Original subtitles

The birth of a baby animal is always special.

But for those on the brink of extinction,

every new life…

brings hope.

Six endangered youngsters

raised in our world

are on the journey of a lifetime…

Follow me.

…back to theirs.

Are you inquisitive? Yeah.

But they can't do it on their own.

He lost his mother.

With human foster parents helping them on their way…

You don't need to be scared, I'm here with you.

…can these little ones help save their species…

If you love something, you have to let it go.

…and return to the wild?

In the jungles of Northeast India…

wildlife vet Dr. Panjit Basumatary is racing to save a life.

We just rescued a bear cub.

Now, we are rushing to take care of him.

The three-month-old baby bear, named Sagalee,

was found abandoned in the forest.

I suspect the mother has been killed by illegal hunters.

He's very scared.

The orphan hasn't fed for days and is now very weak.

I'm really worried.

I hope he can survive.

Sagalee is one of just 6,000 moon bears left in India.

Illegal hunting across Asia

is one of the main reasons they're at risk of extinction.

So, every cub counts.

After five hours, they make it to a special rescue center.

The only one in India that takes in orphaned bears

and tries to return them to the wild.

Come on, come on.

But unless Sagalee feeds soon, he won't live more than a few days.

Sagalee…

You don't need to be scared.

Come on, son. Come on.

To take milk from the bottle,

Panjit must first coax the frightened little cub out.

Yes. Come, come, come.

Come, come, come.

Come, come, come.

Come, come, come.

Come, come, come.

I'm here with you.

Come on.

Come on, Sagalee.

Panjit has a trick up his sleeve.

Do you have the honey?

Put a little over the top.

Because there's one thing no bear can resist.

Come on.

I'll give you honey.

Come on.

Come on, come on, come on.

Come on, come on, come on.

Yes.

Yes.

His first taste of honey.

Good boy.

First time ever.

But it's milk the cub really needs.

Yes.

Yes.

It's a small step on a long journey.

Good boy.

For the next six months,

Panjit will dedicate his life to this little bear,

hand-raising him…

Good boy.

You like it?

…and, hopefully, return him to the jungle.

Yes.

Now that Sagalee is feeding,

there's a bigger worry about the young cub's health.

There were two bears you see.

Sagalee and his brother.

No one knows what happened to their mother.

The people who found the cubs

had them tied up.

They didn't know

how to take care of them.

Sagalee's brother was in a bad way.

Panjit treated him immediately, but it was just too late.

Unfortunately, within 24 hours he died.

His brother died.

But what are the chances he will survive?

For now, it's 50/50.

He fears the brother died from a contagious disease.

I have to sedate Sagalee to run some tests.

If it's spread, Sagalee's in danger.

I'm going to collect blood.

Symptoms can take weeks to show.

Until we get the results back, I'll be very worried.

A week later…

Sagalee still seems healthy.

The moon-shaped marking on his chest is starting to show.

It's how moon bears get their name.

And his first milk teeth are coming through.

In the wild, cubs follow their mums everywhere for two years,

learning how to survive.

Panjit must form the same close bond with Sagalee.

Let's walk together, okay?

The cub's much too young to survive on his own.

So, as any parent with a toddler knows,

you can't let them out of your sight.

Catch him, catch him, catch him!

Catch him, catch him, catch him.

Sagalee, you are not ready to go out.

You are not going to follow us.

If this headstrong cub were to disappear into the jungle,

he'd only survive a few days.

Sagalee.

Don't climb. Don't climb.

He's trying to escape.

Come on.

He's still remembering his mum.

That is why he's trying to escape from us.

You don't need to go away.

Come on.

He doesn't trust us.

Gaining the trust of this troubled young bear…

Good boy. You are a very good boy.

…could take months.

I'm very worried about this guy.

With 15 years of experience,

Panjit knows how to calm a frightened cub.

Go to sleep.

Asleep at last.

Have a good sleep.

But Panjit won't rest easy until he gets the test results.

Hi, good evening. It's Dr. Panjit.

I'm calling to check up on the progress

of Sagalee's blood test.

Yes, we have the results here.

Good news, the results are negative.

That's wonderful news.

Everything looks healthy.

That's brilliant. Thanks.

Goodbye.

Quick drink?

With a clean bill of health,

the priority now is to build Sagalee's strength.

Bear cubs usually feed on their mum's milk for the first six months.

