0:00:03 > 0:00:05In the heart of Africa,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08a young family is heading for an epic adventure.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11They are moving with their three children
0:00:11 > 0:00:13to a remote Kenyan wilderness.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Mum Saba is here to run a safari camp...
0:00:20 > 0:00:21Welcome.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24..while dad Frank is helping to protect elephants.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Collar's almost on, now the scary bit.
0:00:28 > 0:00:29But raising a family
0:00:29 > 0:00:33and running a business in the bush is going to be a massive challenge.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37There are monkeys in the kitchen...
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Oh, you monkeys, I'm going to kill you.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41..medical emergencies...
0:00:41 > 0:00:43It's bad and it needs urgent action.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46..and wildlife in need of help.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48My heart really is in my mouth.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51It's going to be a huge gamble.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Will the business survive Saba's first season in charge?
0:00:55 > 0:00:56Oh, my God.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02This time, the rainy season arrives in Samburu.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04It's looking like it's going to be a mega storm.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06The camp is under threat.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Both people and animals are fighting for survival.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Poor Cherie, I've known her for such a long time
0:01:16 > 0:01:19and she has something terribly, terribly wrong.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22The only thing we can do, and it's a very difficult decision,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24is maybe try to rescue the calf.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Today, Elephant Watch camp
0:01:37 > 0:01:40is not open for business.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44It has room for 12 guests in six luxury tents,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48but, right now, it's too risky to have anyone staying.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51That's because it's rainy season.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57The rain is coming. This is already the first floodwaters.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59The tents come down at this time every year.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03- Hey, guys.- Hi.- Oh, you've done so much already.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07OK. Towards me. Wait, wait. Come this way, Philip.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Come towards me, that's it. And up - there we go.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12It can stay there for the moment, can't it?
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Saba has real cause for concern.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Four years ago, a flash flood swept downriver.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27It was the worst disaster in living memory.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Tents were washed away and the whole camp had to be rebuilt from scratch.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44This year, she's not taking any chances.
0:02:44 > 0:02:45Hey!
0:02:45 > 0:02:47The team is setting up a storage tent
0:02:47 > 0:02:51half a mile from the river on high ground.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55This is where we put all of the tents that we have to evacuate
0:02:55 > 0:02:57because of potential flooding.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59SABA SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:03:01 > 0:03:06We've got three tents which are particularly prone to flooding
0:03:06 > 0:03:09and so we have to get them down and we have to get all the furniture
0:03:09 > 0:03:13out and up onto the hill, just in case we get hit by floodwater.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Saba and the team still have lots to do before the rains arrive.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32On his way to work, Saba's husband Frank has hit the first downpour.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Somehow, these windscreen wipers are not working.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40We're going to need a snorkel for this car now.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48I remember when I first came here, I thought, "God, what a dry and..."
0:03:49 > 0:03:54..you know, "hostile environment," and I often think of that when I...
0:03:54 > 0:03:57when I arrive here now, cos it feels totally transformed.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Frank is Head of Operations at Save The Elephants -
0:04:05 > 0:04:08a charity set up by Saba's father.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14He works with an expert local team.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Morning.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19They are carrying out one of the longest-running studies
0:04:19 > 0:04:21of elephant behaviour in the world.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Their most experienced field researcher is David Daballen.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32He can identify 500 individual elephants by sight.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Most of the elephants will have some physical marks,
0:04:37 > 0:04:42like on their ears they will have a, you know, a nick, a hole,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46a wart and many other things that you can identify them with.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- All right, David?- OK. - Are you ready to go?
0:04:50 > 0:04:53The rainy season attracts elephants into the reserve.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59David and Frank are heading out to check on the new arrivals.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13David spots a female elephant behaving strangely.
0:05:20 > 0:05:21Yeah.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29- She's got...- See that, see that? - ..a tummy pain.- Yeah. There she is.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33- She's crossing her legs...- Yeah. - ..her tummy's hurting so bad.- Mmm.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Cherie is a 30-year-old female who David has known for years.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40He doesn't know what's wrong.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44I just saw her picking all this grass
0:05:44 > 0:05:47and putting into her mouth and she doesn't even eat,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50so basically we will just keep following her and see what happens.
