Episode 1 Planet Earth Live

For wild baby animals, this is the most critical time in their young

lives. Right aRos the planet, May is their make or break month. Over

the next three weeks, we are going to be following some of their

stories as they struggle for survival. In Africa, Moja the lion

cub and his mum are desperately looking for food. In North America,

bear cubs Herbie and Fern face the prospect of freezing to death when

a sudden snow fall catches them out. And in Sri Lanka, baby macaquee

gremlin is growing up in a tough society.

Hello and welcome to Planet Earth Live. It has begun at last. Let me

formally welcome you to the Masai Mara, magnificent. It's also night.

I'm coming to you, as the name suggests, live from the heart of

Kenya right now. Planet Earth Live is truly a global event. Julia

Bradley is 8,000 miles away where this critical month is affecting

the lives of a very different cast of baby animals.

It's 1.50 here in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes and home to

about 25,000 black bears. That's why I'm here. It's one of North

America's last great wildernesss. This is how Planet Earth Live the

series is going to work. Right around the globe, May is a

critical time in the natural world. We've sent teams of experts out

across the plan Tote capture the drama of this incredible time of

year. -- across the planet to. In the nor

them hemisphere, it's spring. Baby animals take their first tentative

steps. As well as our black bears, Herbie and Fern, we'll follow the

fortunes of mickey and Luca, newly emerged polar bears. In the tropics,

May brings the end of the rain aye season.

The rains in Africa and Asia have triggered a baby elephant bonanza

in Kenya. But for our lion cubs, times are hard. May brings big

challenges for other young animals. Young giant otters in Peru, tiny

meerkat pups in South Africa. And a family of macaques in Sri Lanka.

In California, this time of year marks the start of the perilous

grey whale migration and changes the life of a very special sea

otter pup. We'll be following their stories in

this, the most important month for baby animals in the natural world.

We genuinely have no idea what their fate will be. These are real

animals, real lives in real time. You will be able to follow them

every step of the way right here and on the web where you will get

the very latest news as it comes in. So, over the next three weeks, this

tent is going to be my home and I would like you to join me here live

in the heart of what is one of the wildest places on the planet, the

Masai Mara. I've begun the whole thing with hat hair - my mistake.

I'm going to be following the lives of the predator that really has put

this place on the map. The lion. Lions are the only cats that live

in family groups, in the pride raising cubs is all about team work.

The mums hunt together, bringing back meat for all the family. But

not all cubs are this lucky. This is Moja. His name means one in

civil war hily or loner. He has no problems or sisters, he and his

mother are outcasts, they are alone and Moja is facing starvation right

now. He's in real trouble. We have no idea what the future holds for

him. All we can say right now, as we begin Planet Earth Live is that

we know the odds are stacked heavily against him.

Moja is only five months old so he's a bit like a toddler really.

His mother's milk gives him a bit of comfort, but we won't survive

without solids. It's up to his mum to make sure he gets them. As a

single parent, she's having a hard time keeping him going. At this

time of year, there is very little prey. That really brings us to the

very reason of why we are here at this time of year and genuinely

just before we went live somebody reported and in fact we saw a

buffalo over there. There may be a hippo over there. Anything may

happen. The fact is though, those are one of the few animals still

remaining here and big prey like that to a single mother like Moja's

mum really represent one heck of a challenge. As far as she's

concerned, the cupboard is bare right now.

In the dry season, there are more wild animals walking across these

plains than anywhere else on earth. But we're here in the middle of the

rainy season. The wildebeest are on their way, but right now, they're

200 mails to the south. This is the hardest time of year to

be a lion -- 200 miles to the south. If the adults have it tough, the

cubs have it even tougher. Straightaway I think if we are

going to get an idea of Moja's situation, we should take a proper

look at him with some films we've made. Let's take a look at the

little fella. You can see just how lonely he is, first of all. That

actually is a problem straightaway. You don't have to see an expert to

see he's one vulnerable little lion. You can see ribs and hips and even

lying down is hard work. He's in serious need of a good meal.