Since his mother is not around,

we are like the mother, we have to provide milk.

Formula for puppies

is one of the closest things to bear's milk.

We are feeding Sagalee seven to eight times in a day.

You like it?

It's a lot of work,

but I can see he is growing well.

Single parenting a bear cub is a full-time job.

That means Panjit rarely gets to see his wife

and 10-year-old daughter, who live five hours away.

What's on the menu?

Dhal and sweet potatoes.

Habu is the best cook.

When he's here,

the team are like Panjit's extended family.

Including Habu, his right-hand man.

Chop, chop, chop.

This knife is a bit dangerous.

Their hard work is paying off.

Three-quarters of the rescued bears are eventually released.

Looks very healthy.

He likes fruits.

But it doesn't always work.

These are the captive bears

and very sadly,

after release, they didn't accept the forest.

Some bears just can't learn how to survive on their own.

So are never returned to the wild.

We give them the best life we can.

But we hope Sagalee doesn't end up here.

Over the coming weeks, Panjit puts all his efforts…

Let's go and play.

…into trying to win the little bear over.

You're my friend, don't run.

Sagalee, you don't need to be scared.

We want to teach you, right?

Checking on him through the night.

I am here with you.

You're hungry today.

Good job.

And tempting him with sugary treats.

You like honey!

No, no, no.

No.

I wasn't sure you'd like this.

You can have this every day now.

Slowly, the trust between them starts to grow.

Yes, that's it.

Show me you can use your nails.

Yes. Very smart boy.

Until after more than a hundred hours of one-to-one care…

Sagalee, follow me.

Sagalee follows Panjit…

Come on. Yes, come on, come on, come on. Follow me.

…everywhere he goes.

Three months on,

and Sagalee's grown to nearly 30 pounds.

Four times what he weighed when he was rescued.

Sagalee…

And he's starting to show an inquisitive streak.

Come, come, come.

Come, come, come.

Now that he follows Panjit outside the enclosure…

jungle school can begin.

First lesson: Self-defense.

Moon bears spend more time on their hind legs than any other bears.

It's how they defend themselves.

The jungle is a very dangerous place.

So Sagalee has to learn

how to protect himself inside the forest.

He's not scary yet.

But he's more confident.

For now, it's playful.

But when he's a 400-pound adult,

he'll be able to deliver a hefty blow.

Next lesson: Climbing.

It's something bears do instinctively.

But…

it takes practice.

When he goes inside the forest,

he has to know how to escape from the predators.

That is why he is climbing the tree.

Moon bears spend half their lives up in the branches.

Very smart.

And when he's older, Sagalee will even build nests

to sleep in safely.

Once he's got the hang of it.

The bonding between me and Sagalee is now very strong.

He accepts me.

And with that bond tighter than ever,

the little cub's ready for the next step on his extraordinary journey.

He'll be heading to Pakke Tiger Reserve.

Here, India's government has created a safe haven

where forestry rangers protect animals from poaching.

But for a young cub, the jungle is still full of dangers.

Aggressive adult moon bears,

and even tigers.

Only when Sagalee can escape these threats and find food

will Panjit leave him on his own.

It's the morning of the move.

Panjit's happy Sagalee's a healthy weight.

And with the help of the forestry department…

they're on their way.

It's a full day's journey ahead.

With temperatures over 90 degrees, the little bear could easily overheat.

It's very hot today. You need to cool down.

The truck can only get so far.

Then it's a two-hour trek.

Carrying the 60-pound bear crate.

Don't worry.

Come. Come.

Very close now.

Don't worry.

Good boy.

You're enjoying the water.

You'll get a lot of water.

So many streams.

Finally, they make it to Sagalee's new home.

A treehouse specially built by Panjit's team.

Where he'll spend his nights in safety.

Panjit will also be living above the forest floor

away from danger.

Have there been any elephants?

Yes, last night.

Oh, which direction?

Over there.

It's dangerous here because

elephant is roaming nearby this treehouse.

We don't have any phone connection here.

So we have to be very, very cautious.

If anything goes wrong,

the team are a day's journey from the nearest hospital.

Tea, tea, tea.

The treehouse may be basic…

- Ajit? - Yes?

Are you making tea?

Making it.

Oh, my. I'm tired.

…but there are some home comforts.

The smell of bamboo is very nice.

This will be the team's home for the next 12 weeks

whilst they teach Sagalee how to survive in the jungle.

