Episode 3 Elephant Diaries

For a whole year I've been following a remarkable family

of baby elephants in Kenya.

A family of elephants raised by people.

Every one of these little elephants is an orphan,

rescued from the wild having lost their mother.

They've all been brought to a unique nursery in Nairobi,

where they receive the intense love and care they desperately need.

All of these babies have been saved from certain death in the wild

by the vision of one woman -

Daphne Sheldrick. Together with her team of dedicated keepers

she's giving orphaned baby elephants a second chance

for a normal life in the wild where they belong.

By the time they're two years old, the young babies are ready to leave

the security of the nursery and are brought here.

This is Tsavo National Park, and we're about 350km east of where Michaela is at the Nairobi orphanage.

And I've been following the older orphans

as they make their long and difficult journey back into the wild.

Yesterday on Elephant Diaries,

the convoy carrying six baby elephants to their new life in Tsavo

was forced to stop when one of the elephants began to panic.

Can you help?

The elephants are charging. They're killing them.

The elephants in this truck are getting so agitated

that they've begun to charge and that's putting the keeper's life in danger.

That's Napasha. Oh, my goodness, this is just awful!

We've just checked the keeper out and he is OK,

but it's so surprising that it's Napasha that's completely freaked out.

Napasha has always seemed so calm. It's OK.

Quick thinking has saved the lives of the keepers trapped inside the truck.

And everyone hopes that the distraction of freshly cut food

will help little Napasha deal with the trauma of this journey.

Although it's very stressful for everyone involved, we all hope it will be worth it.

'The six little orphans in these trucks are part of a new venture.

'They're destined to form a new orphan herd at Ithumba,

'a new release site in a remote corner of Tsavo.'

John, we're off again, are we?

-Yes.

-OK.

It's going to be an enormous challenge,

but if all goes well, the hope is that over the coming years

they will gradually return to living wild.

This is going to be such a surprise for our little orphans.

This vegetation is very different to Nairobi, it's a lot drier for a start.

There's not as many nice juicy green bushes

so I hope they're going to like their new home.

On board our convoy is Wendi, the mini-matriarch of the nursery babies.

Although Nairobi is now far behind us, I can't help thinking about the nursery

and the four leaderless little elephants we left behind.

Everyone's worried that losing Wendi will make them feel extremely unsettled.

Head keeper Edwin has been keeping a close eye on them.

All the young ones

are very, very much scared after all the big ones have left.

Ndomot is showing some signs of difficulty.

He does not want to come to the keepers,

he does not want to move to the other three, who have settled down.

Ndomot is doing all this because he was very much close to Wendi.

And he took Wendi as the mother and even at night he wanted to sleep with Wendi.

But we hope,

after a short time, he will come to terms

that Wendi is not there and he has to cope

with the other three and be close to the keepers.

All Edwin and the keepers can do is offer love and comfort,

but no-one really knows if he will ever be able to cope with his new loss.

This is Voi, in the south of Tsavo,

and most of the young elephants here came from the Nairobi nursery.

Now they're learning what it takes to go back to the wild.

For the time being at least, this herd still has its matriarch -

a ten-year-old orphan called Emily.

But they're also facing major changes.

The Tsavo herd has grown enormously.

From just a few individuals, there's now 30, and so it's been decided to split the herd up.

Four females have been selected for a very special job -

helping the six orphans with Michaela cope in their new home.

The plan is that they'll lead the new orphan herd

and, in time, one of them will rise to the challenge and become the new matriarch.

These older elephants here in Voi

are about to be taken north

to the new release site at Ithumba

to join up with the little ones on their way there from Nairobi.

As Emily leads the others out for the day, the four chosen females

have been left behind in preparation for the big move.

These are our four girls that are going north to Ithumba

and they've been kept back for the moment. The rest of the herd's gone out to feed.

We've put some treats down there at that concrete ramp -

that's where the trucks are going to be coming to -

just to get them used to the idea of going down there.

Among their favourite treats is a brown powder called copra.

