgently.

Just standby, I think I've got Anastasia.

'I'm copying you. How far from the river?'

OK, they've all just stopped off in a mud hole.

We are near the salt brush plane and We are with the entire Royal family.

'Well, that's great.

'We'll gradually make our way towards you, along the South Bank.'

A short distance away, Harmattan, the leader of the Winds family

and her baby Breeze have reached the river.

Mother and newborn daughter have now travelled almost a mile

since the birth in the early hours of the morning.

After nearly two years in the womb,

Breeze's back legs still need to fully straighten.

She's very tired.

But Harmattan must drink.

This is Breeze's first ever view of the river,

but certainly not the last.

In the dry season the river is critical to the elephant's survival.

While Harmattan drinks,

baby Breeze is left unattended and wanders off in the wrong direction.

But her mother senses the absence of the baby and is quick to act.

She mustn't let Breeze out of her sight.

To keep that calf really safe she needs to pay a lot of attention,

she has to be very careful with predators like lion.

She has to give 100% attention to this calf.

As the family moves on,

even the gentle slope of the bank proves a hurdle for little Breeze.

The next few days will be critical ones for mother and baby.

OK, they're coming back and they've chosen to come this side.

Downstream, the Royal family are also leaving the river.

Iain and Dr Chege are exactly the right position

as Anastasia, the elephant needing the collar change,

heads straight past them.

There she is, our target.

Once working, the collar will provide data

that will enable the team to understand and protect her.

I'll just wait a little bit, they should rest because we can use the cars.

Do it now. Don't worry about the others, I'll take care of them.

-You take care of these ones.

-I'll take care of all of that.

-Here we go.

A perfect shot,

-but things aren't going to plan.

-'Damn.'

Anastasia is running off with the rest of the herd.

When she starts going down I have to get between her and the rest of them

because when she goes down, this family will defend her.

-That's for sure.

-We have to get in between.

-Saba, do you copy?

-'Go ahead.'

Get the other side of them.

-'Tell me where she is.'

-Just go the other side.

-'OK.'

-Gilbert, also go the other side.

'OK, I'm on the far side of them now.'

As soon as she looks droopy, tell me.

She's stopped, she's completely stationary at the moment.'

-Is she at the back or the front of them?

-'Right in the middle.'

Come in on the left, quickly.

Iain drives close, splitting the herd away from Anastasia.

But her two calves refuse to leave her.

Right, we need to go in, you and me.

Saba, push that calf.

Baby, you can leave.

I'm worried about that leg.

She's fallen awkwardly, restricting her breathing.

-Anastasia is in real trouble.

-Her breathing's bad.

Dr Chege must inject the antidote straightaway.

'She's moving.'

It's worked, and she's back on her feet.

-Did she stop breathing?

-It was almost completely gone.

The abdominal contents were pressing into the lungs.

-I've never seen that.

-Plus, anaesthesia.

So the best thing, instead of thinking about turning her,

the best thing is to move and let her go.

-Quick-thinking there, thank you.

-It has to be that fast.

A heart-stopping moment for the team,

but the data from the radio collars can ultimately

save elephants' lives, so the risks are more than justified.

Look at this now.

They're gonna come and greet her.

It's beautiful.

-They're all coming together.

-It's beautiful.

The most loving family I know.

Beautiful.

It's the end of the dry season in Samburu.

In the distance clouds are forming,

but no rain's fallen on the reserve itself for several months.

These last weeks before the rain

will be a tough time for Harmattan and baby Breeze.

Like all the other animals here they're now dependent on the river.

The only source of water.

Only a few hours after the sun rises temperatures are soaring.

Looking after a tiny, vulnerable calf in the peak of the dry season

is a real challenge.

Over heating and sunstroke are real dangers for a calf.

Breeze appears to walk in her mother's shadow for protection.

But she's already tired and as temperatures reach 30 degrees

Harmattan decides to seek out shade before they reach the river.

Not all the Winds family are happy about the newest arrival.

Buster is Breeze's older brother.

