:00:15. > :00:20.May is the month when across the globe some of the most amazing
:00:20. > :00:25.young animals face their most difficult times. We will be
:00:25. > :00:35.following their daily dramas every step of the way. Join us here on
:00:35. > :00:49.
:00:50. > :00:54.Welcome to Planet Earth Live. I am in Kenya's Masai Mara in the rainy
:00:54. > :01:00.season, the most difficult time of the Year for the lion cubs. But we
:01:00. > :01:09.are all around the world on the show and 8000 miles away Julia
:01:09. > :01:13.Bradbury is with some of our key other animals.
:01:13. > :01:17.Welcome to North America and I am in the Northwoods of Minnesota
:01:17. > :01:21.because our black bear cubs have emerged from hibernation and they
:01:21. > :01:25.are just beginning to explore their surrounding environment. If you
:01:25. > :01:30.have missed anything on Planet Earth Live, there is a lot to keep
:01:30. > :01:36.track of and here it is. Right around the globe it may is a
:01:36. > :01:40.critical time in the natural world. We have sent teams of experts out
:01:40. > :01:47.across the planet to capture the drama of this incredible time of
:01:47. > :01:50.year. Together we are going to be following the action 20 four as the
:01:51. > :01:56.events unfold. In the northern hemisphere it is
:01:56. > :02:01.spring. We are following newly emerged black bear cubs as they
:02:02. > :02:05.explore their woodland home and we are also following the lives of two
:02:05. > :02:11.little polar bear cubs in the ice and snow of the Arctic.
:02:11. > :02:19.In the tropics may brings the end of the rainy season. These rains
:02:19. > :02:23.have triggered a baby elephant bonanza in Kenya. But for our lion
:02:23. > :02:29.cubs times are hard. May also brings big challenges for
:02:29. > :02:36.other young animals. Young, giant otters in Peru. Meerkat pups in
:02:36. > :02:41.South Africa and a family of monkeys in Sri Lanka. We have no
:02:41. > :02:46.idea what their fate will be, but we will be bringing you all the
:02:46. > :02:53.twists and turns of their stories first here and on the web where you
:02:53. > :02:58.will get the latest developments. Good evening and welcome a once
:02:58. > :03:04.again to my little tent in one of the wildest places on earth, at the
:03:04. > :03:11.Masai Mara in the rainy season. Just before we came on air we saw
:03:11. > :03:15.something out there on our camera. It is quite exciting. I thought we
:03:15. > :03:20.would start, this is not a geography lesson, but I want to
:03:20. > :03:28.explain where we are. I am here in the Masai Mara just south of the
:03:28. > :03:33.equator. This whole area, the Masai Mara, at some times of the year has
:03:33. > :03:38.the highest concentration of grass eating animals anywhere in the
:03:38. > :03:43.world. That is sometimes, but not now and that is why we are here.
:03:43. > :03:48.This is an incredibly difficult time for our lions and it is very
:03:48. > :03:53.hard on the cards especially and on Sunday a lot of concern was
:03:53. > :03:59.expressed for our little lion cub, Moja, who is really struggling.
:03:59. > :04:05.Last time we saw him he had managed to eat some food, but then his
:04:05. > :04:12.neighbours, hyenas, stole it in the night. It is heartbreaking. It is a
:04:12. > :04:17.difficult time for Moja and all lion cubs. He needs to eat meat at
:04:17. > :04:22.least every two days. If he goes five days without it, he could be
:04:22. > :04:27.in trouble. Our experts are reporting that he spends a lot of
:04:27. > :04:31.time during on his favourite stick. I wondered if it was because he was
:04:31. > :04:38.so desperately hungry and they say it is because he is young and he
:04:38. > :04:47.needs to entertain himself and it is his only form of entertainment.
:04:47. > :04:53.That, long-term, could have serious complications. Lions are the most
:04:53. > :04:58.sociable of all the cats. And for the cubs living within these prides
:04:58. > :05:08.there are lots of benefits. They have brothers and sisters to play
:05:08. > :05:09.
:05:09. > :05:19.with. But this is more than just fun and games. They are learning
:05:19. > :05:31.
:05:32. > :05:40.But Moja has no-one to practice with. Within the pride rough and
:05:41. > :05:50.tumble is all part of day-to-day life. It bills up core muscle
:05:51. > :05:53.