Right now, his mum needs to be out hunting for him to bring him the

solid food he so desperately needs. And the good news is, she seems to

be one heck of a mum. She has been out hunting for him, which is what

we wanted to see. So we are going to show you some film of that. We

have with us, for this whole exercise for the next three weeks,

some of the best cameramen and women in the world so we can show

you some astonishing stuff. Take a lack at this.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

That, to be honest, is one of many such hunts we hope to be able to

bring you. I wanted to just show off some of the camera work. It was

absolutely magnificent. The problem is, what happens next,

I have to say. If you are a parent, you may be a bit skwee mish because,

well, it gets a little tricky. You may be shifting in your seat, but

this is what happened. Trust me, she is a good mum, really a good

mum. Here is what I'm going on about. She's caught - and that's

good - but she's eating it. All of it. That's because she really is

Moja's only chance. She needs to keep herself fit and well so she

can feed him. She's not being a bad mum. She will take that back to him

in the form of milk. If you have cats at home by the way and see

what is about to happen right now and you think, my cat does that,

mine do that and I have six. That milk will be comforting but not

enough to keep him alive. Straightaway, a bit of drama with

Moja. The point of this exercise is, he's out there right now in the

Moja's situation is desperate. Mum heads off again to try and find

something to eat. This time, Moja decides to follow her.

It's a very risky strategy. Moja is weak with hunger and following her

is putting his life in danger. He's not safe out on the open plains.

But it's make or break time for this little lion. He's literally

starving to death. It's a very brave decision, but is it the right

one? In the rainy season, the grass grows tall and mum makes full use

A passing elephant calf has nothing A good sized warthog is much more

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

To get his strength back, he needs to feed for at least a few hours.

These hyenas are hungry too and they want a piece of the action. On

her own, going head-to-head with hyenas is potentially deadly. His

mum faces a terrible dilemma. Moja needs to eat and eat well. With

night falling, will she flee or And moments like this are exactly

what the show is going to be all about, real life animals making

life-and-death decisions right now. So did she make the decision? I'll

leave you with a cliff hanger, we'll find out later on because

right now we are going to cross a third of the way around the globe

to Julia Bradbury in Minnesota. Welcome back to the Northwoods of

Minnesota 16 miles south of the Canadian border, 8,000 miles away

from Richard and this is really bear country. The cubs are about

three-and-a-half months old. Over the next few weeks, you will get to

know the bear families very, very well. Bear families like yule yet

and her three little ones. Shs the hand some Juliet, a favourite of

mine, this is her with her three cubs, Sam, Sybil and Sophie. She's

an experienced parent, this is her fourth litter and they are healthy

and suckling well. Let's meet her baby trio team. Sam is a male

little cub, he's adventurous, boisterous and look, he's just that

little bit accident prone as Welch oops. There we go. Sophie is much

more laid back. This is his sister, the one underneath Sam. Yes, he can

be quite annoying, but don't worry, she gives as good as she gets.

Feisty little one that one. And finally, this fare faced cutey is

Sybil, the smallest and most fragile but certainly has a lot of

spirit. We have been a part of the cubs' lives from the beginning for

months. We have had cameras in their dens. Look at this. This is

the Den Cam from not so long ago. What I want you to do particularly

is listen to the noises that emerge Even in the den, the cubs are

communicating with their mother, each little cry means something

different, can you roll over so I can suckle you, you are sitting on

me mum or I'm hungry mum. We'll learn so much about bear noises

over the next few weeks. A month hag here, things went a little bit

wrong for the bears and it's all down to the weather which turned on

its head and that caused chaos. Normally Minnesota should be under

a foot of snow at this time of year. But with the early arrival of

spring, it looks like this. The melting snow flooded Juliet's den.

She was forced to evacuate and move her cubs above ground a full month

before they were ready to face the outside world. Juliet had to find a

safe place for them and created a day bed underneath a large red pine

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

With the weather warming up, it It was now that Juliet's experience

really paid off. She knew she had to keep her cubs dry and warm

during the snowstorm. She literally licked the snow flakes off their

I can hear your hearts melting at home at the sight of the cubs. Take

a listen again to that noise, the humming noise of the cubs. That is

the sound of a content cub. You will normally hear that when a cub

is suckling. Juliet is an experienced mum, caring and

attentive and aware and experience out here can make all the

difference between life-and-death. Jewel is a first time mum. She's

got two little cubs, Herbie and Fern and her lack of experience is

not working out well for Herbie and Fern. Herbie is shaking up in the

tree. He shouldn't be really up on a tree, he should be on a day bed

warm. Herbie and Fern have been put in real danger inadvertently by

their mum. Find out how they fare later on. We have a Den Cam and

Hammond cam. There he is, just there.

