Original subtitles

Every living creature starts life as a baby.

For each, there's a whole new world to discover.

There'll be joy...

and friendship.

But life also brings challenges.

Some have devoted parents to protect them.

Others must fight every step of the way.

These newborns will never be more vulnerable.

The journey toward adulthood will be hard.

To survive takes courage...

determination...

and above all...

love.

For babies born wild.

The windswept shores of the Namib Desert.

Where barren sand dunes run down to the icy sea.

It doesn't seem possible for life to exist here.

And yet...

A colony of Cape fur seals.

Around 4,000 of them.

These marine mammals spend most of the year at sea.

But now... In summer... Females gather on land.

To give birth.

Amorous males... are here too.

They've turned this isolated beach...

into one noisy, chaotic seal hub.

In the midst of it all...

They can spend the rest of their lives... After eight months of pregnancy...

A new life... is about to begin.

At last... Making his entrance into the world...

Little Tabo.

A male, weighing just 13 pounds.

In these first seconds, his senses are flooded by the rowdy colony around him.

But his only focus right now is on his mum.

For her, it's love at first sight.

She's naturally protective of her precious new baby.

Giving Tabo his first wash, she takes in his distinct smell.

And their unique calls will help them recognise each other.

Against the clamour of the colony.

Until he can swim in six weeks' time.

He's totally dependent on her for all his food and protection.

Right now, he's ready for his first milk.

High in calories and full of fat, it will help Tabo grow and put on weight.

But it won't last forever.

To keep him healthy, soon his mum must return to sea to find food.

It'll mean leaving Tabo alone and defenceless.

Here in the colony, there's safety in numbers.

But this is far from being one big happy family.

Other mothers only have eyes for their own pups.

And amongst these bulls, there's no such thing as fatherly care.

Tabo will have to face life in this large crowd of strangers, all by himself.

As his precious time with his mum grows short.

For new arrivals, it's hard to start life out in the open.

Other babies are wisely hidden from the moment of birth.

Especially when they're destined to be rulers of the African savannah.

In a palm thicket hideout.

New life.

Three lion cubs.

Two sons and a daughter.

Only four weeks old.

With eyes just opened, they take their first faltering steps in this big new world.

While the boys explore, Kaya, the little female, hangs back with mum.

Unlike her brothers, she'll spend her whole life with her pride.

The bond between lionesses is strong from the very start.

Just in time for Kaya to take her next step.

And Kaya will.

Her elder brother is already displaying confidence.

But Kaya is more reserved.

She'll have to be brave if she's to overcome the dangers these cubs face.

Their spotty coats camouflage them for a reason.

In this dog-eat-dog world, every other predator here would kill these newborn cubs.

That's if they can get past Mum.

She's their fiercest protector.

For the next four weeks, she'll do everything she can to keep her babies hidden.

Until they're strong enough to join their pride.

For many new arrivals, the protection of a family is the only thing keeping them safe.

But sometimes, family decisions can also lead to trouble.

Meet little Jasiri.

An elephant calf, just a few weeks old.

He's so young, he's still finding his feet.

Born in the dry grasslands of northern Kenya, life

for this little calf will mean constant travelling.

We're trying to keep up with his mum in a sea of tree trunks.

In their search for fresh grass, this family can walk over ten miles a day.

But with a baby in tow, they'll always slow down.

Like most babies, little Jasiri needs regular milk and rest.

But they can't stop for too long.

It's time to go.

But keeping such little legs on the move sometimes requires gentle persuasion.

After their morning's grazing, the herd move on to the river.

All that fibre for breakfast leaves them thirsty.

But the river is key to their lives for another reason.

It's where the clans gather.

Old friends catch up.

And youngsters get together for a pool party.

In fact, everyone has fun.

Whatever their age.

Ooh, except Jasiri.

He could easily get lost in a crowd this big.

After nearly two years of pregnancy, mum

keeps her precious baby as close as possible.

Some of the family are wading further out.

Elephants crisscross this river every day, driven to find fresh grass.

But mum's instinct tells her that today's conditions aren't right.

Stored in her remarkable memory is almost every crossing she's ever made.

She knows the water holds many dangers.

Shifting sands create deep channels of turbulent water...

that can sweep a tiny calf...

right off its feet.

She'll have to decide.

Either she follows her family...

and risks her calf's life...

or they get separated from the herd...

where neither is likely to survive.