:05:53. > :06:03.strength and hones their bodies into awesome killing machines. But
:06:03. > :06:13.
:06:13. > :06:19.the only thing Moja has to wrestle They are heartbreaking images. A
:06:19. > :06:26.lion cub played on his own, but, Jackson, this has more serious
:06:26. > :06:32.implications. What hope is there for his future? Moja has got a lot
:06:32. > :06:35.of challenges. Although he has got a lot of tough times and a
:06:35. > :06:41.fantastic mother to lead him, he has still got a lot of challenges
:06:41. > :06:45.ahead of him. It is just the beginning. It is whether or not his
:06:45. > :06:50.mother well get him through this difficult time and then if he will
:06:50. > :06:54.learn to become a fully functioning addled lion. The one question we
:06:54. > :07:00.have been asked whether any other is why he and his mother are
:07:00. > :07:06.outcasts. We think we have got the answer. We will bring you that
:07:06. > :07:11.report tomorrow. It deserves time and trust me it is staggering. You
:07:11. > :07:16.will not believe what it might mean for Moja and his mother. I am
:07:16. > :07:20.urging you to what that tomorrow. We are going to move it right round
:07:21. > :07:25.to the other side of the world and find another family struggling.
:07:25. > :07:30.Charlie Hamilton James has been filming it and Julia picks up the
:07:30. > :07:37.story. This is Dali, I young, giant river
:07:37. > :07:41.otter. He is just six weeks old and cannot even swim yet. But he and
:07:41. > :07:51.his family are living life on the run, moving home every two days in
:07:51. > :07:57.
:07:57. > :08:04.an attempt to keep safe. From these. It is a battle for survival in the
:08:04. > :08:07.heart of the Amazon rainforest. Cameraman Charlie Hamilton James
:08:07. > :08:12.has been following Dali and his family to see what it takes to
:08:12. > :08:17.survive, growing up surrounded by predators in this remote corner of
:08:18. > :08:26.the jungle. We have been on about all day and we were on it all day
:08:26. > :08:32.yesterday. We left home three days ago. But we finally reached the
:08:32. > :08:38.most diverse place and the world. This sprawling wilderness is home
:08:38. > :08:48.to over 5000 types of plant and 200 species of mammal, including the
:08:48. > :08:48.
:08:48. > :08:58.otter family. What makes these giant otters so remarkable is they
:08:58. > :08:59.
:08:59. > :09:05.have produced six new babies. That is a record number. The problem at
:09:05. > :09:13.for his proud parents is keeping them all save. This is a bit like
:09:13. > :09:21.growing up in a war zone and the enemy are always watching. Of all
:09:21. > :09:29.the animals the otters have to fear, this is the big one. It is a black
:09:29. > :09:36.Cayman. They can grow up to 18 feet long. There are 700 of them in this
:09:36. > :09:43.lake alone. These stealthy and relentless predators are everywhere.
:09:43. > :09:51.Little Dali could disappear in the snap of a chore. Moving home is the
:09:51. > :09:58.only way to keep one step ahead of their sharp eyed neighbours.
:09:58. > :10:08.Staying put would be suicide, but moving them is almost as dangerous.
:10:08. > :10:12.
:10:12. > :10:18.So, one at a time, the babies are taken to when you Eden. -- A New
:10:18. > :10:23.Den. Luckily for Dali, he has seven grown up brothers and sisters,
:10:23. > :10:33.acting as bodyguards and keeping watch. They patrolled the route,
:10:33. > :10:36.
:10:36. > :10:46.constantly scanning the water for One came and sees a chance to sneak
:10:46. > :11:00.
:11:01. > :11:09.in on the New Den, but the They have kept Dilys saved, for now.
:11:09. > :11:14.They are lying around, and grooming each other. They are playing. It is
:11:14. > :11:23.not just a cute thing, it is a really important thing. It is
:11:23. > :11:27.bonding. Look where they lived. They live on a lake with 700 Cayman
:11:28. > :11:33.on it, all of which would love to eat them, so they have got to stick
:11:33. > :11:38.together as a family. Until he learns how to swim, Dali remains
:11:38. > :11:45.incredibly vulnerable, so it is good to see him getting his first
:11:45. > :11:53.swimming lesson from his parents. It is crucial he learns how to swim,
:11:53. > :11:58.but his splashing is inevitably attracting unwanted attention. With
:11:58. > :12:02.Dali and his siblings about to gain independence, they will start
:12:02. > :12:12.straying into danger. Their parents will have to take a stand against
:12:12. > :12:20.