And the copra, what actually is that, what's in copra?

-The copra is coconut.

-It's coconut?

OK, which has got a lot of nutrients? So that's really good for them.

So it's not just a treat, it's also very good for the young elephants.

Well, they obviously like it. Have you ever tried it?

Shall we see what it's like?

-It tastes nice.

-Is it good?

Actually, that's pretty good.

This is a real treat for them and it's all part of this process

of trying to get them used to the idea that it's OK to be coming here.

That this is not something for them to be nervous about.

Isn't it, yeah?

This is Kinna, you can see, with that sunburnt ear.

The tops of her ears were severely burnt when she was a baby.

She'd lost her family and was stuck for days in mud out in the scorching sun.

Oh.

Oh, no, she's decided she WILL take it.

That was a gift, Kinna.

Oh, great, thank you very much!

OK, that's enough. They should be following the rest of the herd, get out there where the real grub is.

Come on, you lot, let's go.

Having got our four eles used to the loading ramp they can rejoin Emily and the rest of their chums.

Now here comes Emily. Now what are you doing, Emily?

That real sort of jaunty, bouncy movement there.

(Hello, Emily.)

No, Emily, that's not for you.

Actually, yeah, I think she might damage it

There we go. Oh, look, I think maybe she's heard.

Listen, you see here now?

It's the other four and Emily's talking to them.

Even with her back turned, she knew they were there.

This is actually going to be the last time that they'll join the herd of a morning.

See that excitement now they're coming back.

EMILY TRUMPETS

Emily's helped teach these four everything they know.

The gamble is, will they take that knowledge with them to Ithumba?

The future of the new herd depends on it. The problem is none of them is more than five years old

and by ele standards that makes them still young children.

So none of us know if the move will be successful.

With all six little orphans from Nairobi still on board, we're approaching their new home,

'but it's a long way north of where Jonathan is.'

We've been driving seven hours and we've just gone through the gates of Tsavo National Park.

We've still got a bit further to go because we're going to Ithumba which is in the north part of east Tsavo.

It's been very hot, it's been bumpy, it's been long.

Hopefully, our elephants are going to be OK.

It must be incredibly stressful for them.

It's also been a very noisy journey.

But this is just a few hours in their lives,

so hopefully it won't be long before they realise that this long journey was worth it.

This is Ithumba, the new release site and journey's end for our six little eles.

Eight hours later, we've finally arrived.

Hello, gorgeous!

This is the eles' new home, it's the first time they will have seen it

and I hope they're all right.

They're so desperate to get out of the truck, that they've jammed the door catch.

Unless the keepers can get the door open, Napasha could hurt himself trying to climb out.

But once the gates are opened

our excited little orphans can take their first steps to freedom.

Everyone has arrived safely

and moments later Wendi and the others follow Napasha.

One by one, the babies experience the strange sights,

sounds and smells of their new home for the very first time.

These elephants are so relieved to get out of those trucks,

and they're so hot and this is the perfect way to cool down.

And after that eight-hour journey, I feel like I want to join them.

After an extremely long and hard day

this mud wallow must be a welcome relief.

But the long journey was worth it because these six little ones

are now one step closer to living wild and free once again.

With the young elephants starting to relax,

the trucks head off to collect the four older females, who we hope will be joining us very soon.

Meanwhile, back at the Nairobi nursery,

the four babies we left behind are still slightly subdued.

It's hard for them, but slowly they seem to be coming to terms

with the fact that Wendi, their mini-matriarch, has gone.

They're obviously feeling very insecure

and are sticking close to Edwin and the other keepers.

But, luckily, little Ndomot has finally calmed down

and seems resigned to the fact that Wendi is no longer there.

Even so, at the end of the day as all the babies head off to bed,

he can't help making one final check that she's not hiding somewhere...

..before running to catch up with the others.

Once home, all the babies settle down, safe in the knowledge

that at least their human family are still there for them.

The big day's finally here, and the trucks have arrived from Ithumba.

