All language subtitles for BBC.Animal.Babies.First.Year.on.Earth.2of3.720p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.eng

For animals all around the world...

..their first year is one
of the most difficult

and most dangerous.

To survive, they must overcome
daily threats and challenges...

..from rivals,

from the elements,

and predators.

In this series, three wildlife
camera operators will travel the

globe to follow our planet's most

iconic species
as they grow and develop,

day by day.

In this episode, the babies are
between three and nine months old,

and face tough challenges
in the race to independence.

In California, a sea otter pup
has to learn what to eat,

and what to avoid in
a human-dominated world.

It's always a shame to see wild
animals playing with things that...

..we have discarded.

In Sri Lanka,

a five-month-old macaque must use
his privileged position

to learn the skills to stay on top.

At the edge of the Arctic,
as food becomes scarce,

three-month-old fox cubs must
compete for every meal.

And in Kenya, a five-month-old
elephant has only a couple of weeks

to meet new families and build the
bonds to survive a dangerous world.

I just want them to come back
out of harm's way and be safe.

This is the story of what
it takes to survive in the wild.

Half of those cubs won't make it.

This is their first year on Earth.

It's almost like seeing your kid
ride a bike for the first time.

Southern Kenya.

The Maasai Mara joins the Serengeti
to form an immense grassland...

..one of the most important
wildlife habitats in Africa.

It's April, and the rainy
season brings new growth.

Hidden amongst the long grass
is a spotted hyena den.

HYENAS WHINE

Twin sisters Bisque and Chowder
and now six months old.

They are part of a clan of over 60,
living in a female-ruled hierarchy.

When they were only three months
old, the sisters learned that

they could use the high rank
inherited from their mother

to dominate others in the den.

But they don't yet understand
the dangers lurking outside it.

Only 50% of cubs make it
through their first year.

LOW GROWL

Lions are their greatest threat.

Until now, they've been small enough
to hide in their den underground,

but they're growing quickly.

They already weigh ten kilos -

four times their birth weight -

and soon will be too big to hide.

As they become more exposed,

they must quickly learn to
identify threats from outside

to survive the next few months.

Wildlife cameraman Vianet Djenguet

is here to follow Bisque and Chowder
through this critical stage.

I'm hoping I will

catch the moment where they will
go and explore the world

beyond the safety of their den.

As the cubs have grown in size,

they have also grown in confidence.

Wow...

Look at that.

HYENA CUB SNIFFS

CUBS SQUEAL

VIANET LAUGHS

They are so inquisitive!

Researchers from Michigan State
University have studied

the Mara hyenas for 30 years.

Emily Nonnamaker and Kecil John
are closely following

the development of
Bisque and Chowder,

and their mother they call Soup.

They've had some time to learn
where their rank is from their mum,

and now they're going to start
relying more on each other.

And when they're being aggressive
towards other low-ranking hyenas,

they're really going to have
to back each other up

and stop relying on Mum as much.

Hyenas produce milk so rich
in fat and protein

that the twins can be left for days
while their mother hunts.

But without her, they are
vulnerable to outside threats.

I don't know what...what's happened,
but, erm...

..something has got their attention.

A lone male hyena is
lurking in the long grass.

Every hyena has a unique scent,
so the twins will be able to quickly

detect if they know him or not.

See, they just don't like male
presence here.

They just stay all on alert.

Young males move between clans,
looking to mate.

It's coming round.

It's trying to sneak in.

The sisters are only
a quarter of his size,

but they outrank him in
this female-led society.

They cannot overpower him,

but they must still oppose
his approach...

..and all hyenas are taught
to respect high rank.

CUBS SQUEAL AND WHINE

Look at the size of this man!

But they just don't care, they're
challenging him, you know?

"We are small, but we will...

"..protect our territory."

Maintaining your rank is incredibly
important in hyena society.

All adult immigrant males are lower
than all the females and their cubs.

Males know their place in society,

and they know if they step out of
line, they might be punished.