Thank you. We take the trouble to link up live all around the globe

and you have an odd pop at me. See you in a bit, Julia. We are live

all around the globe right now. Julia's there in Minnesota. We

might have saved a few quid on the globe, that's not an expensive

special effect. That's me in the Masai Mara and that's Sri Lanka. No

expense spared there, I made that myself. Gavin is following the

macaques in Sri Lanka, one in particular.

Meet Gremlin. She's a nine week old toque macaque. She's very cute but

very fragile. Macaque society has a strict pecking order. Gremlin's mum

is near the very bottom of the pile, making Gremlin pretty much the

lowest of the low in a dangerous world.

Apart from the squabbles within the troop, there are large and country

reptiles living in the forest. Hunting dogs are a problem too.

Tiny babies like Gremlin would be a welcome meal. If that wasn't enough,

this busy road cuts right through the territory.

So it's no surprise that one in three babies will die before

reaching their first birthday. I really hope Gremlin isn't that

one. To survive, young Gremlin is going

to have to learn fast and keep her What I love is that they play out

their daily dramas against this beautiful backdrop of this ancient

ruined city. It's a good time of year and

they've got six newborn babies in this troupe. They all look very

similar, even to the trained eye. What singles Gremlin out to me is

that she's often on her own away from mum and has a distinctive

white tip on her tail. Gremlin's mother is your typical

working mum. Hard at work foraging during the day to feed herself and

to produce enough milk for Gremlin. Gremlin just gets under her feet.

So for this little monkey, learning life's lessons will have to be done

the hard way. On her own. Luckily, she's a

confident young monkey, happy to venture away from the safety of her

mother's arms. Happy to shadow the infants, you can see her working

out what she should be doing to fit into this society. May in Sri Lanka

is seriously hot. Today, the temperature's well into the 30s.

Gremlin needs to learn how to cool For the older macaques, a mere

puddle won't do and confidence It's going to be a while before

Gremlin tries these stunts. Now, after all that paddling around,

she's worked up quite an appetite. Being the adventurous type, she's

She's got a year to a year-and-a- half before she's fully weaned and

until then, milk will always be best.

At last, she's reunited with mum. She gets the cuddle and milk she

needs. Gremlin's life down the bottom of

the pecking order is always going to be precarious. For tonight,

she's back in the safety of her mother's arms.

Come on, tell me your face isn't doing this. They are gorgeous! I

must mention, by the way, because you will have noticed it's the

rainy season here in Kenya and it's started in a big way. It's really,

really seriously rain, but we'll carry on as long as we can, I'm

sure we couldn't have any problems. Now, I've had it explained to me

that it's late to talk to Gavin right now because he's two-and-a-

half hours ahead of us in Kenya which mean he's four-and-a-half

hours of you in the UK, being live around the UK is very, very

complicated. Gavin's in bed, so I spoke to him earlier on.

Gavin, your heart has to go out to Gremlin, but life at the bottom of

the heap was never going to be easy. Realistically, what do you think

our chances of survival are? think Gremlin's chances are high.

She's a feisty little monkey and her mum is looking after her, so I

think she's got a good chance of surviving. Did you know as soon as

you clapped eyes on her that she was going to be a major character

for you to follow? The honesty is, a lot of monkeys

look very similar and she stood out initially just because of that

white tail, but she's turned out to be one of the pluckiest little

youngsters. On the issue of looks, Gavin, you

spend a lot of time following these and we are looking forward to

finding out more, but they've got a face really only a mother could

love, I'm being polite?! I've actually got a picture of you

as a baby here, Richard. I think they're great looking little babies.

Great looking babies. I know they look like Gremlins, but no, I love

'em! We wish little Gremlin the very

best. You've filmed here quite a lot haven't you?

Yes, I've been to the Masai Mara countless times, I'm jealous you

are there but I'm also pleased to be here in Sri Lanka with the

monkey group. Yeah, it's been raining here mostly. Thank you very

much though, we look forward to talking to you later in the week.

We wish you all the very best and the best to little Gremlin. Sorry

about being rude about her face, I was just being silly, she didn't

hear! You are back with me live and

getting wet here in rainy Kenya in the rain aye season in the Masai

Mara. I wanted to talk to you about some of the kit because we've

brought some clever stuff, including thermal imaging cameras.

