Episode 2 Planet Earth Live

May is the month when across the globe some of the most amazing

young animals face their most difficult times. We will be

following their daily dramas every step of the way. Join us here on

Welcome to Planet Earth Live. I am in Kenya's Masai Mara in the rainy

season, the most difficult time of the Year for the lion cubs. But we

are all around the world on the show and 8000 miles away Julia

Bradbury is with some of our key other animals.

Welcome to North America and I am in the Northwoods of Minnesota

because our black bear cubs have emerged from hibernation and they

are just beginning to explore their surrounding environment. If you

have missed anything on Planet Earth Live, there is a lot to keep

track of and here it is. Right around the globe it may is a

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

across the planet to capture the drama of this incredible time of

year. Together we are going to be following the action 20 four as the

events unfold. In the northern hemisphere it is

spring. We are following newly emerged black bear cubs as they

explore their woodland home and we are also following the lives of two

little polar bear cubs in the ice and snow of the Arctic.

In the tropics may brings the end of the rainy season. These rains

have triggered a baby elephant bonanza in Kenya. But for our lion

cubs times are hard. May also brings big challenges for

other young animals. Young, giant otters in Peru. Meerkat pups in

South Africa and a family of monkeys in Sri Lanka. We have no

idea what their fate will be, but we will be bringing you all the

twists and turns of their stories first here and on the web where you

will get the latest developments. Good evening and welcome a once

again to my little tent in one of the wildest places on earth, at the

Masai Mara in the rainy season. Just before we came on air we saw

something out there on our camera. It is quite exciting. I thought we

would start, this is not a geography lesson, but I want to

explain where we are. I am here in the Masai Mara just south of the

equator. This whole area, the Masai Mara, at some times of the year has

the highest concentration of grass eating animals anywhere in the

world. That is sometimes, but not now and that is why we are here.

This is an incredibly difficult time for our lions and it is very

hard on the cards especially and on Sunday a lot of concern was

expressed for our little lion cub, Moja, who is really struggling.

Last time we saw him he had managed to eat some food, but then his

neighbours, hyenas, stole it in the night. It is heartbreaking. It is a

difficult time for Moja and all lion cubs. He needs to eat meat at

least every two days. If he goes five days without it, he could be

in trouble. Our experts are reporting that he spends a lot of

time during on his favourite stick. I wondered if it was because he was

so desperately hungry and they say it is because he is young and he

needs to entertain himself and it is his only form of entertainment.

That, long-term, could have serious complications. Lions are the most

sociable of all the cats. And for the cubs living within these prides

there are lots of benefits. They have brothers and sisters to play

with. But this is more than just fun and games. They are learning

But Moja has no-one to practice with. Within the pride rough and

tumble is all part of day-to-day life. It bills up core muscle

strength and hones their bodies into awesome killing machines. But

the only thing Moja has to wrestle They are heartbreaking images. A

lion cub played on his own, but, Jackson, this has more serious

implications. What hope is there for his future? Moja has got a lot

of challenges. Although he has got a lot of tough times and a

fantastic mother to lead him, he has still got a lot of challenges

ahead of him. It is just the beginning. It is whether or not his

mother well get him through this difficult time and then if he will

learn to become a fully functioning addled lion. The one question we

have been asked whether any other is why he and his mother are

outcasts. We think we have got the answer. We will bring you that

report tomorrow. It deserves time and trust me it is staggering. You

will not believe what it might mean for Moja and his mother. I am

urging you to what that tomorrow. We are going to move it right round

to the other side of the world and find another family struggling.

Charlie Hamilton James has been filming it and Julia picks up the

story. This is Dali, I young, giant river

otter. He is just six weeks old and cannot even swim yet. But he and

his family are living life on the run, moving home every two days in

an attempt to keep safe. From these. It is a battle for survival in the

heart of the Amazon rainforest. Cameraman Charlie Hamilton James

has been following Dali and his family to see what it takes to

survive, growing up surrounded by predators in this remote corner of

the jungle. We have been on about all day and we were on it all day

yesterday. We left home three days ago. But we finally reached the

most diverse place and the world. This sprawling wilderness is home

to over 5000 types of plant and 200 species of mammal, including the

otter family. What makes these giant otters so remarkable is they

have produced six new babies. That is a record number. The problem at

for his proud parents is keeping them all save. This is a bit like

growing up in a war zone and the enemy are always watching. Of all

the animals the otters have to fear, this is the big one. It is a black

Cayman. They can grow up to 18 feet long. There are 700 of them in this

lake alone. These stealthy and relentless predators are everywhere.

Little Dali could disappear in the snap of a chore. Moving home is the

only way to keep one step ahead of their sharp eyed neighbours.