He's five and should be much more independent by now,

but because her last calf died, he's remained strongly attached

to his mother and carried on suckling until Breeze appeared.

He's massive compared to most elephants his age

and has become something of a mummy's boy.

Buster is basically a very spoiled calf.

I've seen this, not just with Buster,

when they see a new brother or sister coming in they are quite jealous.

But obviously females would not let that happen.

He's jealous of the attention, and milk, baby Breeze is getting.

Slipping sneakily behind his mother

he tries to get between her and baby Breeze.

This could mean trouble.

Breeze is now Harmattan's priority and she's determined to protect her.

It's a hard lesson for Buster, but he must learn to be independent.

Back at camp, the team are preparing for another darting mission.

Attempting to collar Anastasia again is not an option.

So today the team will move on to a new elephant, a bull.

Bull elephants often come into conflict with people in the wild,

and collaring them can provide critical data

on exactly where the trouble is brewing.

We found the Bulls, they're about 2.5 kilometres from here,

so David, you can handle the ground stuff, and Daktari, please

take charge of the operation.

Then as soon as the elephant goes down, providing the elephant is at a distance -

and David will tell you - somebody must run in with the collar.

-We can do that.

-Can you?

-I've got two people from the community

so we can have one with the water, one with the collar.

-OK.

-Then you can radio me as soon as you need us in.

-Yes.

Iain is a passionate pilot with 40 years' experience.

He'll lead the operation from the air.

OK, this is it.

'I can't really see whether it's four, or six. All under one tree.'

Iain has spotted the bull elephants but they're in very thick bush.

I always have my heart in my mouth when we're doing a radio collaring

just because there are so many uncontrollable factors

and you have to be absolutely on top of everything you're doing.

There's the dangers to the elephant, and also the danger to your team.

The team can't get the vehicles any closer

to the elephants' position. They're forced to proceed on foot.

Being careful to keep down wind of the elephants.

Dr Chege only needs to dart one,

but that leaves five potentially dangerous and confused bulls on the loose.

Doctor Chege and David move in closer under armed protection

to see if the darting is viable.

Iain keeps a lookout from the air.

The elephants are so close,

but there's no hiding place if they decide to charge the team.

Time to rethink.

We need to think about the animals' safety and our safety.

If we go there and don't have vehicle backup, it becomes an issue.

I think if it was only the one bull, it's a bit taking a risk.

Six bulls all down there, one is darted,

they can go in different directions,

-we don't have the back-up of a car, only one Ranger...

-You're right.

It's the factor we've got so many animals is...um...

a few too many for our own good.

Matriarch Harmattan has led the Winds family to the river.

This is Breeze's first experience of running water.

Curious, she tests it with her mouth, but she won't drink it

like the adults until she's at least six months old.

Using a trunk with 40,000 individual muscles takes a lot of practice.

It's like a human baby learning to use its hands.

This is a time of critical decision for Harmattan.

She knows that the feeding is better on the far bank,

but crossing a fast-flowing river with a two-day-old baby is a risk.

There are also creatures in the river that could bring down a young calf.

These are the decisions

that a matriarch like Harmattan has to make on a daily basis.

Harmattan, she's been a strong female taking decisions,

leading them all the time, hardship time, good time.

The family has been growing, and expanding bigger and bigger.

She's really keeping the whole family together and protecting the family.

So I think she's a very successful female

as far as her leadership is concerned.

The rest of the family take time to drink deeply,

taking enough to get them through the heat of the day.

Harmattan has made her decision.

She decides not to cross the river, and leads the herd back to the bank.

But she knows it won't be long

before they'll have to get to the better food on the other side.

Iain has spotted another target bull not far away.

He directs the team to the bull's location.

They'll have to move fast to catch up with him.

Yeah, keep on moving.

OK, anywhere.

Just a thin wall of bushes separates Doctor Chege from Esedai,

a four-ton bull elephant with just one enormous spear-like tusk.

The Save The Elephants team have been watching him for six years,

and he's now just coming into his prime.

There's a very small path in, very.

A very small...angle.

Even though the team know Esedai

they don't know exactly how he'll react.