:12:20. > :12:26.the Cayman, but are they tough They have certainly got their hands
:12:26. > :12:32.full taking care of six otter pups. We will be back to the Amazon later
:12:32. > :12:39.on in the programme. Welcome to eat, in Minnesota. It is a beautiful day
:12:39. > :12:45.over the lakes. The sunshine it is making them glisten. Since Sunday,
:12:45. > :12:50.it is clear you are all very much in love with Juliet our black bear
:12:50. > :12:55.and her three Cup's. Here she is with her smallest cub, civil, who
:12:55. > :12:59.is still staying quite close to where, whilst her brother and
:12:59. > :13:03.sister Sam and Sophie are more adventurous and they are starting
:13:03. > :13:09.to stray further away from their mother. This is the very latest
:13:09. > :13:14.footage. We are bringing you the latest stories. As you can see,
:13:14. > :13:19.they are becoming more adventurous and boisterous and as they start to
:13:19. > :13:25.stray further from their mum, there are dangers lurking in the forest.
:13:25. > :13:30.We sent Max, one of our most experienced cameramen, to set up a
:13:30. > :13:34.camera trap to find out what is in the Northwoods of Minnesota. We
:13:34. > :13:41.have captured an interesting array of animals and an interesting array
:13:41. > :13:46.of predators as well. First up, the crows get frightened of the bike
:13:46. > :13:52.the bald eagle, the most iconic of American animals. They have a
:13:52. > :13:59.wingspan of almost two metres and excellent eyesight and they can
:13:59. > :14:04.lift up to �4. The cubs weigh about �10, but remember they came out of
:14:04. > :14:08.hibernation early and they were lighter than they should have been.
:14:08. > :14:13.Hopefully they are not a problem and they should not encounter any
:14:13. > :14:21.bald eagles. When the sun goes down, it is a different story. It is a
:14:21. > :14:27.very busy, nocturnal animal highway. That is brave heart. She is
:14:27. > :14:31.Juliet's knees and she is here with her three yearlings. The camera's
:14:31. > :14:36.eye catching them in the same place, but at slightly different times. We
:14:36. > :14:40.will be seeing a lot more of the yearlings because we are getting
:14:40. > :14:45.close to something called a family break-up and that is when they are
:14:45. > :14:53.forced out of the family group, so it is traumatic. Coming up next is
:14:53. > :15:00.the Hamas, little raccoon. He likes insects, worms, frogs, small birds.
:15:00. > :15:07.This is a curious dear. This is a little more worrying. It is a
:15:07. > :15:12.hungry, grey fox. He may have short legs, but he is ajar, fast and
:15:12. > :15:19.dangerous and his favourite food is newborn for on. Black Bears will
:15:19. > :15:24.also eat newborn fawns. They are not very agile, and they will take
:15:24. > :15:34.on if they stumble across one. Next is frightening for the black bear
:15:34. > :15:38.
:15:38. > :15:44.All of these top predators and animals are top trumped by our next
:15:44. > :15:48.animal it's a timber wolf. He can take a coyote, a grew fox and he
:15:48. > :15:53.will attack an adult bear. Minnesota has 3,000 wolves prowling
:15:53. > :15:58.through the wilderness. That is not gd news for our cubs. This is a
:15:58. > :16:01.first for me on live television. This is something that we found
:16:01. > :16:09.just in the Northwoods where we are filming. Thank you very much, John.
:16:10. > :16:14.Let me take that. I'm putting these gloves on because this is wolf scat,
:16:14. > :16:22.wolf poo, it has harmful parasites inside it. If you break it up. That
:16:22. > :16:28.is a tooth. You will see that it's very hairy. That is deer hair. The
:16:28. > :16:31.number one prey for a timber wolf is deer. That isn't to say, of
:16:31. > :16:37.course, if a timber wolf came across a black bear he wouldn't
:16:37. > :16:42.have a go at a cub. Let me give it back to John. A career highlight
:16:43. > :16:47.for us both, John. There you go. What do our cub does when they are
:16:47. > :16:53.faced with the predators or dangers? They have to learn to
:16:53. > :16:58.escape. How they do that is climb trees. Here is Herbie having tree
:16:58. > :17:02.climb practice. We have all done. That he took a tumble there. He is
:17:02. > :17:06.absolutely fine. He made his way safely back to his mum. I remember
:17:06. > :17:12.doing that. Richard, when you were little, did you climb trees? I was
:17:12. > :17:17.good at climbing, but not back down. I have to be quick. We are only on
:17:17. > :17:22.for half an hour. One of our cameraman came back into Camp Kenya
:17:22. > :17:28.with great news. He shot this. Footage of this he has never shot
:17:28. > :17:36.before. It's an aardwolf. A rare creature. It's related to a hyena.