This is a new generation of them. We've got one over there being

manned by Sue right now. We can show you some of the images we have

got from earlier on. Oh, this is us, lack, that's me with my torch and

that's, I don't know who they are! That's the crew, bless them, yeah,

all right. We've all been on telly, that's nice. Actually, it's not

just for that, much as we enjoy it, it's very useful. We have had some

great shots already. This is a buff foe that we saw. This was today, I

believe, as we were live. This is a rogue male buffalo just now --

buffalo. They are one of the most dangerous things you will find in

after ach. Usually they are old males that are dominant males --

find in Africa. We can use to it spot dangers out there. Sue, can

you pan left to we can have a look and see if there's anything out

there presenting a danger to us? We are in no danger at all. Panning

out there to the left. That's a guard. That's my car and a fire. I

think we are all right. Look, there they are! There's the buffalos

right now. That's... Don't worryer we'll be OK. If anything nasty

happens, I'll throw Pat, the cameraman in front of them. It does

illustrate the point, because there are times of year when you will pan

that camera across this wilderness at this time and it will just be

alive with so much life here on the Masai Mara. Right now there isn't.

If you are a single lioness such as Moja's mum, things like elephants,

buffalo, hippo, they really are going to be too tricky. It's a very

difficult time to be a lion on the Masai Mara right now.

Here is Moja. He's an only child of a single mother and they are casts

from their pride. Moja was finally getting some solid food but hyenas

were threatening to steal the first food he'd eaten with a week. His

mum was left with an agonising decision, either fight and allow

Moja to have a good meal or should she decide to play it safe, abandon

the kill. It's agony. The kind of decision we are going to be

watching over the next few weeks and the crews were up very early to

go out and see what had happened. This is what they found.

First impressions didn't look good, just as they were entering Moja and

her mum's territory, they found a den and warthog bones stripped bare.

There's nothing much beft for Moja there. The thing is, Moja really

needed to eat if he was going to get what he needed right now. No

idea if he got anything like enough. I saddled up and went to see for

myself and took along with me possibly the very pest person to be

Jackson Looseyia has lived alongside the lions for his entire

Let's get up. We were both very relieved to see

our struggling cub alive and well. Luckily for Moja, his mum made the

right decision giving up her kill to protect him.

She's going to need to hunt again soon to provide her with the meat

he's missing out on. But here, this is easier said than done.

This state is basically bare. territory now, there are pockets

that are just survivable through these tough times, this month, this

specific time when there's a few bits of things left, apart from...

This! It's abundant. It's no-man's-land.

It's both the safest place for her to be and the worst place because,

well... True. Absolutely true. It really is just unimaginibly

tough. Jackson's join med here in the tent, I suspect not just to

shelter from the rain. You don't mess about with your rainy season

here, do you, that is some rain going on. Their situation is

terrible isn't it? Exactly. It's bucketing, as you can see how much

water is coming out of this tent. Really, Moja and his mother are

cold out there. It's horribly difficult. I want to get some

geography on this. I have a map over here. It's not a geography

lesson, it's interesting. This is Moja, the patch of land here, no-

man's-land because there's no prey that stays there during the rainy

season. These are the other prides, each of these dominating this

territory, the pride is handed down to the female lion. That's theirs.

If Moja and his mum were to stray into these areas, they would not

get a warm welcome? Indeed, they are in great danger, if you think

about how much is surrounding them. Moja is in great danger if he meets

some of the big pride. It will be bad. Our crews are going out daily,

hourly, to keep on eye on what is happening. We'll update you for any

encounters. We are not just following lions, another of Kenya's

iconic animals, elephants, for whom this year means something very

different, they are having a great time. It's led to a babyboom in

fact. One to have crews has taken off 200 miles north to Samburu to

have a look. Grace and Sky are two of Kenya's newest elephant arrivals.

Their home, Samburu National Reserve, has been transformed by

life-giving rain. Food and water are plentiful.

Elephants are pouring into the park to make the most of this bonanza.

Grace and Sky's mums are relaxed and catching up with old friends.

Grace and Sky may be having the time of their lives, but there are

It is just dazzling watching those guys in the field, I could watch

them all day, running about learning to be an elephant. I think

I'd be better than being an elephant than they are right now

because they have a long way to go. In this easier time, fun times for

the elephants, there are dangers facing them.