0:05:52 > 0:05:58Cherie is an experienced mother. This is her third calf.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02He's six months old and David's named him Sokotei.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09David's going to keep a close eye on both mother and calf.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18Samburu National Reserve in Northern Kenya
0:06:18 > 0:06:19is part of a wilderness
0:06:19 > 0:06:23that stretches hundreds of miles in every direction.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26It's home to over 900 elephants.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31They're drawn here by the Ewaso Nyiro River,
0:06:31 > 0:06:33the only source of water.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38The river doesn't just bring life.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44In the rainy season, it can also bring devastation.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56This is why the camp is closed during the rains.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06Floodwaters are rushing towards them and there's more rain on its way.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10We've got a big storm coming.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Within minutes, the river rises by a metre.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23If we get a second tributary coming in, this is going to stack up
0:07:23 > 0:07:26on the other one, you literally see the river rising like that.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29And that stick there, that's our marker.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33When that gets covered, then you know we've got a big flood coming.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38It's not just flash floods, the rain itself is a problem.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42It's all hands on deck to protect the mess tent.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44SABA SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:07:45 > 0:07:48So it's looking like it's going to be a mega storm,
0:07:48 > 0:07:52so we've got to get this cover on the roof to prevent the roof from
0:07:52 > 0:07:56getting too wet because once it's wet it all soaks into the thatch.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06The weight of the wet thatch could damage the building.
0:08:09 > 0:08:10Well, this is our mess tent
0:08:10 > 0:08:14and there's a great big sag in the middle, which is ridiculous when it
0:08:14 > 0:08:18comes to rain, so what we have to do when the rainy seasons come is cover
0:08:18 > 0:08:21everything in plastic to stop the rain soaking right into the thatch.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26The team has learned from bitter experience that with this river,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28you can't take any chances.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32With the tents covered up,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35it's time to make sure their contents are safe too.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37They're packing away all the soft furnishings
0:08:37 > 0:08:39in a metal storage container.
0:08:43 > 0:08:44This is where we store most of our stuff.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47You see these great big concrete posts here?
0:08:47 > 0:08:50This is where it used to be but with the big flood in 2010,
0:08:50 > 0:08:51it knocked it right off
0:08:51 > 0:08:55and we had to put it up on these temporary stands on the oil drums.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58We're probably about 100 metres from the river,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00but still, although it's raised ground,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02I reckon the water came up to...
0:09:02 > 0:09:03I mean, it must have come up to about here on me.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08The mess tent was just totally under water, we lost everything there
0:09:08 > 0:09:11and had about two or three tents swept right downstream.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Camp is prepared for the worst.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24All they can do now is wait and hope the river subsides.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Out in the bush, David Daballen has wasted no time in getting help
0:09:31 > 0:09:33for Cherie and her young calf.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40He's brought in Kenya Wildlife Service vet Matthew Mutinda.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45She must be behind there. This is the group.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Yep, that's her.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Cherie has separated herself from the rest of the herd.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06It's not normal for an elephant that has a family to be on her own
0:10:06 > 0:10:08like this, so it's quite odd
0:10:08 > 0:10:12and just signifies that there's something wrong with her.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16She might keep up, but, you know, I think she just wants some peace
0:10:16 > 0:10:18because she's... I think she's in pain.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26Depressions indicate a loss of condition.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31A loss of fatty tissue that should be covering that area
0:10:31 > 0:10:38and, er, shows a long-standing chronic problem.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41As to what the problem is, it's very hard to tell.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49If Cherie doesn't improve,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52the consequences could be serious for Sokotei.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56He's totally dependent on her for milk.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Elephants have one offspring at a time.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Baby elephants suckle for two years,
0:11:12 > 0:11:17so the bond between mother and calf is very strong.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Without his mother, Sokotei can't survive.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33David will keep a close eye on mother and baby
0:11:33 > 0:11:36in case Cherie's condition deteriorates.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45It's not just elephant babies that need a lot of looking after.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48With the threat of flooding gone for today,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Saba can put her girls to bed.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Tiny, tiny teeth.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Oh, and Nini's such a big girl,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57she's doing her own teeth, isn't she?
0:11:57 > 0:11:59- What shall we read?- Here.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03That one? Oh, let's read another one. Let's read the lion one.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- I love this one.- Love for you, love for you.