Just let's take a look at that.

My goodness me. If that's what one of the little ones with Michaela can do,

and they're just two years old,

I'm not looking forward to seeing what our ones are going to do,

and they're much bigger.

And here come the first two elephants.

But what will they do now? I feel so nervous.

They're bound to remember having been in trucks before,

so the keepers are reassuring them that everything's OK.

(Go on, girl, you can do it.)

Look at that stretch!

She's determined only to go as far as she wants.

(They're going to push now. No, no, no, not yet!)

OK, she's in, she's in.

The doors are shut. OK, we've got two in. Phew, what a relief!

At least now we know we're going to have two elephants going up to Ithumba to join those little ones,

and that is so important.

OK, here come the second two.

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

Do you know, that's interesting again cos this is Kinna, this one here,

with the damaged ear.

Kinna at the moment seems to be the most feisty,

almost as if she is the leader - will she be the new matriarch?

If you look at her face, all elephants have a gland here, the temporal gland.

And she's secreting temporin down her face.

That's a sign perhaps that she's excited,

that she's giving off messages to the others that something's going on, and it's different.

So far neither of these two elephants

have actually been right inside the trucks.

See where the keepers are ready?

ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

Phew. Well, now what?

It's the first morning here at the new release site

and after the drama of yesterday's truck journey,

it's the first time our little eles have had a chance

to explore their new surroundings.

But everything's so different.

They must be feeling very scared and disorientated.

For Wendi and the orphans, today must be like starting a new school.

Everything's changed, nothing's familiar.

They're not really sure how to behave or what to do.

The only things they're sticking to are the things they know -

each other and the keepers.

Our poor little orphans

really do seem completely shell-shocked to be here.

And they're also very jumpy this morning.

Any slight noise, the ears go up, the trunk goes up,

and they're very pushy this morning as well.

Even greedy little Napasha seems to be off his food.

For once, he's more interested in seeking reassurance than filling his tummy.

One thing that's really quite worrying

is that in just one day these elephants have visibly lost weight.

In Nairobi they were really quite plump, but if you look here

you can see it's quite sunk in and you can really see these hip bones.

There are two reasons for that. Yesterday they spent eight hours on a truck,

whereas normally they'd be grazing all day, and once they got here they were too stressed to eat.

Today all this vegetation is new to them

and they're not really sure what they're supposed to be eating.

It's very difficult, seeing them like this.

Wendi's done all she can, but she's actually out of her depth here.

They really need the leadership of the bigger elephants as soon as possible.

We've managed to get the first two elephants in. They hit the road an hour ago.

But the last two are proving to be much more difficult.

Convincing them to go in is going to be a lot tougher.

Now, whenever the elephants travel there's always a vet with us.

The vet's actually trying to give them a sedative.

They've managed to inject one of them

but Kinna has run away before they could empty the syringe.

Kinna's really upset now.

She's looking out of the corner of her eye. She knows that something bad is going on behind her.

SHE TRUMPETS

Now, did that work?

You know, I mean, that's just so ironic.

It went so well with those first two and I thought, "Yes, we're in! And maybe it'll just be easy."

But these actually are the older two and this is turning out to be much, much more difficult.

I think the sedative is beginning to work.

So Yatta should be pretty much ready to go in.

She's just...

just slowly, slowly relaxing.

But Kinna, I just don't know about you at all.

I bet all she wants right now is to be back with Emily.

Here they go, they're going to try and get Yatta in.

Well, this just shows you how powerful

a young elephant is.

OK, go on. In you go. In you go.

In you go.

Yes, yes, yes!

OK, three down, one to go.

But I've got real doubts about Kinna.

I want to stay and see what happens to her but I just can't afford to lose the others.

Right, off we go.

I'm going to race to try and catch up with the others.

They're way ahead by now.

We've had to leave Kinna behind.

She's been jabbed, but whether they manage to get her into a truck or not and get her to Ithumba,

I just haven't got a clue.

I'll be amazed, to be honest, if they do.