Lions. I guess this is the other side of the lion's story, just like

in the Masai Mara, they are hungry and if they are lucky enough to

live in a pride, they can take an elephant calf. Grace and Sky are

part of a big family with sisters, cousins, aunts and grandmothers

watching over them through this most vulnerable period in their

young lives. That protection is everything to an

elephant. That's how they work. Their experience is passed down

from generation to generation. It's a different experience for another

bunch of elephants who are a very small herd, one in particular Emily

is a young, inexperienced mother without access to that information

and that experience and help. They are in fact without a leader as

well right now which means the whole herd is pretty much in total

disarray. Emily's calf is just three days old.

Just like a human baby, he relies entirely on his mother. He needs to

stop often to rest and suckle. But his family have to keep moving

to feed. It's nearly 40 degrees in the sun.

He's at serious risk of dehydration. Sun stroke is another killer. He

needs shade badly. But Emily is a first time mum and

has no-one to guide her through the first few confusing days of

motherhood. Emily's doing her best. But her

best migt not be enough to keep her calf alive -- might not be enough

to keep her calf alive. Just a reminder, these are real

life dramas happening in the world right now. We'll bring you more on

that and many, many more. We can now cross to Julia once more in

North America. Thank you. Let's hope Emily and her

calf have luck on their side. Planet Earth Live is of course a

global programme. I meat a grey whale calf who's about to set off

on a perilous 5,000 mile journey. I have my first face-to-face

encounter with a black bear. And Richard joins the fight against

elephant poaching in Samburu. One, two, three...

Welcome back to bear country. This really is the ultimate bear habitat.

We are surrounded by these Prenn did white and red pine trees. This

is a red pine, not the black bear's favourite climbing tree because

look how easily the bark comes off. Mama bears don't generally teach

cubs to climb on the red pine. So Jewel is a bear that might well

make that mistake. She's a first time mum. Inadvertently, she's

putting her cubs Herbie and Fern in mortal danger, she just doesn't

know how to react with certain situations, snow being one of those

situations. Jewel had her cubs up a tree and they were visibly cold and

shivering while she stayed down on The cubs don't have the benefit of

a thick winter coat like their mother. Their tiny size left them

extremely vulnerable in the biting Jewel eventually returned to the

base of the tree and calls her cubs Once on the ground, we expected to

see Jewel comfort and warm her cubs up. But instead, she moved off

again, leaving them struggling to keep up as they battled through the

As darkness fell, the crew had to leave, as the temperatures dropped

to minus ten. And there was a real sense that

remight not see the cubs alive again. -- that we might not see the

cubs alive again. Heart-breaking images. We all genuinely thought

that Herbie and Fern would not make it through the night. Remember,

they're just three months old. Their fur hasn't developed properly

yet, it's still fluffy and not very insulating and they're meant to be

in the warmth, safety and comfort of their dens. So imagine the

crew's amazement and joy when the following morning this is what they

saw. Despite the bitingly cold

temperatures of the previous night, Jewel had somehow managed to work

out that she needed to keep Herbie and Fern warm if they were to

survive. It turned out that Jewel had

wandered off to find a good place to shelter her cubs. She'd led them

to safety and was now keeping them warm with her body heat.

Thankfully, the cubs seemed happy and content once more and are

I don't know about you, I could just watch those kinds of scenes

all day. How lucky that I'm here 230 three weeks -- three weeks.

That was Herbie and Fern. Let's see how they are this week. They are

doing a bit of climbing practice. Mum, Jewel, is watching on.

Lackadaisical in her approach there. Paying a bit of attention now, or

is she just having a bit of a nap? Never really sure with Jewel. She's

learning as we are. The nice thing about Herbie and Fern is that, as

brother and sister, they get on very well. Looking forward to

getting to know those two a little better as the weeks go on. We are

watching young animals across the globe on Planet Earth, including

grey whale calfs in Mexico. The grey whale calves have begun their

massive migration from the warm water nursery lagoons of Mexico up

the coast towards Arctic waters. Along the way, they're going to

battle hunger, fatigue, all sorts of other things, including these,

killer whales. Cameer whales intent on separating

mothers from their calves. I went to Mexico about three weeks

ago hoping to see a grey whale calf before she set off on this epic

I've seen whales in the wild before, but I've never been close enough to

touch one. And the prospect is so exciting. I'm shaking a little bit.