For every new arrival...

some of the hardest lessons occur...

when one of the simplest rules of survival is broken.

Staying where it's safe.

On the desert sand in Namibia... Tarbo's been lapping up all his mum's attention.

At one week old... he's looking fat and healthy.

But he's blissfully unaware... that life is about to change.

His mum must go and feed at sea.

Until she returns... little Tarbo must be brave...

and stay put.

Alone.

For the very first time.

He desperately looks for her.

And immediately breaks mum's first rule.

Don't wander off.

No other mother here... will care for him.

It's a tough lesson to learn.

His searching...

puts him right in the path...

of some heavy traffic.

But Tarbo... These 500 pound males... have just one thing... on their mind.

To mate... with females.

They steamroll over anyone... who gets in their way.

Tarbo's... had a lucky escape.

But with every step he takes...

he gets caught.

He's wandering further... into trouble.

It might be scary... inside the colony.

But it's even more dangerous... outside.

Stray pups like Tarbo... are exactly... what this predator... is looking for.

A new day... in the African bush.

And the cubs... are being shown... the boundary... of their secret hideaway.

While her brothers... stick close to their

mum... Kaya... is struggling... to keep her.

away from her.

That's why...

until they're a couple... of months old...

cubs are kept... separate... from their family.

Lions cover... huge distances... following prey.

And not too far away... that's exactly... what their family... is doing.

This... is the... Marla Marla Pride.

the...

world's... Rulers... of a prime spot... of territory... along the sand river.

Six lionesses... and fourteen... teenage cubs... led... by a powerful... coalition...

of brothers.

But right now... this pride... is... The lion has a problem.

A herd of buffalo.

Each one half a ton of aggression with razor-sharp horns that can easily kill a lion.

So the pride must surround them and single one out.

But the tables have turned.

These teenagers are nervous, incompetent hunters.

They're messing it up for the rest of the pride.

As another hunt fails, tempers are running high.

They're running for their lives.

Soon, Kaya and her brothers must join this family.

But when fights break out...

young cubs can get injured if they're caught in the line of fire.

It's a risk mum can't take.

She'll have to keep Kaya and her brothers hidden for now.

But life is tough being a single mum.

She'll have to hunt alone.

And there's no guarantee that she'll find enough food to keep her cubs alive.

Kaya's mother, Kaya.

Kaya's mother, Kaya.

For a baby born wild, survival often depends on the decisions of your family.

In Kenya, little Jasiri is about to get a

valuable first lesson on trust and judgement.

While he's enjoying a closely supervised paddle...

...his mother seems anxious.

Her family intend to cross the river.

As

they finally decide to go...

...she has no option but to follow.

Ahead,

it's suddenly clear the family have made a rash decision.

Some of the older calves are in trouble.

And Jasiri's mum is having second thoughts.

But as the calves find their footing...

...she's forced to try again.

Using her trunk, she gauges the speed of the current.

And tests the stability of the sand.

Jasiri shelters nervously beneath her.

But his corpse is still there.

Caught by the current.

Her worst nightmare has come true.

She just about manages to support him with her trunk.

But there's still a distance from the bank.

The current takes Jasiri again.

She's only got seconds.

Ahead, the rapids will sweep him away for good.

Just in time.

She catches him.

Family help is on the way.

Together, they form a wall of bodies to block the current.

And Jasiri is guided across.

At last.

Weak and exhausted.

He's safe.

On his journey through life...

...there'll be many rivers to cross.

But this first one will never be forgotten.

Only time will tell if this harrowing experience...

...will affect Jasiri's trust in his family... ...in the months to come.

In Namibia.

It's been 48 hours since Thabo's mom went to sea.

In searching for her.

He's become lost.

With no friends in the colony to turn to.

He's vulnerable.

A brown hyena.

Drawn in by the irresistible smell of seal pups.

She's looking for those that have been left on their own.

Thabo's only chance is to get back inside the colony.

But his wanderings have left him hot and dehydrated.

He makes it close to the shore.

But that's as far as he can go.

Thabo has been spotted.

Wary of an adult's bite.

The hyena checks for mom.

Thabo needs her now more than ever.

And she's on her way.

She hears her son's desperate cries.

Thabo

is safe for now.

But with the pupping season in full swing.

Other predators are on the prowl.

Soon, Thabo will need all the courage and bravery

he can muster when more danger comes calling.