Staying put would be suicide, but moving them is almost as dangerous.

So, one at a time, the babies are taken to when you Eden. -- A New

Den. Luckily for Dali, he has seven grown up brothers and sisters,

acting as bodyguards and keeping watch. They patrolled the route,

constantly scanning the water for One came and sees a chance to sneak

in on the New Den, but the They have kept Dilys saved, for now.

They are lying around, and grooming each other. They are playing. It is

not just a cute thing, it is a really important thing. It is

bonding. Look where they lived. They live on a lake with 700 Cayman

on it, all of which would love to eat them, so they have got to stick

together as a family. Until he learns how to swim, Dali remains

incredibly vulnerable, so it is good to see him getting his first

swimming lesson from his parents. It is crucial he learns how to swim,

but his splashing is inevitably attracting unwanted attention. With

Dali and his siblings about to gain independence, they will start

straying into danger. Their parents will have to take a stand against

the Cayman, but are they tough They have certainly got their hands

full taking care of six otter pups. We will be back to the Amazon later

on in the programme. Welcome to eat, in Minnesota. It is a beautiful day

over the lakes. The sunshine it is making them glisten. Since Sunday,

it is clear you are all very much in love with Juliet our black bear

and her three Cup's. Here she is with her smallest cub, civil, who

is still staying quite close to where, whilst her brother and

sister Sam and Sophie are more adventurous and they are starting

to stray further away from their mother. This is the very latest

footage. We are bringing you the latest stories. As you can see,

they are becoming more adventurous and boisterous and as they start to

stray further from their mum, there are dangers lurking in the forest.

We sent Max, one of our most experienced cameramen, to set up a

camera trap to find out what is in the Northwoods of Minnesota. We

have captured an interesting array of animals and an interesting array

of predators as well. First up, the crows get frightened of the bike

the bald eagle, the most iconic of American animals. They have a

wingspan of almost two metres and excellent eyesight and they can

lift up to �4. The cubs weigh about �10, but remember they came out of

hibernation early and they were lighter than they should have been.

Hopefully they are not a problem and they should not encounter any

bald eagles. When the sun goes down, it is a different story. It is a

very busy, nocturnal animal highway. That is brave heart. She is

Juliet's knees and she is here with her three yearlings. The camera's

eye catching them in the same place, but at slightly different times. We

will be seeing a lot more of the yearlings because we are getting

close to something called a family break-up and that is when they are

forced out of the family group, so it is traumatic. Coming up next is

the Hamas, little raccoon. He likes insects, worms, frogs, small birds.

This is a curious dear. This is a little more worrying. It is a

hungry, grey fox. He may have short legs, but he is ajar, fast and

dangerous and his favourite food is newborn for on. Black Bears will

also eat newborn fawns. They are not very agile, and they will take

on if they stumble across one. Next is frightening for the black bear

All of these top predators and animals are top trumped by our next

animal it's a timber wolf. He can take a coyote, a grew fox and he

will attack an adult bear. Minnesota has 3,000 wolves prowling

through the wilderness. That is not gd news for our cubs. This is a

first for me on live television. This is something that we found

just in the Northwoods where we are filming. Thank you very much, John.

Let me take that. I'm putting these gloves on because this is wolf scat,

wolf poo, it has harmful parasites inside it. If you break it up. That

is a tooth. You will see that it's very hairy. That is deer hair. The

number one prey for a timber wolf is deer. That isn't to say, of

course, if a timber wolf came across a black bear he wouldn't

have a go at a cub. Let me give it back to John. A career highlight

for us both, John. There you go. What do our cub does when they are

faced with the predators or dangers? They have to learn to

escape. How they do that is climb trees. Here is Herbie having tree

climb practice. We have all done. That he took a tumble there. He is

absolutely fine. He made his way safely back to his mum. I remember

doing that. Richard, when you were little, did you climb trees? I was

good at climbing, but not back down. I have to be quick. We are only on

for half an hour. One of our cameraman came back into Camp Kenya

with great news. He shot this. Footage of this he has never shot

before. It's an aardwolf. A rare creature. It's related to a hyena.