There we go. Hello! There are an estimated 500 grey whale mums here,

each with a newborn calf in what is effectively a giant nursery.

Holy moley, this is bizarre. Look. We've got whale soup in front of us

unfolding. Flippers and heads, dorsal ridges just twisting in the

A little bit fishy. Nothing too bad. I'm prepared to live with that. The

experience of a lifetime. Thank you. That's a definite hello!

Lovely to meet you too. How incredible to touch. Soft, soft

skin and covered in scratches and whale lice and barnacles.

Hello, beautiful. Nice barnacles. This baby is only about four weeks

old, but she's incredibly friendly and her mum is actually lifting her

so that she can get a betterlike at me. We are eye ball to eye ball.

Hello, beautiful, beautiful creature. Hello. -- better look at

me. I can't think of another instance in the wild where an adult

mother would encourage her young to go towards humans. It just wouldn't

happen. You wouldn't find it with bears. And so strange and wonderful.

Now, it's just showing off. We've made true friends here. It's an

overwhelming feeling. They're communicating with one another,

they are communicating with us. And when you look in the eye of a grey

whale, it's so soulful and peaceful. It's just absolutely incredible.

There is something so special about these sea giants, I don't think

I'll ever surpass that moment when I looked a grey whale calf and her

mother in the eye. We'll follow their journey, the 5,000 mile

migration. Come over to my map. This is the route. This is Mexico

where I went to have my encounter with a grey whale calf and this is

their entire journey. This is the Bering Sea, the Arctic waters. If

they make it there and back, that's 10,000 miles. These mammals are

incredible, it's the biggest mammal migration in the world. 10,000

miles in one year. They estimate that in a grey while's lifetime of

50 years, they might make up to 500,000 miles, that's around the

world 20 times. We've got spotters all along this route. This is

Monterey Bay in California and we've got a team there who sent

through news to me only yesterday, not just news, I've got pictures

for you from yesterday, of killer whales. So the killer whales are

moving in on that area. These are the pictures fresh in from

yesterday. Look at that. You can even see the coast Ryan in the

background. Very exciting. Of course, we'll be waiting with

baited breath to see what happens. They move in pods of about seven or

eight. Their intention is to separate the mothers from the

calves. We've also got spotters in Kenya. I

understand that they've spotted a Hammond. That's right, it's a

Hammond. They have, they have! Half a

million miles for the grey whales, that is staggering. The killer

whales send a chill down your spine, they are so single-purposed. I

would also like to say, I was where Julia was not that long ago filming,

ideally grey whiles that,'s whey went to see, not one, none. I think

Bradbury it was the anorak what they came to see. Welcome back to

Kenya. Julia's having her lunch right now, Gavin's tucked up in bed

and I'm here in the Masai Mara in the rainy season hoping I'm not

about to be charged by a rogue bull buffalo. Good. Back to the action

here. Elephants, 200 miles to the north in Samburu. Last time we saw

Emily and her calf, the calf was weak and exposed, kept getting left

out in the baking heat because he's inexperienced and was struggling to

keep up with his young mum. This herd is tiny, only a few young

inexperienced around. There are no elders to guide her. That is what

she needs. That's how they learn all the time, elephant to elephant.

I have to tell you, the situation got a lot worse.

Monitoring all the elephants in Samburu is David and his team from

Save the Elephants. For him, every baby holds hope for

the species and right now, he's very worried about Emily's calf.

We are looking for a young baby and we found the rest of the group but

no sign of the baby. So I'm a Emily's with the herd, but she's

alone and her calf is nowhere to be seen. David knows just how many

threats there are to baby elephants in small, vulnerable herds like

Emily's. I suspect it could have been lions. We have two massive

males in this pack who're very specialised in killing young baby

elephants. We have seen their tracks around this area.

The team find a group of very full lay-ons in the salt scrub where

It's part of nature for elephants to lose a baby. But, this will be

quite emotional for poor Emily to lose her first calf which was only

a few days old. Elephants have very complex emotions. They respond to

death just like us. For Emily, she'll be mourning for the calf she

just lost. Just a mile or so away, Grace and Sky are oblivious of the

dangers around them. They're protected by a barricade of trunks

and legs. Older family members constantly

touch and reassure the babies, keeping them from trouble and

helping them along. And they have a herd leader who's

prepared to fight to the death for It was difficult. To be fair, we

knew this kind of thing could, probably would happen.