More than three months after his rescue

today's the biggest day of the young bear's life…

as he takes his first steps back into the wild.

Come, come, come.

After a cautious start…

he's so excited by his new surroundings…

Sagalee, come, come, come.

…he stops following Panjit for the first time in months.

Sagalee, don't go far.

He wants to explore

but that's good.

Come, come, come.

He's following now.

And so, the day's lessons begin.

He got used to us feeding him.

Now he has to learn to find food everywhere.

Maybe the ground,

maybe tree,

maybe in the riverbed.

Like all moon bears, Sagalee has an amazing sense of smell.

Two thousand times stronger than ours.

But with so many new smells around,

it's up to Panjit to show him what's worth sniffing out.

Sagalee, come, come.

Find anything?

Moon bears are mostly vegetarian…

What is it, ants?

…but they do eat insects.

He's trying to find the eggs of the ant.

He learned how to find ants now.

Insects make up a fifth of a moon bear's diet.

But it's a messy meal.

With his all-you-can-eat buffet finished…

it's time to return home.

But getting an overexcited youngster to bed…

can be a challenge.

Sagalee…

Where's he gone?

Finally, the little bear cooperates.

Over the coming weeks…

Come on, come on.

…Sagalee goes on a splash course in jungle survival.

Come, come, come.

Sagalee…

Most moon bears are good swimmers.

Sagalee's not so keen.

Come, come. Sagalee.

Come, come, come.

So Panjit shows him the easiest places to cross…

Sagalee.

…barely getting his tummy wet.

His climbing skills…

are reaching new heights.

Not just going up.

He is coming down very fast.

There must be some kind of insects

probably trying to bite him.

He's very smart.

As the cub starts growing in size and confidence…

Follow me.

Panjit tries him out…

I've got a crab for you.

…on all sorts of different jungle snacks.

Bears are one of only a few animals that can taste sweet foods.

And can sniff out a honeycomb…

Good nose.

…from a mile away.

Now you know how to find honey.

Until, after three months,

Sagalee is spending less time in his treehouse…

Sagalee.

…and more time in the trees.

Just like a wild moon bear.

Sagalee!

He now has the big sideburns of an adult.

And even builds his own nests.

Wow, he doesn't want to come down.

Panjit knows the young bear is now ready to survive on his own.

And soon, he'll leave him in the forest.

Come down, come down. Sagalee.

See, still he's not coming down.

But before that happens,

he needs to encourage him out of the branches.

Now he can find the food,

he's spending less time with us.

His behavior is now almost wild.

Eventually down, Panjit must sedate Sagalee

to fully check him over.

He is now about 20 kilos.

Very strong.

A little bit of dehydration,

but he looks very healthy.

I am very happy with Sagalee.

Fitting a tracking collar will allow them to follow the bear's progress.

It will fall off when Sagalee grows bigger.

It can tighten more.

I hope it will help a lot

just to know his survival in this forest.

More than six months after he rescued the scared baby bear,

it's time for Panjit to say goodbye.

Sagalee, I'm going to miss you, but I'm happy, okay?

It took a long time to make a bonding with this bear cub.

So today is hard.

This is the right time.

It's like when kids leave their home.

It's a happy moment, but sad too.

He belongs to the forest now.

Back at the rescue center,

and like any doting parent,

Panjit's been following the young bear's progress from afar.

After release, Sagalee crossed the riverbed

and settled down in this area.

It's a perfect bear habitat.

But we don't know his exact health condition.

So, I need to see him with my own eyes.

Before they left the forest, the team set up 50 remote cameras.

They've just been collected

and Panjit wants to check if they've caught a glimpse of Sagalee.

This looks like the first one we put out.

Beautiful.

Is that the Great Indian Hornbill?

Let's see next.

What's this, tiger?

My God!

Man, it's quite big.

If he meets the tiger, it will finish him off.

They search through hours of clips.

This is not Sagalee.

It's a different bear.

Sagalee's smaller.

Panjit begins to fear the worst.

My God!

We've seen Sagalee.

He looks very healthy, very active.

Very cute.

Yes!

Let's go.

Thanks to the dedication of Panjit and his team.

I'm done.

…sixty-one moon bears have been returned to the wild.

Now, 62.

- Next time… - Easy, boy.

…an elephant orphan

must overcome his fears…

stand up to bullies…

and learn to make friends

if he's to find a new family in the wild.