0:12:06 > 0:12:07What's this one about the lion?
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Twins Luna and Mayian are nearly three.
0:12:11 > 0:12:12Climbs up onto the back...
0:12:12 > 0:12:14No matter where you live,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17bedtime stories are a special part of the day
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and five-year-old Selkie isn't too old to join in.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22There's his lioness with the little cubs.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25They're like the little cubs we've seen here, aren't they, darling?
0:12:25 > 0:12:26Um, but we didn't see...
0:12:40 > 0:12:44David's concern about Cherie and her calf is growing.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50This calf has been, you know, slowly, slowly having less and less milk,
0:12:50 > 0:12:52which is not really very healthy.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58She can totally get dehydrated, start losing weight,
0:12:58 > 0:13:03and hence she can be attacked by any sort of infection.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05He's called back the Kenya Wildlife Service.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23I mean, that's what she does the whole day, kind of stretches
0:13:23 > 0:13:26and goes back and sometimes drop as if she's going to drop.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33If Cherie is unable to feed Sokotei,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36then they risk losing both mother and baby.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47Cherie knows that her calf needs something to drink,
0:13:47 > 0:13:49so they head for the river.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05But water alone is not enough to keep a six-month-old calf alive.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10The vet has a tough decision to make.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Should they rescue the calf before it gets weaker?
0:14:21 > 0:14:25David has called Saba away from camp.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27She's known Cherie for many years.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30- Yeah, she just went down there, she just...- Is she drinking?
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Yeah, she just collapsed and she was sitting there for a long time
0:14:33 > 0:14:34and then she went down.
0:14:42 > 0:14:43The terrible thing is that calf
0:14:43 > 0:14:46is just really beginning to lose all its energy.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54That poor little baby.
0:14:56 > 0:14:57So what do we do?
0:14:58 > 0:15:03Let, you know, let Kenya Wildlife decide and we can...
0:15:03 > 0:15:07- Help.- ..help in any way we can.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11They're desperate to help,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15but only the vet can decide whether to intervene and rescue Sokotei.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22For now, all they can do is keep watch.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24And save that baby, these days anyway.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30While Saba's away, her girls are going on an adventure.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32HE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:15:32 > 0:15:37Mporian is a local Samburu warrior and close family friend.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41Saba relies on him to keep her children safe.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49The girls are getting used to life in camp, but they haven't yet been
0:15:49 > 0:15:53to visit their nearest neighbours, Mporian's family.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59There's lots for the kids to learn.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59This is the girls' first experience of life, Samburu style.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Back at the river, the vet has decided not to intervene.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28He thinks there's still a chance that Cherie may recover.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32He will leave David and Saba to stay by their side.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38THUNDER RUMBLES
0:17:44 > 0:17:46And today, nature is being kind.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52The rain has brought new shoots, full of protein to eat.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58It might just be enough to keep young Sokotei going.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24And Cherie rejoins her family.
0:18:27 > 0:18:28ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
0:18:31 > 0:18:32Things are looking up.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39THUNDER RUMBLES
0:18:44 > 0:18:49At Mporian's village, the girls are learning about life in the bush.
0:18:49 > 0:18:50GOAT BLEATS
0:18:59 > 0:19:03Mporian shows them how to breathe life into a newborn goat.
0:19:05 > 0:19:06MPORIAN BLOWS
0:19:10 > 0:19:12NEWBORN GOAT SQUEAKS
0:19:15 > 0:19:20The girls are seeing how important livestock is to the Samburu people.
0:19:20 > 0:19:21GOATS BLEAT
0:19:44 > 0:19:47David's joined Saba's husband Frank back at base.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52They decide to put in a call to an elephant orphanage in Nairobi,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55just in case Sokotei needs to be rescued.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10David is returning to Saba in the field, to check on Cherie.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13She doesn't have a physical injury
0:20:13 > 0:20:16and that makes it very difficult, even for the vet,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19to actually determine what is actually the problem.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23All I know is that some... a really bad internal thing
0:20:23 > 0:20:27like a stomach issue or some virus or some bacteria
0:20:27 > 0:20:30or some, you know, something bad.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34But keeping track of Cherie and Sokotei
0:20:34 > 0:20:36is becoming increasingly difficult.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38They've joined a huge herd.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41A lot of elephants here. My goodness!