Hyena punishments can be brutal,

even fatal,

but he is persistent.

Even though they are only
six months old, Bisque and Chowder

have to stand up to his challenge.

CUBS WHINE AND SQUEAK

The twins keep him out.

This successful interaction
means they are learning

to protect their clan.

I think for Bisque and Chowder,
this will be

something their mother, Soup,
will be proud of.

This is a milestone for the sisters,

reinforcing their status at the den.

The next day,

Soup is back from the hunt,
and with her daughters.

Since their birth, the clan's den
site has been their entire world.

Now, at seven months old,
they need to start learning

the skills to survive outside it...

..and their mother takes the lead.

This is the first time they've left
the safety of the den.

Soup's basically taking them out
to explore their territory.

The sisters must stick close
to their mother.

She has to teach them how
to identify and escape threats.

This is a very significant moment.

The more they explore
with their mother, Soup,

the better the chances
of them making it

when they are on their own.

At this time of year, long grass can
easily conceal stalking predators.

I just spotted some lions.

Like, four individuals.

And I'm quite nervous because...

..lions don't like hyenas.

The cubs are born with an
instinctive fear of a lion's scent,

but no concept of what these
predators look like.

They can only learn to put
the two together face-to-face.

Lions are the number one danger
for our cubs.

At any stage, if a lion catches
them, they will kill them.

Lion predation accounts
for around 30% of cub deaths.

And Vianet has lost sight of
the sisters in the long grass.

THUNDER RUMBLES

After hours looking for the cubs,

Vianet find the family
back at the den.

Soup has managed to keep them safe.

HYENA MOANS

WHISPERING: When I saw the lions
this morning,

I was really worried.

But now look...

..they're back,

having quality time with
their mother.

It must have been
a big day for them.

But today is just the first step
on a steep learning curve.

As they spend more time away
from the den on their own,

they must learn to recognise and
evade lions themselves,

to make it through their
first year.

Every baby faces difficulties
on the road to independence...

..but for some, the harsh reality
comes as quite a shock.

November brings the monsoon to the
ruins of Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka,

which have weathered the storms
for a thousand years.

The human population left
long ago...

..and the toque macaques moved in.

Intelligent monkeys found
nowhere else on Earth.

Sue Gibson is following the first
year of a very privileged baby

born in the heart
of these regal ruins.

Jazir was born five months ago
in another strict social hierarchy.

His mother is the alpha female
of this troupe of 34 macaques.

And since his first couple of weeks,

he has physically transformed.

Jazir is now a healthy
five-month-old.

He has doubled in size,
weighs around a kilo,

and is eating up energy as he
explores his treetop world.

JAZIR CHITTERS AND CHIRPS

He now has the coordination
and motor skills

to use his tail as a counterbalance
and safety line.

The agility of these babies at
five months is off the scale.

I mean, they're like
Olympics gymnasts.

In the past few months,

he has learned to balance on
moving branches,

judge distances,

and leap from tree to tree.

Jazir's physical prowess and rapid
transformation is directly linked

to his mother's high rank
and protection.

Jazir really has a head start
in this group,

being born to a high-ranking female.

And one day he could lead
a troupe like this.

His mother's milk is more nutritious
than lower-ranking females

because she gets priority
to the better foods.

He could grow 50% bigger

than his low-ranking peers
in his first year.

But his relationship with his
mother is about to change

as he enters a new phase
of development...

..weaning.

And because he's benefited
from her high rank,

Jazir is being weaned two months
earlier than some of his peers.

It can be a very unpleasant process.

A bite to the arm sends
a painful signal.

Jazir's mum is starting to reject
him when he comes for milk,

and that's only going to happen
more and more, which is a

real problem for Jazir,

because it means he's got to find
his nourishment from another source.

This is going to be a real
turning point for him.

JAZIR SQUEAKS

So, up to now, it's been
kindergarten,

things have been pretty easy.

Now it's time to go to school

and learn to be a little
more independent of your mum.