:17:36. > :17:43.It has a long sticky tongue. It use it is to eat insects. 200,000
:17:43. > :17:47.termites it eats in a single night. All of our crew have never seen
:17:47. > :17:57.them. We are very privileged. Back to the giant otters in Peru. Julia
:17:57. > :18:00.
:18:00. > :18:05.picks up the story. Last time we saw Dali a month ago he was taking
:18:05. > :18:10.his first swimming lessons, watched by a couple of caiman. It is
:18:10. > :18:20.essential he learns to swim quickly. His family won't be able to protect
:18:20. > :18:23.
:18:23. > :18:29.him forever. He needs to be able to Charlie has returned to Peru to see
:18:29. > :18:34.how they are getting on. Unfortunately, a quick head count
:18:34. > :18:42.reveals horrible news, there are now only four babies in the family,
:18:42. > :18:47.two have probably been eaten. It's a huge relief to spot Dali. He's no
:18:47. > :18:56.longer the tiny baby we last saw struggling to keep his head above
:18:56. > :19:00.water. I'm just amazed how big these guys have grown. They're
:19:00. > :19:05.completely competent. They are moving like the adults. They are
:19:05. > :19:10.keeping up with the adults. I guess if you are living on a lake that is
:19:10. > :19:17.jam packed with caiman that want to eat you, you've got to grow up
:19:17. > :19:22.pretty fast. A fully grown giant otter needs four kilos of fish
:19:22. > :19:28.every day. Up until now, Dali has been relying on his parents, Sophia
:19:28. > :19:36.and dab -- Diablo to fish for him. They have decided it's high time
:19:36. > :19:46.for tough love. The cubs quickly learn that when it comes to food,
:19:46. > :19:47.
:19:47. > :19:53.They've been pretty busy all morning, just fishing and fishing
:19:53. > :19:58.and a bit of playing, and then some more fishing. Then they had some
:19:58. > :20:03.sleep, now they're having some grooming. It actually looks like
:20:03. > :20:13.quite a nice life if you are a giant otter. Suddenly, the
:20:13. > :20:17.
:20:17. > :20:26.Otters are screaming everywhere. It's all up-and-down the lake just
:20:26. > :20:32.going completely wild. A large caiman has moved in close to their
:20:32. > :20:37.new den. Rather than run, amazingly, it looks like the family have
:20:37. > :20:42.decided to go on the attack. It's interesting. All the cubs are going
:20:42. > :20:52.along as well. You would of thought that they'd get the cubs away as
:20:52. > :21:03.
:21:03. > :21:12.Working as a pack, the whole family piles in to attack the caiman. The
:21:13. > :21:19.cubs are getting caught up in the thick of it. The fight is going on
:21:19. > :21:29.and on. The otters aren't going to let him get away. It's almost as if
:21:29. > :21:37.
:21:37. > :21:47.Even as the light fades, the fight When daylight breaks, the caiman is
:21:47. > :21:49.
:21:49. > :21:58.nowhere to be seen. Neither are the four cubs. Charlie spots the
:21:58. > :22:05.parents, then a glimpse of one, then two cubs. The whole family is
:22:05. > :22:10.out and about, there are only two cubs, which makes me think that
:22:10. > :22:16.others died in that caiman fight. From the six original newborns,
:22:16. > :22:23.there are now only two cubs left. It's a relief to see that Dali is
:22:23. > :22:29.safe. Dali has been incredibly lucky, if anything, it seems as if
:22:29. > :22:34.taking part in the fight has boosted his confidence. This is a
:22:35. > :22:39.major breakthrough in the life of a tiny otter. Eating a fish, in the
:22:39. > :22:45.lake, rather than taking it ashore. It's the first time I've actually
:22:45. > :22:49.seen one of them actually pull that off. I've go the a good feeling
:22:49. > :22:56.about these two. If they're smart, and they stay out of trouble, then
:22:56. > :23:01.their futures look pretty promising. Charlie is still in Peru. We will
:23:01. > :23:05.see if he is right about his good feeling. I want to talk about that
:23:05. > :23:10.fight. If you were watching, otters and a caiman, how can that work?