The lions are struggling too so I guess you could say on which side

you view it from. Grace and Sky are safe in their extended family. Life

is good on the whole for them but there is a danger facing them and

I'm sorry, ashamed to have to tell you, that that danger comes from us.

In the last three years, one in four elephants in Samburu was

killed. Most of them at the hand of poachers, the illegal Ivory trade

being at its worst for many years. But there is hope. David and his

team are on the frontline of this fight.

It really makes me very sad. What is wrong with people, you know, why

are we doing this to wild animals who have no problem with us? It's a

big day for David. Grace and Sky's family are known to wander outside

the safety of the park where poachers lie in wait. I'm joining

him and his team as they take desperate measures to try to

protect them. The plan is to put a radio tracking

device on Sky and Grace's herd leader, but to do that, she has to

be sedated. I can feel the tension. Yes, everyone will be trying to

protect this lion. Lions could pop out of the bush. This is a tense

moment for all of us. Wow. That's... Suddenly around that

corner and there they are. That's it. It's a race against time.

She could go down at any moment and we have to be there to make sure

Four minutes now. She can't be far. No, she's down. Down, yes. OK,

This is about making noise to get the herd away from this elephant.

The moment the other females see a female down, all they want to do is

protect her. We are attacking her, as far as they are concerned.

We find her in one of the worst possible positions. Her legs

slipped in the mud and she's on her front crushing her lungs. She could

easily suffocate. We've got to move fast. The vet immediately checks

that she's OK. She's fine. She's I'm given a vital job, keeping her

The whole purpose of these big ears of course is to cool. That's what

they're for. Very thin skin which means the vains radiate heat out

because they are close to the surface. The veins. The skin feels

rough and hard, as you would expect, and hot. You get the impression the

heat doesn't all come from the sun, some of it's from her. One, two,

three. Again. OK, lift. Well done. A good position. If you could help

me here. With the radio collar securely attached, it's time to

bring her round. We have three minutes and we'll see movement. The

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

It was stressful, I know. These guys make that calculated judgment,

the stress of that experience is more than offset by the value of

having that transmitted collar on her. She'll range way beyond

Samburu Park. The moment she does, she's in mortal danger and I think

having that information, that database, is probably the most

valuable tool in protecting her, her family, her offspring, her

future. Do you feel relieved? Very Much Indeed. So Relieved.

Because I Wasn't Sure What Is Going To Happen. She's a bit groggy but

unharm and she heads off to rejoin her family. This tracking device

will enable David to watch over Grace and Sky and the rest of the

herd to try to protect them from poachers.

I'm going to say it again, David and his team hate sedating

elephants but fitting the collars are the best chance they stand of

surviving against the poachers. I don't know about you, but I'm

probably not alone in thinking that Ivory poaching was like one of

those Victorian diseases that had gone away completely but it turns

out it hasn't, it's actually as prevalent as it was before. The

good news from Samburu is they are all up and well and fine and I'll

be flying up north tomorrow to have a look at that myself. I'll bring

you that on Wednesday. Julia, I have to tell you, that was one of

THE most stressful things I've ever done in my life, I'm not

exaggerating. I'm certain that it was, Richard. The thing is, we are

in such a privileged position at the moment, aren't we, to have this

proximity to wild animals, to get so close. We are hear in bear

country, the country is literally branded with bears, there are bear

mugs and T-shirts and all sors, yet if you came here as a tourist, you

are very unlikely to have an encounter with a bear. I'm learning

so much about the animals in such close quarters.

It's astonishing. Being close to the elephant, helping keep her ear

cool and seeing how it works as a radiator. It was astonishing. I'll

check up and find out more later in the week.

Can't wait for that. We are in this privileged situation in Minnesota

because we have access to the black bears at an extraordinary level.

That's all thanks to one man Dr Rogers, he's a biologist. He had a

PhD in bears. Around here, he's actually just known as the Bearman.

He really is quite extraordinary and he took me for my first nose-

to-nose encounter. Trust me, you knead a big animal to match this

nose, trust me, he took me for my first nose to have nose encounter

with Juliet and we checked up on her three cubs as well.