Dr Wolfgang Dittus from
the Smithsonian Institute

has studied the social and family
life of these monkeys

for almost 50 years.

So, as long as Mum's got milk,

he's going to take advantage of her.

She's got to push him off
and be a little bit nasty.

Jazir has no choice but to let go
and learn to find food for himself.

He's got to be a little bit more
resourceful with how he

gets his food. This is a really good
lesson to be learning now.

THUNDER RUMBLES

But daily rains reduce
foraging time...

..and send Jazir back
to his mother's side.

More than 100 different types
of fruit, flower, leaves and insects

come and go over the seasons.

But Jazir has to learn when
and where he can find them.

Fortunately for him, those at the
top of the pecking order

get first access.

Jazir - like any other
high-ranking, sort of, young baby -

gets away with lots of
mischievous things,

because if anybody tries to

discipline him, anybody from a lower
rank tries to discipline,

he'll just scream and his mum will
come to his rescue and back him up.

So these high-ranking
little infants,

they learn to be brats.

Learning to be a brat could be a
useful survival technique.

It could short-cut the energy Jazir
needs to find and collect food.

Berries are a year-round favourite,

and a food many of
the infants start with.

But picking them demands
time and energy.

Jazir watches his peers at work...

..then makes his move...

..stealing food from another baby.

Theft is a milestone.

It proves he's learning to exploit
his status to get what he wants.

He's asserting his position,
and also putting them

back in their place.

But this development in behaviour
could have negative consequences.

Two days later, Sue sees signs
that Jazir's aggression is growing.

But he is an inexperienced infant,

and hasn't yet learned when to stop.

If he pushes too hard,

parents get involved.

A firm slap in the face from
another mother causes havoc.

No-one hits the alpha's son.

AGGRESSIVE SCREECHING

There's a strict hierarchy
for a reason.

These rules need to be enforced in
the interest of the group.

They have to stick to their rank
because, otherwise,

it's just chaos.

Jazir's high status in the troop
allows him a certain level of

protection, but he's being

heavy-handed with his
peers and making enemies.

All males are eventually forced
to leave their birth troops,

and life without family
support can be tough.

Jazir needs to start learning
from his social interactions

and begin to forge alliances to keep
the advantages he was born with.

Over 14,000km away,

another infant is on the verge of
weaning, but he has to learn

how to find food in a complicated
man-made environment.

Monterey in California is an
affluent coastal town and tourist

hot spot, attracting nearly
five million visitors a year.

Monterey sits in the middle of

the home range of
the southern sea otter -

the smallest marine mammal
in the world.

This population was almost
wiped out by fur hunters,

but now numbers just over 3,000.

Limpet is a winter-born pup.

It's February,
and he is now 11 weeks old

and weighs over seven kilos.

Just a month ago, Limpet struggled
to master a critical

but deceptively simple
step for a sea otter pup...

..his first dive.

He could only stay under for
five seconds at a time.

But in four weeks,
his physiology has changed.

He can now hold more oxygen
in his lungs,

dive down to around two metres,

and stay under for almost a minute.

Wildlife cameraman
Colin Stafford-Johnson is following

Limpet and his mother to understand
what factors make the first few

months of life so challenging here.

A perfect dive.

Looks like all that youthful fur
has gone, he now has an adult coat.

He's able to submerge with ease.

Limpet's energy demands have
doubled since his birth,

yet he is still dependent on his
mother for both milk and solid food.

In the next couple of weeks,
he has to learn for himself

the skills to identify food
and bring it to the surface.

But there were no signs
he's capable of this yet,

and that could be a problem
for his mother.

One slight concern I have is that
his mummy's actually

looking really thin.

Ah... She looked quite ribby
as she was diving.

She looked a little bit
skin and bones.

She should have a little more body
fat on her and look a little better.

Michelle Steadler of Monterey Bay
Aquarium has been studying

the stresses on mothers raising
pups here for 30 years.

They're still nursing the pup -
that takes a lot of energy.