-Darted. Can you tell Iain?

-Darted, Iain, darted.

Keep an eye on the animal. Keep an eye on the animal.

From the moment the dart goes in, the clock is ticking.

Esedai has headed into the undergrowth

and they mustn't lose sight of him before he goes down.

Where is the animal? Keep on moving.

Iain can still see him from the air and guides the team into position.

Not a very good position.

Only when Dr Chege is sure that he's properly anaesthetised

can the team move in.

We need to be a little bit fast, guys.

The team springs into action.

Esedai must only be down for the shortest time possible.

How long was that? Someone recording?

-Have we got time down, Frank?

-He went down at five past five.

-Please, someone to record that.

-Everyone knows their role.

David's in charge of the collar, but Esedai is lying on the edge

of a dry river bank and the angle is tricky.

The problem is...the problem is... This is going very far away.

-We need to do his ears...

-It's quarter past.

Anaesthetised elephants can easily overheat.

The water helps keep Esedai cool.

OK, just one minute.

Blood and tissue samples can tell the team who Esedai's relatives are.

Perhaps even revealing the identity of his own mother.

Don't worry my boy, we're gonna get you up any minute now.

At last, the collar is on. Everyone else backs off

while Dr Chege administers the antidote to bring him round.

I always feel it's a little bit like those people who think they've been zapped by aliens

and they come to with this huge alien device around their neck.

But actually it doesn't really bother the elephants at all.

It doesn't weigh that much.

After a few days,

once they've touched it and felt it they forget about it completely.

Well done, everybody, he's looking great.

I'm excited to see what Esedai brings us.

Where's he gonna go next?

What's happening in this particular bull's life?

It's the third day of baby Breeze's life.

It's hot, it's humid and the pressure is already soaring.

Rain has fallen on the far side of the river in the night.

This will surely be the day that Harmattan and the Winds family

cross in search of better feeding.

There's a new assertiveness in Harmattan's stride, but

the river has claimed the lives of many baby elephants over the years.

She must select the crossing point carefully.

David Daballen knows this is a critical moment.

It's quite scary because, you know,

sometimes the river's quite high and very strong.

You're just not sure if she will make it.

But it's always just worrying until she's on the other side.

Harmattan has chosen the crossing point wisely.

Breeze is back on dry land.

10 miles south of the Winds family,

newly collared bull elephant Esedai is peacefully feeding.

Every hour the elephant radio collars send a text message

via satellite straight to the computers

of Iain and the Save The Elephants team.

It's revealed more of the secret world of elephants

than Iain ever dreamed possible.

Some of the research is worrying.

Elephants are travelling through farms and villages

on their traditional migration routes

and that can bring them into conflict with man.

Mountain bull is a prime suspect.

He's believed to be the elephant responsible for trampling

and devouring crops as he travels

between Mount Kenya and his breeding grounds.

Saba is keen to follow him on the ground

to get some first hand evidence of his behaviour.

He's quite distinctive, he's got that very long one tusk

and they're quite splayed.

So how often have you actually seen him? Is he...

I've seen him only from the air, so he's quite shy.

He's not an easy elephant.

Basically he's down on Borana at the moment.

And that's the only time that he's accessible, right?

Yes, and presumably he's come down to be with females,

and then he goes out to the far reaches of the ranch.

It's a four-hour drive to Borana

and Saba is on the road straight away,

determined to get on the trail of Mountain Bull.

All over Samburu elephant families are on the move following the rain.

The showers have already produced new growth.

For the elephants, this is a good time.

But for two animals life has just got tougher.

A mother elephant and her calf are in difficulty.

The little bull has injured one of his back legs.

Unable to keep up with the herd

they have become separated from their family.

Just like humans, elephants need the help and guidance

that family life provides. For a mother and calf

this is one of the very worst things that can happen.

When a calf is sick or injured, a mother is torn between being

with the rest of the family, or staying and looking after that calf.

That's a tough one. She may have to seek the company of other families

who may or may not be welcoming.

The Winds family, with Harmattan, Buster and baby Breeze

are feeding in the shade.