But three elephants in trucks, three elephants for those little babies from the Nairobi orphanage.

That is just so important.

It's what it's all about. They need the security of a bigger elephant right now.

They need a matriarch, somebody to rally round.

And the irony is, I was so sure that it was going to be Kinna.

To me she seemed to be a leader, she was feisty,

she was always bellowing her head off, she always wanted to get back to where Emily was, leading the troops.

And blow me if we haven't had to leave her behind!

'The keepers have heard by radio that some of the trucks have left

'so we hope that help is on its way for our bewildered and exhausted little eles.'

This is a very calm, relaxed, peaceful scene

but in 20 minutes' time all that will change.

The trucks from Voi will arrive.

Now, no doubt the elephants will be nervous because they'll hear the sound of the trucks,

but they have an amazing sense of communication so it's highly likely

they will know that those elephants are on their way before they even see them so they'll also be excited.

So this calmness isn't going to last.

This is basically the calm before the storm.

-HE SPEAKS IN SWAHILI

-What did they say, Bernard?

-The truck is five minutes away.

-Five minutes. When we hear the truck, are we going to move the elephants closer?

-Yeah.

We're down to the last leg now.

Of course, in the back of my mind the whole way has been Kinna.

What has happened to Kinna?

Is she on the road? Will she join the herd?

Fingers crossed.

Here we are.

First question is, how are the eles?

Oh, I just hope everything's OK.

So far, so good. I mean, the drive was fantastic.

And here they come.

ELEPHANTS TRUMPET

This is where the keepers really come into their own.

Calming the eles down and reassuring them in this strange new place is vital.

This is Yatta.

She's the one that we had to sedate so I'm just hoping that she's OK.

She's bound to be a bit woozy.

OK, they're calling her to where the others are.

Look at them nodding their heads.

It's just such a shame that only three of them have made it.

Oh, fantastic! It's the other truck.

It must be Kinna. They must have Kinna.

That is so exciting.

Now that is fantastic news.

There was me thinking, "How are these three going to feel? How was Kinna going to feel?"

She must be in the truck.

HE SPEAKS IN SWAHILI

She's OK. Phew!

I've got to let on, Kinna, I think is my favourite.

And here come the others. The others are coming over to have a look.

I can't believe they want to go anywhere near a truck.

Kinna must be calling to them.

That's amazing.

One large step to freedom.

Brave little elephants.

Now, these big girls are here for a reason

and I think they're about to find out what it is.

All the trucks have arrived now so the keepers need to move the orphans towards the stockade.

I don't know how they're feeling but I'M pretty excited.

'This really is make-or-break time.'

It's the babies, it's the babies from Nairobi.

Look at that, that is just amazing.

They incredibly calmly went up to see the bigger elephants

and now they just look a bit bemused.

You can see they're all using their trunks,

just checking out one another, saying hello.

Michaela, hi, how did it go?

Well, they were incredibly calm, actually.

I was surprised. I thought that they would be really excited and wound up

but they very calmly walked towards the other elephants.

They seemed to know they were there, but they were, like, "Whoa, what are these big things?"

It's incredible, isn't it?

I think I want to cry!

Don't worry.

It's so sweet, it's so touching.

-See the way this one, the big one...

-The trunk is going over the back.

-That's Mulika, in fact.

-And that's Napasha that the trunk is going over.

That's so gentle, isn't it?

-I think it's over to the elephants now isn't it?

-I think so. Shall we step back?

After everything they've been through in the past few days,

it's wonderful to see all these elephants starting to relax.

They still have a long way to go before they really bond as a herd,

but hopefully, just for the moment,

everyone can draw breath before the next big adventure begins.

Tomorrow on Elephant Diaries, rescued babies flood in,

filling the empty stables at the Nairobi nursery.

In Tsavo, something's upsetting Emily.

And at the new release site, there's big trouble.

I woke up this morning feeling on top of the world,

really excited about seeing the eles again and the keepers.

And one word has changed all of that, and that word is rabies.

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