And then they're also giving the pup
a third of the prey items,

or the food items, that they
bring up from the bottom.

And so they're constantly giving
and giving to the pup,

and they get skinnier and
skinnier as time goes on.

So it's a big draw on their energy
resources, for the females.

And unlike other marine mammals,

sea otters don't have any blubber
to act as energy reserves.

They have to find all the calories
they need to survive every day.

Limpet is developing fast.

He now has the stamina to dive
almost as often as his mother.

But he's not yet finding
food for himself.

And as he must learn to forage
in a man-made marina,

he faces further challenges.

Pups can get stuck in
structures underwater...

..entangled in fishing gear...

..or hit by boats.

OTTER CALLS

And these calls are coming
from a mother otter in distress.

OTTER CONTINUES CALLING

A female otter has obviously lost
her pup, and she's swimming

all around the harbour - vocalising
- trying to find it,

waiting to hear a response.

Now she's going to go right
in front of the boat.

Don't do it!

A pup surfaces by the mother.

Was that Limpet? Does anyone know,
is this Limpet?

Limpet appears confused
by her calls and calls back,

even though
she isn't calling for him.

LIMPET CALLS

Quite a frantic call, and pups are
tuned in to respond to it quickly.

OTTERS CONTINUE CALLING

As soon as Limpet's mother
sees what's happening...

..she moves her distracted pup away.

It just makes me think,
you know, about how vulnerable

Limpet really still is.

And you see something like this, and
you realise there are so many things

that could still happen to him.

Yeah, there are a lot of things
that can happen to him,

and you just keep your fingers
crossed and hope that his mum

gets him to that point where
he can be weaned and off on his own

and become a grown-up sea
otter, basically.

At only 12 weeks old,
Limpet's energy demands actually

outstrip his fully-grown mother's.

But now there are finally signs
that he is capable of retrieving

objects from the seabed.

What's he got?

He's picked up something unusual.

A latex glove.

He can't quite yet
identify his food.

It's always a shame to see wild
animals playing with things that...

..we have discarded.

Monterey Bay is one of the most

protected marine sanctuaries
in the US.

Yet, pollution on land can still
run off into the ocean.

40% of otter deaths are
as a result of poisoning,

infection or contamination.

And plastic waste also ends
up in the sea otter's home range.

There are at least five golf courses
in striking distance of the ocean.

He's got a golf ball!

He hasn't quite figured out
what's food and what isn't,

and he doesn't want to start
chewing on things like golf balls,

because they can be toxic,
like so many of the things

that end up in the oceans.

Scientists have collected more than
50,000 golf balls from the seabed

here in the last five years.

Over time, their plastic coating

will break down into
smaller and smaller pieces.

Microplastics are ingested

by the shellfish that
Limpet and his mother eat.

They can build up in their stomachs

and poison them.

No matter where you go in the
sea these days,

you tend to come across
human detritus.

And when you've got an endangered
population - like these guys -

this really isn't something
you want to see.

At 12 weeks old,
Limpet is developing the skills

to forage items from the seabed.

Ah...
OTTER CALLS

Hopefully, in the next four weeks,

he can turn a corner
and learn to identify prey,

rather than plastic,

and take the pressure to find
food off his mother.

Southwestern Uganda.

Once, a single forest spread from
here into four other countries.

But now this region supports the
densest rural human population

on the continent.

Only isolated pockets
of the forest remain,

including the
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest...

..home to one of the rarest
wild babies on the planet...

..a mountain gorilla.

Nyakabara is one of, perhaps,
only 50 mountain gorilla babies

in the world.

She's eight months old

and weighs around five kilos.

Learning to explore and push
boundaries is an essential part

of infant development...

..one that can test
both mother and baby.

Vianet is here as Nyakabara
embarks on the greatest challenge

of her first year -

to escape her mother's protection
and learn the skills to climb.

Mountain gorillas are endangered,
and so closely related to humans

that they can pick up our
infections,

so Vianet a must wear a mask.

At only eight months old,
Nyakabara is developing

twice as fast as human babies.