The mother and injured calf tentatively make their way

towards the family group, looking for company.

A young female checks their advance.

The injured calf and its mother are not related to the Winds family,

but they could still be accepted as companions.

For a few moments the elephants are still, but the tension rises.

For a moment it looks as if they've been accepted,

but the Winds swing away and march off.

The mother and calf are not welcome.

They'll have to continue on their own.

But with only its mother to protect it,

the injured calf is desperately vulnerable.

Saba has reached the foothills of Mount Kenya

on her mission to find and follow Mountain Bull,

an elephant that may be coming into conflict with people

en route to his breeding grounds.

If Saba can track him on the ground she can get first-hand evidence

of any trouble and find ways to help him.

It's been agreed that Saba will regularly check-in with her father.

Iain can see Mountain Bull's movements on his computer,

thanks to the text messages sent by the bull's radio collar.

Do you read?

'Good morning, how are you?'

It's amazing I can get you. I'm sitting on top of a ridge

just looking down over the escarpment towards Samburu.

Fantastic. Now, Mountain Bull, he's actually down south of Borana,

and I think he's possibly gonna come back into Borana.

If you go south then you should be able to pick him up on the antenna.

I'll give it a go. Thanks very much.

I'll try and get hold of you in about an hour

if I haven't been successful and you can give me another update then.

OK, darling, good luck.

Back in Samburu, the rain clouds are gathering.

The mother with her injured calf is still on the move

but the calf looks tired and the injured leg is very inflamed.

But elephants are very intelligent animals

and this little bull is not going down without a fight.

Water splashed on the injury cools the heat from the inflammation,

giving him some relief from pain.

The light is going and soon the rain will be here.

The pain of separation is keen.

Alone in the vast landscape

the mother elephant calls for her lost family.

But there is no answer.

THUNDER CLAPS

The rains have come.

Light in the reserve but heavy in the mountains to the north.

The elephants are on the move,

following the rain as it brings new growth to the dry earth.

But this trek will take them outside the protection of the reserve

into lands where they may come into conflict with the human population.

For little Breeze this will be a journey fraught with peril.

For David Daballen the next few days will be an anxious time.

It's dawn and the clouds hang heavy above Samburu.

This morning there is news from the western boundary of the reserve.

Deeply worrying news.

Reports have come in that a big bull elephant has been found dead,

and the circumstances are suspicious.

Died and walked a bit?

He was wounded because what happened is...

Onesmas Kahindi is a key member of the Save The Elephants team -

Working in the local communities alongside the Kenya Wildlife Service, he seeks out

and investigates reports of every dead elephant in the region.

It's vital to know if the deaths are due to poaching,

conflict over crops, or from natural causes.

In the year 2006 I had 205 dead elephants.

About 42-45 animals were actually killed for their ivory.

But there's one very interesting thing to note here.

Law enforcement in northern Kenya is very strong,

not from the government alone,

but from the goodwill of the people who live with those elephants.

Oh my God.

That is huge.

James, a local ranger,

immediately reported the dead elephant to Onesmas.

He and Iain now need to identify the body.

That's Mungu, all right. There's no question about it.

M for Mungu. How very sad.

Mungu was by far the biggest bull elephant in the area,

with some of the most impressive tusks in northern Kenya.

For him to meet such a tragic end is a terrible blow.

There were no witnesses,

so whoever fired the fatal shot is unlikely to be caught.

The tusks were quickly removed by the Kenya Wildlife Service

to prevent them ending up on the illegal ivory market.

The motive for the killing remains a mystery.

Why is all that green stuff in the skull?

Several Samburu people have visited the carcass.

According to Samburu culture the elephant is not an animal,

it is part of the human race.

So what usually happens is if you find an elephant skull in the bush

you have to bless it with green twigs.

It has to be green, and when they put it

they always say, "Sleep well, our comrade."

The fact that a poacher may have killed Mungu

is a major concern for Onesmas and Iain.

It shows just how dangerous life can be

for elephants outside the reserve.

Poor old Mungu.