:23:10. > :23:16.Let's look at the fight. There are a few things you need to know. They
:23:16. > :23:21.attack as a family. They got the nickname bg river wolves, they are
:23:21. > :23:24.giantic. They can be two meters long. Caiman is twice that length
:23:24. > :23:30.and 14 times heavier. It's the team work of the family that meant they
:23:30. > :23:39.could defeat the caiman. I want to show you next that leopard. I can
:23:39. > :23:43.show you a shot. We saw this lep parred, we are lucky to see that.
:23:43. > :23:47.We will talk about elephants. I'm at the Masai Mara. The elephants
:23:47. > :23:57.are two-and-a-half days drive north. I found a quicker way of dropping
:23:57. > :24:02.
:24:02. > :24:06.From the air, it's easy to see why the Masai Mara is one of the
:24:06. > :24:14.wildest places on earth. Their nearest town is 70 miles away.
:24:14. > :24:19.Everywhere you look, in every direction, is lush, green grass.
:24:19. > :24:24.It's also obvious just how few grazing animals are here. You can
:24:24. > :24:30.see the tracks left by wildebeest and zebra, but there is not one in
:24:30. > :24:35.sight. No wonder Moja's mum is struggling to feed him. The views
:24:35. > :24:40.are breath taking. I just realised something, over the next few weeks,
:24:40. > :24:49.following the stories of the lions and their cubs and the elephants
:24:49. > :24:59.over here, this is our commute. As commutes go, this isn't bad! We
:24:59. > :25:00.
:25:00. > :25:03.dropped down 2,000 feet. This is a dryer, hotter place. Watching as
:25:03. > :25:11.the landscape has slowly changed from the lush grasses of the Masai
:25:11. > :25:14.Mara to this rockier, harsher, peaky landscape, you can see why
:25:14. > :25:24.water is going to be critically important to anything that grazes,
:25:24. > :25:28.
:25:28. > :25:31.After two hours in the air, we finally reach the edge of the
:25:31. > :25:38.reserve, the home of the elephants we are following. It's the best
:25:38. > :25:41.time of year to be an elephant here. Rain floods the water holes and
:25:41. > :25:47.gives the freedom to wonder where ever they please. The reserve is
:25:48. > :25:52.relatively small, about the size of Glasgow. Elephants need lots of
:25:52. > :25:58.food and travel great distances to find it, sometimes 20 miles in a
:25:58. > :26:08.day. This often takes them out of the sanctuary of Samburu where
:26:08. > :26:08.
:26:08. > :26:50.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds
:26:50. > :26:54.Baby Pink foot, will poachers claim another life? We will find out more
:26:54. > :26:58.tomorrow. Before we go we would like your help giving us the name
:26:58. > :27:08.of a new elephant born in the Samburu. Here is the little fella.
:27:08. > :27:11.
:27:11. > :27:21.She was, he or she was born to the family. Let us know what you should
:27:21. > :27:29.
:27:29. > :27:34.be named. I have been telling you about the whale migration, we told
:27:34. > :27:38.you about how they might encounter killer what else. They already have.
:27:38. > :27:42.It's fascinating. Not a comfortable watch. Incredible to watch these
:27:42. > :27:46.animals head-to-head. Join us tomorrow for that encounter.
:27:46. > :27:51.Believe me, that whale story is one that you do not want to miss. There
:27:51. > :27:57.will be that and a whole lot more on tomorrow night's show. We will
:27:57. > :28:03.be introducing you to a brand new character, the young meerkat Swift
:28:03. > :28:10.and his family who are hungry and venturing into enemy territory to
:28:10. > :28:15.find food. Julia's young bears need a head for heights to escape wolves.
:28:15. > :28:19.Moja who has more to worry about Moja who has more to worry about
:28:19. > :28:23.than just starvation. We will be back tomorrow night live at 8.00pm
:28:23. > :28:27.on BBC One. You can follow us in the meantime on Facebook and