Her curiosity in the forest
is growing fast,

but she hasn't learned the
skills yet to explore it.

What I would like to see is
her creating that gap

between her and her mother.

You know, being more independent.

And, of course, her mother is being
very, very cautious,

very protective.

She keeps making sure that...

..Nyakabara doesn't go too far.

She's trying to keep her close by.

She usually doesn't let Nyakabara
stray more than a metre away.

But her mother has good reason to be
protective of such a precious baby.

When she was only two months old,

Vianet witnessed Nyakabara and her
mother fall from a tree.

Falls account for many baby
gorilla fatalities.

But Nyakabara's mother HAS to take
her baby to great heights every day

because the trees here
are so rich in food.

The only other population
of mountain gorillas

live on the steep volcanoes of the
Congo-Rwanda border,

where the vegetation is
more limited.

Dr Martha Robbins of the
Max Planck Institute

has studied the Bwindi gorillas
for more than two decades

to find out how they use the forest.

Because Bwindi's at a lower
altitude, there are a lot more

fruiting trees here that the
gorillas can capitalise on.

Some gorillas weigh
more than 180 kilos,

and have to find 20 kilos of
vegetation to eat a day.

And fruit provides
a high-energy hit,

and their bodies are well adapted
for finding it.

Gorillas have the greatest
muscle mass of any living primate,

so can support their own
weight on a single limb

to control their position.

And they have a highly adaptable
power grip to grasp trunks,

vines and branches.

Nyakabara must learn
these techniques,

but no gorilla can afford to make
mistakes at these great heights.

I'm quite concerned about them.
It's quite high.

Those trees, we're talking about
30, 40 metres, or what?

I mean, the gorilla's world is much
more three-dimensional than for us.

They climb, there's food
they want to eat up there.

And so, when they're very young,

they will still stay attached
to their mother, like Nyakabara.

And that grip that those babies
have on their mothers

is extremely strong.

Human babies are born with
the same grip reflex

but lose it after three months
because they don't need to

cling to their mothers to survive.

Three days pass, and Vianet
is seeing a change in Nyakabara.

She still isn't big enough
or skilled enough

to negotiate the canopy.

But nearer the ground,

she's practising and refining
her motor skills.

Her protective mother always keeps
her within a metre's distance.

But Nyakabara keeps
testing her limits.

Oh, my God.

Oh...

Look, she's climbed that
little branch by herself.

This is a real milestone for
a great ape that spends

15% of its life up trees.

In the next few months, her mother
will begin to let her roam further

and test the boundaries even more.

That's just great to see.
It's great!

But to really thrive in Bwindi,

Nyakabara must keep developing her
strength, balance and coordination,

so she will be able to climb and
start to find food for herself.

For some babies, learning
to access food is not enough -

they have to learn to fight their
own siblings to make it through.

Just a few kilometres south
of the Arctic Circle

lies the Hornstrandir peninsula -
Iceland's most isolated region.

Winter temperatures can drop
below minus 20,

and summer only sees two months
totally free of snow.

Just one native land mammal is tough
enough to call this place home...

..the Arctic fox.

Colin is following a litter
of eight fox cubs

in the race to bulk up
before winter.

It's August, and the cubs face
a critical turning point.

Their mother has stopped
providing milk.

I wonder how many are still here.

There are seven dark cubs
at the den site,

but the eighth is missing.

Absolutely no sign of Fela.

Yeah, that's a bit of a worry.

Fela was the only
white cub in the litter.

And the last time Colin filmed
the cubs, all were perfecting

the characteristic hunting pounce...

..except Fela.

A big litter like this, it's very
unlikely that they'll all survive.

I just hope Fela's here someplace,
but I'm definitely concerned now.

The cubs are now 11 weeks old and
weigh around a kilo and a half.

At this age, each cub must put
on around 30g every day

for the next two weeks to survive
their first Icelandic winter.

CUBS CHIRP AND SQUEAL

Competition is fierce.