Beyond the northern reserve boundary

David searches for the Winds and baby Breeze.

It's rained far more heavily up here

and he's sure they will have headed this way.

It's a long journey for such a young calf.

David is concerned. He needs to find them.

It's clear why the elephants have come here.

The vegetation is lush and green after just a few days of rain

and the standing water provides plenty to drink.

But the elephants aren't the only ones after the fresh new growth,

the herders are here, too.

The death of Mungu has brought home just how dangerous it can be

outside the protected areas.

The local herders tell David that they've seen elephants here.

He's now certain this is where the winds have gone.

Back inside the reserve there's a tragic development.

An unidentified elephant has died in a muddy river.

Its distraught family are also on the scene.

Could the casualty be the injured calf?

Or worse still, one of the missing Winds family?

David must return.

Goodness, that's terrible.

The reserve's Rangers are on the scene

to try and find out what happened.

David must quickly assess the situation and identify the elephant.

From the scrawny condition of the carcass

he can tell she died from natural causes.

It's an adult female.

David identifies as her from a distinctive notch in her ear.

We know who she is, and we've just also confirmed in the files.

It's confirmed, there's no question,

it's one of our resident females called Masai Girl.

Very, very sad.

Masai Girl was a matriarch, she had a whole family depending on her.

No-one will feel this death more than Masai Girl's two male calves.

One is only three.

Barely old enough to survive without his mother.

When the team back off the calves return.

They're confused, reluctant to leave their mother's side,

touching her to work out what's happened.

The older calf tries to reassure his brother.

The youngster gently nudges her,

using the most sensitive part of his foot to touch her inert body.

They're both hoping she'll wake up from this unexpectedly long sleep.

With the rest of the herd long gone

the future for these orphans is most uncertain.

In the foothills of Mount Kenya

Saba's search for Mountain Bull goes on.

The recent GPS trails show that he's travelled

from his home on Mount Kenya through farms and villages

and down towards his favoured breeding grounds.

If Saba can follow him on the ground when he goes home

she can get first-hand evidence of his adventures

and perhaps find ways of helping him avoid clashes with local people.

Despite the technology, it's quite a challenge to try and find him.

The terrain here is difficult, roads are few, and although

Saba's radio antenna picks up the bull's radio collar frequency

the mountainous landscape disrupts the signal

and frustratingly, she's also lost radio contact with Iain.

Back in Samburu, the body of Masai Girl lies silent in the river.

Her calves have fled, but possibly summoned by their cries of anguish,

another family have arrived.

It's the Royals,

the group involved in the unsuccessful collaring operation.

They're the largest and most dominant family in the reserve.

The dead elephant is someone they know well.

A fascination with their dead has long been documented by scientists

and it seems that elephants could well mourn just like us.

There are very few animals that show a concern about dead animals,

or indeed even recognise the dead of their own species.

But the extraordinary thing is how much they seem to care.

Trunks gently taste the air around the body.

Man has been here.

Communication is restricted to most subtle expressions of movement and touch.

Calves are gently pushed towards the body

while the senior elephants try to calm the mood.

As the rain starts to fade just one young bull remains.

Now alone, he's the only elephant able to bring himself

to touch the body, which he does with the utmost sensitivity.

They must be inhaling terabytes of information

because their sense of smell is so acute

and they have such huge areas of their brain to process it.

They're probably smelling emotions,

smelling things that happened that we can only dimly understand.

The weather is changing.

The torrential storms in the north have blown themselves out.

In the last two days all the heavy rain has fallen on the reserve.

New growth has appeared practically overnight,

and suddenly animals and birds are everywhere.

David has received reports that the elephants are on their way back,

but this is an anxious time.

It's been six days since the Winds family left the safety of the reserve.

If Harmattan and the herd return without little Breeze

it will be a terrible blow.

It's Harmattan,

and close behind her, little Breeze.

Back safe and sound.

Iain and Onesmas still don't know the news about the return of Breeze.

They're still trying to find information about

the mysterious death of Mungu, the biggest tusker in the area.

There we go.