I'm sorry, bear, I rushed up upon you. You might be a little bit

brave to get in here. Never get between a mother and a cubs. But it

takes more than a mother black bear to scare her. Or maybe it takes

more to scare you because you have been doing this for 45 years.

They're up there for sure, yes? for sure. It's interesting. Sorry,

bear, what do you want? To you wonder what we are here for? I

think this is the only place we can come in the world and see a mother

with cubs like this and trust us. wild bear, remember this is a wild

bear? Yes. Hello Mrs Bear. Nothing Where are those cubs? They must be

pretty high? I hope they come down. With the cubs nowhere to be seen,

we took our cue from mum and sat down to wait. After 45 minutes, we

heard scratchings in the tree above Juliet and the first of her cubs

made they are way down to join mum. Here we go. Here we go. I've never

So vulnerable. I can't believe I'm actually sitting here just a few

feet away from this adorable, He's feeding.

Someone else to join the party. Is he the right size for his age, or

should he be bigger? He's doing OK. Starting to nurse. That's the sound

of nursing? Yes, that's the sound They do look like little humans

when they stand on their hind legs? Yes. It's actually like watching a

That really was an emotional experience for me. Perhaps it's

because I'm a first time mum but the bears seem so toddler and

human-like to me. You will have also seen in the film the moment

Ben Juliet moved towards us quite quickly. That's called a bluster,

that was my first bluster experience. Although it looks like

she was being aggressive, that's the bear's way of expressing her

nervousness, not quite sure what's going on, so just makes a little

warning noise, all the air coming out of her nose and she's making

sure that you stand well back which of course I did. I was very pleased

that Dr Lynn was in front of me. Hammond, if you were here, I'd put

you in front of me as well, a sort of a double layer.

Julia, I don't know how many times I could have been told that the

bluster wasn't a real attack, I still would have decided to be

somewhere else at that moment. I've come back out into the rain, that's

the driving force out of all our stories here. This has come down

many the course of this show. It really does fall very, very quickly.

But it is beautiful here in the Mara. We have some pictures to show

you. Glorious. Even though it's raining torrentially, this rain

makes it, not only hard for the lions, but for the camera crews and

wildlife spotters who've been out looking for them as well. To be

honest, we have been stuck in the rain, battling through rain. There

have been some adventurous missions and we'll be doing more before the

end of the smo Show in three weeks' time. This is my car. We have

already had rain up to there. If it continues falling for the rest of

the evening, tnts will be getting washed away. We'll still be here on

Wednesday though. -- tents. There's a buffalo over there. Can we have a

look? Two buffalo. Right now live in Kenya you are looking at them.

They don't mind the rain. We'll just stay quiet for now.

No buffalo in Minnesota, just bears all around us. We have got four

camera crew here in North America filming pretty much around-the-

clock across the continent. We know that there was a black bear

standing just about there, 200 yards aWay, some of our black bears

have GPS collars on them which send a signal back to us every hour so

we can get precise locations. A lot of people saying I was too

emotional about the cubs there. Just look at this. Look at the cub.

There we go. Standing on its hind leg. I've got a little boy who's

nine months old, he's not that coordinated but does look a bit

like that. I'm sure you agree with me. So we know there was a bear a

couple of hundred yards away there. We also know that these are in the

area. Listen to this. They are timber wolves. Top predator in the

woods. We have heard them here. So imagine wolves stumbling across

lost black bear cub. That is a situation that you don't want but

an inexperienced mum could inadvertently put her black bear

cub in that situation. On Wednesday, we'll be following the top

predators. We have a camera trap. This is Max, one of the most

experienced cameramen setting up a camera trap there. We hope to catch

any motions of any wolves and anything else here in the

Northwoods of Minnesota. On Wednesday, we'll update you with

everything and of course more beautiful black bear cubs.

More news just in from Kenya, as well as the buffalo which I can now

hear, we have heard from the spotters that Moja has been found,

he's OK, looking thin but hanging on in there. We have, I think you

will agree, brought you some incredible stories already, but

there are so many many more baub animals' lives we'll be following

during this critical month -- baby animals' lives we'll be following

during this critical month. We'll meet Mickey and Luka getting their

first view of the outside world. Otter cubs live life on the run

from some caiman. Our teams are stationed around the world getting

as close as possible to the action. And that is pretty much it. We

shall of course be bringing you more news on Moja. We'll update you

on the whales and have more antics from Julia's bear cubs. Join us at