ANIMAL CALLS

A call from the ridge above might
shed light on Fela's disappearance.

Among the rocks,
hidden in plain sight...

..is Fela.

Oh...

They're so well camouflaged.

It's good to see Fela again.

And I'm really genuinely
surprised that...

..all eight of them are still alive.
That's a real testament to the

hard work and experience
of their parents.

But why Fela is up on the ridge,
away from his family, is unclear.

It's odd to be this far from
the den, where all the others are.

The next day, Colin returns
to the den site...

..and so does Fela.

This play looks all so innocent.

But that will be tested
very quickly when food arrives,

and then it's every cub for himself.

What I'm hoping to see then is that
Fela is going to have to outcompete

his brothers and sisters
to get to the food first.

The cubs' father has caught
a fledgling seabird -

essential food for
hungry cubs who need to eat

10% of their body weight each day.

This might be Fela's only
chance of a meal today.

CUBS SQUEAL

Two dark cubs dominate the bird.

Fela is missing out.

Arctic foxes do not do sharing,

they do selfishness.

The more selfish you are, the more
likely you are to survive.

The key is being the first on the
scene when the parents return.

CUBS CRY

Calls encourage parents
to drop food near their cubs.

Most cubs stay close to the den,

waiting for the food to arrive...

..but Fela leaves.

If he misses another opportunity,

he could become weak
and less able to compete.

His father has another kill.

The race is on.

This time, Fela intercepts
him on the way down

to seize the precious meal.

Oh...look at that, that's so fast.

I don't know where
the dark fox came from,

but Fela spotted him before I did,
and just had that food grabbed

and was gone over the hill
in no time.

Perhaps Fela is smarter
than his siblings,

working out that staying higher up,
away from the competition,

could be a life-saving advantage.

All signs point to Fela actually
being in a really good place.

I think there's a good chance he's
going to make it. He's looking good.

At 12 weeks old,
Fela's gamble has paid off.

But he must keep winning the kills
to reach adult size by autumn.

In a few weeks, as his energy
requirements double,

his parents will stop providing
food, and he won't have long

to learn how to find it for himself.

For one baby, her entire survival
depends not on beating rivals,

but on finding as many allies
as possible.

It's May in Samburu National
Reserve, Kenya,

and the elephants are on the move.

ELEPHANTS RUMBLE AND SNORT

Safina, the baby African elephant,
is now seven months old

and around 250 kilos -

a tenth of her adult weight.

ELEPHANT RUMBLES

She's putting on around
four kilos each week

from drinking around
20 litres of milk a day.

But Safina cannot feed herself yet.

Trunk control is so complex,

it will take at least another six
months to fully master

these essential skills.

Her mother is Cyclone,
the herd's matriarch,

recognisable by her single tusk.

Until now, Safina has relied
solely on her mother and

her aunts for protection.

But elephants are highly social
animals and share knowledge

with other families
in times of trouble.

It's critical for Safina's long-term
survival that she meets and bonds

with other families in her
first year,

to build her own support network.

And the best chance
she'll have to do this

is in the next couple of weeks.

Last month's rains have
triggered one of the largest

elephant migrations in East Africa.

ELEPHANTS TRUMPET

The herds are heading for the
protected reserves

of Samburu and Buffalo Springs,

where Safina's family lives.

Sue will film Safina during this
unique opportunity to interact,

gain friends and become part of
elephant society.

This abundance of vegetation
has brought hundreds of elephants

into the reserve.

And this is the time where Safina
will encounter more elephants

than she's ever seen before.

They gather together here once
a year to feed on new growth,

socialise and reinforce
friendship bonds.

That is a lovely, big group
of elephants.

And...

..I'm pretty sure I've just spotted
Safina's mum, Cyclone.

Yep, there she is, er,
cos she's missing a tusk.

So Safina is going to be
very close by.

Oh, yes, look. There we go!

Underneath...

She can still fit
underneath her mum,

just about, getting shade.

The other infant
in the herd is Mvua.