When Mungu's body was found the tusks were removed

and taken to the headquarters of the Kenya Wildlife Service

to prevent them ending up on the ivory black market.

Up close the tusks reveal some details of how Mungu lived.

I'm explaining to them how that groove's come.

Because it's usually a big curiosity for all Rangers

and community people as well.

So all I'm trying to say is that this is used to tug grass

and the weakest point on the tusk

that the grass passes forms that groove.

So what they do is take the grass, put the grass over the groove,

and kick with the foot and the kick just cuts the grass,

then they put it in the mouth.

So if we could just hold them like it was on the elephant itself.

No other elephant in the reserve had tusks this big.

They are two metres long

and the combined weight is more than 80 kilograms.

If you take your hands away... That's what I wanted.

The motive for the killing remains a mystery

but poaching looks an increasingly strong possibility.

Having known Mungu for more than ten years it's a terrible blow for Iain,

and an ignoble end for such a magnificent creature.

I think we are done.

So's Mungu.

The Winds family have arrived back into a landscape

that has been transformed by the recent heavy rains.

Dry, dusty hollows have turned into deep water holes,

perfect for drinking and mud wallowing.

Perhaps it's being the daughter of the matriarch

which gives Breeze the confidence

to shove one of her yearling cousins straight into the water.

It will be several months before she really drinks using her trunk.

But already she's copying the adults, just like a human toddler.

Harmattan has protected her infant well,

and the future for Breeze should be bright.

High up in the foothills of Mount Kenya

Saba has some exciting news about Mountain Bull.

Do you read?

Yes, hello, how are you? What's happening now?

-I just wanted to let you know we found him.

-'Oh, fantastic!'

He's just across the valley on a ridge just opposite us

and he's absolutely beautiful.

'That's fantastic. What's he doing?'

He's actually with a herd of females

but he looks like he's in full musth at the moment

and he's been testing some of the females, so...

He's just such a beautiful bull, I had no idea.

'That's so funny, I've been following him minutely all morning,

'wondering where you were.'

Well, he's come a lot further into Borana than I thought.

From where I'm sitting we've got an amazing view right across the plains,

then across a whole lot of settlement up into the Mount Kenya forest,

it's almost the exact route that he takes.

I know he's coming out of musth any day now so I don't know if it's

just me but it does seem to me like he's looking every now and then

at Mount Kenya thinking about that long trek he's got to do,

and I'd expect him to be heading off any day now.

Mountain Bull's route home will take him straight through

the farms and settlements in the valley.

That will almost certainly mean conflict

between humans and elephants. By keeping him under close surveillance

the team are hoping to find ways of helping him,

and then hopefully he can avoid the fate of poor Mungu.

Back in Samburu, the lost female and injured calf are still hanging on.

After six days there's still no improvement in the injured leg.

But there's an interesting development.

The pair have attached themselves to a family

with a fully grown disabled elephant, Babel.

She's coped with a paralysed leg for more than 10 years

and is given time to keep up by the senior elephants.

That means the family travels slowly and don't range far.

So for the time being at least,

the lost elephants can enjoy the company of another family.

The calf's chances of survival, however, are still very slim.

Nearby, David has followed Harmattan and Breeze

from the water hole to the mud wallow.

Despite being surrounded by an intimidating forest

of legs and trunks, Breeze is really holding her own.

And she's now taking the game to some of the other young elephants.

For David and the team

it's been a privilege to enjoy these first few weeks of Breeze's life.

But mixed with the joy is the sorrow of the death in the river

and the ongoing worries over the injured calf.

Beyond the reserve, trouble is brewing.

Mountain Bull is on a collision course with farms and communities

and the death of Mungu remains a worrying mystery.

The Save The Elephants team certainly have their work cut out

over the next few months.

But for little Breeze, this is a day of pure pleasure

and she is full of the joys of babyhood.

Next time on The Secret Life Of Elephants...

Breeze is developing a spirit of adventure.

Saba follows Mountain Bull as he runs the gauntlet of the farms and villages -

could bees see off troublesome elephants?

And as the dry season arrives

the Winds family face a battle for survival.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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