0:20:42 > 0:20:44At this time of year when the rains come,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48the elephants all get together to socialise.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51I haven't even counted them, but it's well over a hundred.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57They are heading into rough country and the weather is closing in again.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00There's a massive rainstorm coming
0:21:00 > 0:21:03and we're trying to get to them quickly.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05- THUNDER CRASHES - Whoa, thunder!
0:21:07 > 0:21:09It'll take all David's skill to find them.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11David, do you copy?
0:21:15 > 0:21:16She's where?
0:21:16 > 0:21:17At the back?
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Oh, my God, here's Cherie. Poor Cherie.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30I've known her for such a long time.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32The worry is...
0:21:33 > 0:21:36..if she dies, then there's a very high likelihood
0:21:36 > 0:21:41that her calf will also die because we probably won't find it.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46In many ways, we shouldn't interfere,
0:21:46 > 0:21:51but sometimes with elephants you just feel like they suffer
0:21:51 > 0:21:54on such a level of consciousness
0:21:54 > 0:21:59that one has to act, and especially for that baby.
0:22:03 > 0:22:08That poor little calf must be absolutely desperate for milk
0:22:08 > 0:22:11and she pushes it off every time it comes near.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13It has absolutely no chance of survival at all in the wild
0:22:13 > 0:22:19because its family won't incorporate it, they won't take it in.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22They don't look after young orphans like that who are un-weaned,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25they just can't, it's too much investment.
0:22:27 > 0:22:28THUNDER RUMBLES
0:22:31 > 0:22:35The only thing we can do, and it's a very difficult decision,
0:22:35 > 0:22:37is maybe try to rescue the calf.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42But we can't make that call, it has to be done by the vet
0:22:42 > 0:22:46and by much higher levels of authority at Kenya Wildlife Service.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53And in the meantime, we just have to monitor her
0:22:53 > 0:22:54and whether there's any hope at all.
0:23:01 > 0:23:02It's a tough one.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12At camp, the river has finally retreated.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15OK, are you ready?
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Tonight, the only flood is in the bathroom.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25- Well, that wasn't quite enough, was it?- No, that's too little.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41Daddy, some mud.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Is it? It's a bit of mud. OK, give it a good wash.
0:23:45 > 0:23:50- Which bits are still dirty? - These.- The top bit?
0:23:50 > 0:23:53The family is passing a fairly typical night in the wilderness.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00Frank is baby-sitting and Saba is elephant-sitting.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13- The whole group is here, there's a... - Which is good news.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Which is such good news.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21The whole family is kind of interested with her, which is
0:24:21 > 0:24:25amazing, they're all surrounding all the calves and everyone.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32From the minute they're born, these females spend every day together.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40They live as long as humans and have equally strong emotional bonds.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Cherie's family understands that something is wrong.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02She's not looking good, David.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07She looks like she's going to fall down.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09She's definitely not doing that great.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17She's just fallen down.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19- Really?- Yes.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22That's her.
0:25:24 > 0:25:25She has just gone down.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31There she is.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47But she's just... Yeah, she just... Yeah, she just went down.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52I think that she's just trying to stay alive for her baby,
0:25:52 > 0:25:53like any mother would,
0:25:53 > 0:25:55but because of that little one,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58she's just finding it very hard to let go.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03They're so like humans, elephants.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Her little baby is trying to push her up.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Oh, she's going down, my God.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36We know that they have a sense of their own mortality...
0:26:39 > 0:26:42..but at least she's with her family, she's with her babies.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49It's reaching out its trunk and trying to hug his mother.
0:26:59 > 0:27:00DAVID SIGHS
0:27:05 > 0:27:07But I've got to stay here.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08The problem is that,
0:27:08 > 0:27:13if for one reason or another, that baby leaves its mother's side,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16then we've got absolutely no hope of finding it tomorrow.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20I just need to make sure.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Saba and David will keep an all-night vigil
0:27:27 > 0:27:29for Sokotei and Cherie.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43Next time - Sokotei is rescued.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50He's rushed to an elephant orphanage.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Can the team help him pull through?