It has a long sticky tongue. It use it is to eat insects. 200,000

termites it eats in a single night. All of our crew have never seen

them. We are very privileged. Back to the giant otters in Peru. Julia

picks up the story. Last time we saw Dali a month ago he was taking

his first swimming lessons, watched by a couple of caiman. It is

essential he learns to swim quickly. His family won't be able to protect

him forever. He needs to be able to Charlie has returned to Peru to see

how they are getting on. Unfortunately, a quick head count

reveals horrible news, there are now only four babies in the family,

two have probably been eaten. It's a huge relief to spot Dali. He's no

longer the tiny baby we last saw struggling to keep his head above

water. I'm just amazed how big these guys have grown. They're

completely competent. They are moving like the adults. They are

keeping up with the adults. I guess if you are living on a lake that is

jam packed with caiman that want to eat you, you've got to grow up

pretty fast. A fully grown giant otter needs four kilos of fish

every day. Up until now, Dali has been relying on his parents, Sophia

and dab -- Diablo to fish for him. They have decided it's high time

for tough love. The cubs quickly learn that when it comes to food,

They've been pretty busy all morning, just fishing and fishing

and a bit of playing, and then some more fishing. Then they had some

sleep, now they're having some grooming. It actually looks like

quite a nice life if you are a giant otter. Suddenly, the

Otters are screaming everywhere. It's all up-and-down the lake just

going completely wild. A large caiman has moved in close to their

new den. Rather than run, amazingly, it looks like the family have

decided to go on the attack. It's interesting. All the cubs are going

along as well. You would of thought that they'd get the cubs away as

Working as a pack, the whole family piles in to attack the caiman. The

cubs are getting caught up in the thick of it. The fight is going on

and on. The otters aren't going to let him get away. It's almost as if

Even as the light fades, the fight When daylight breaks, the caiman is

nowhere to be seen. Neither are the four cubs. Charlie spots the

parents, then a glimpse of one, then two cubs. The whole family is

out and about, there are only two cubs, which makes me think that

others died in that caiman fight. From the six original newborns,

there are now only two cubs left. It's a relief to see that Dali is

safe. Dali has been incredibly lucky, if anything, it seems as if

taking part in the fight has boosted his confidence. This is a

major breakthrough in the life of a tiny otter. Eating a fish, in the

lake, rather than taking it ashore. It's the first time I've actually

seen one of them actually pull that off. I've go the a good feeling

about these two. If they're smart, and they stay out of trouble, then

their futures look pretty promising. Charlie is still in Peru. We will

see if he is right about his good feeling. I want to talk about that

fight. If you were watching, otters and a caiman, how can that work?

Let's look at the fight. There are a few things you need to know. They

attack as a family. They got the nickname bg river wolves, they are

giantic. They can be two meters long. Caiman is twice that length

and 14 times heavier. It's the team work of the family that meant they

could defeat the caiman. I want to show you next that leopard. I can

show you a shot. We saw this lep parred, we are lucky to see that.

We will talk about elephants. I'm at the Masai Mara. The elephants

are two-and-a-half days drive north. I found a quicker way of dropping

From the air, it's easy to see why the Masai Mara is one of the

wildest places on earth. Their nearest town is 70 miles away.

Everywhere you look, in every direction, is lush, green grass.

It's also obvious just how few grazing animals are here. You can

see the tracks left by wildebeest and zebra, but there is not one in

sight. No wonder Moja's mum is struggling to feed him. The views

are breath taking. I just realised something, over the next few weeks,

following the stories of the lions and their cubs and the elephants

over here, this is our commute. As commutes go, this isn't bad! We

dropped down 2,000 feet. This is a dryer, hotter place. Watching as

the landscape has slowly changed from the lush grasses of the Masai

Mara to this rockier, harsher, peaky landscape, you can see why

water is going to be critically important to anything that grazes,

After two hours in the air, we finally reach the edge of the

reserve, the home of the elephants we are following. It's the best

time of year to be an elephant here. Rain floods the water holes and

gives the freedom to wonder where ever they please. The reserve is

relatively small, about the size of Glasgow. Elephants need lots of

food and travel great distances to find it, sometimes 20 miles in a

day. This often takes them out of the sanctuary of Samburu where

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

Baby Pink foot, will poachers claim another life? We will find out more

tomorrow. Before we go we would like your help giving us the name

of a new elephant born in the Samburu. Here is the little fella.

She was, he or she was born to the family. Let us know what you should

be named. I have been telling you about the whale migration, we told

you about how they might encounter killer what else. They already have.

It's fascinating. Not a comfortable watch. Incredible to watch these

animals head-to-head. Join us tomorrow for that encounter.

Believe me, that whale story is one that you do not want to miss. There

will be that and a whole lot more on tomorrow night's show. We will

be introducing you to a brand new character, the young meerkat Swift

and his family who are hungry and venturing into enemy territory to

find food. Julia's young bears need a head for heights to escape wolves.

Moja who has more to worry about Moja who has more to worry about

than just starvation. We will be back tomorrow night live at 8.00pm

on BBC One. You can follow us in the meantime on Facebook and