Her mother survived against the odds
only because she forged

a special relationship with the herd
when she was young.

Mvua's mother, Rain,

she was orphaned because her
parents and the rest of her family

were gunned down by poachers,
which is horrendous.

But she was accepted into this
group - Cyclone let her in.

And, really, the reason why
that happened was because of

previously established bonds.

More and more wild elephants come
into contact with humans

as both compete for
limited land and water.

Conflict is on the increase.

It's essential Safina mixes
with as many different elephants

as she can in the coming days,

to build her own bonds, in case
something ever happens to Cyclone.

Sue keeps track of the herd
through the 200 square kilometres

of the reserve by working in tandem
with conservationists,

Save the Elephants - pioneers in
GPS tracking.

Every day, elephants arrive.

Some travel almost 150km
to gather in social superherds.

But Sue's GPS tracker reveals
something about Safina's family

that doesn't look good -

they're travelling away
from the incoming herds.

I don't know why Cyclone's
taken the herd over there.

She's an experienced matriarch,
so she must have good reason to.

Maybe there's much better food?
Plenty of water?

But it's a massive gamble.

It's impossible to know
what is motivating Cyclone,

but if she maintains her
present course,

the family will leave the
protection of the reserve.

Beyond the border,

farmland cuts through the
elephants' natural habitat.

Sometimes elephants raid crops.

Clashes with farmers can result
in deaths on both sides.

Safina and her family have no
official protection

out of the reserve.

If conflict occurs,
intervention may be impossible.

There's nothing Sue can do
but wait and hope.

So, this is really not good.

I've got the coordinates
for where the herd are,

and at the moment they're in a
place that I can't get to.

This is the boundary of the reserve.

And over there is a kind of
no-man's-land.

Even in the last couple of days,
there's been some fighting,

and people have been killed.

What's worrying, erm...

..is that our elephants
are in there.

These tribes, one of them...

..has a history of killing elephants
for traditional medicine.

I just want them
to come back over here,

out of harm's way, and be safe.

Three days pass.

Safina and her family
have not returned.

But on the fourth day,
the GPS reading indicates

that Safina's family is,
at last, on the move.

I've had some really good news,

and some coordinates have come
in, and it sounds like Safina

and the rest of the family have come
out of that danger zone

and made their way back into the
reserve, which is fantastic news.

Well, whoever this is, they're
enjoying a mud bath.

We've got a little one there.

Where's Safina?

This time, Safina and her family
have made it back safe.

And they're joined by one
of the migrating elephant herds.

Oh, that's a major, major relief.

It was getting to the point
there where...

..I thought we'd lost them.

This is exactly where
you want them to be,

and what you want to be seeing.

Out of the danger zone,
back in reserve,

hanging out together...

Look at them all,
they're all just....!

SHE LAUGHS

..happy. They're very, very happy.

Safina's brain has enormous
capacity devoted to processing

memory and her sense of smell.

This might just look like innocent
play, but by touching and smelling

with her trunk, Safina is gathering
highly specific information about

each of these individuals.

This is how elephants bond
and establish new relationships.

As the days pass, Sue witnesses
Safina join up and socialise

with more than 60 elephants
from four different families.

Oh, my goodness, this is amazing!

Safina may not really appreciate

the importance of what's happening
at the moment.

She's having a lovely time playing
with other elephants the same age,

but she's coming into contact
with older elephants,

other families, friends.

And when there's times of need,
she'll have a whole host

of other elephants that
she can possibly go to.

So these connections
that she's making now

will last a lifetime.

As the babies move even
closer towards independence,

they face some of the biggest
challenges of their lives.

To secure a safe future
outside the temple,

Jazir has to learn to make allies
with older macaques.

He's going to have to leave
there and deal with this,

and this is dangerous.

As Bisque and Chowder
become more exposed,

they have to learn to
look out for each other.

And in the last weeks
with his mother,

Limpet must master how to use tools.

This is an important time to learn
the, sort of, very last lessons

he can from his mum.