Original subtitles

The black rhino...

Across Africa, 97% have been killed for their horns.

Zambia has a small population,

but there’s a bounty on their heads.

A crack team is coming together

to protect them. (SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

With remarkable skill... (GRUNTS)

...and dedication... (OPERATION RHINO TEAM GRUNTING)

...there’s only a small window of time to get the job done.

They will go to extraordinary lengths to keep the rhinos safe.

But the future hangs in the balance.

Conservation doesn’t get tougher than this.

(HELICOPTER WHIRRING OVERHEAD)

(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)

North Luangwa National Park...

Some of the wildest bush in Africa.

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETS SOFTLY)

But for Ed Sayer, Claire Lewis,

and their three children, this is home.

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY AND GIGGLING)

It’s just the way we live, yeah.

We’re just, kind of, camped out in the middle of the national park.

CLAIRE LEWIS: You know, don’t wear shoes,

kids don’t wear clothes most of the time.

But this is no safari holiday.

They are leading a battle against poaching

and the trade in rare animal parts. (SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

The animal suffering on the frontline is the elusive black rhino.

(GRUNTS)

Its story in Zambia,

from the 1970s to today, is tragic.

This place is lawless, and Zambia went from their national population

of about 12,000 animals to zero.

I mean, it’s quite an extraordinary, wholesale

slaughter of a species.

By 1997,

the black rhino was declared officially extinct in Zambia.

But a handful of passionate people didn’t give up.

A reintroduction program began.

And in 2003,

a small number of animals were brought in from South Africa.

Black rhinos were now back on Zambian soil.

But poaching didn’t go away.

Their horn is still prized in Asian medicine.

And today, Claire, Ed, and their team

are fighting to keep these new rhinos safe.

CLAIRE: We know North Luangwa’s got the potential

to hold a decent rhino population.

The question mark, however,

of what we can do here rests with the poaching threat.

Unless the demand for rhino horn hits zero,

that can never be a reality.

I can’t imagine a world where our three grow up,

and rhinos aren’t wild.

That would just destroy me.

I was lucky enough to, to see rhinos here in the wild,

in the early 80s as a little boy,

and so Luangwa meant a lot.

And rhinos, er, back in Luangwa was...

(STUTTERS) Was also a major, erm...

Major ambition to work with.

Claire and Ed have increased security for the park’s rhino population

by fitting radio transmitters inside the animals’ horns.

The rhinos can now be tracked

24/7, 365 days a year.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

If they stray into dangerous areas,

armed scouts can head out to protect them.

(RADIO STATIC, RHYTHMIC BEEPING)

Once a year, the team needs to make sure

that their state-of-the-art technology has their rhinos covered.

Young animals need to be fitted with transmitters for the first time.

And broken ones need to be replaced on adult rhinos.

With 14 animals on this year’s to-do list,

it’s a mammoth undertaking.

Claire and Ed need help.

They’ve brought in a crack team from across Africa.

Marcus Hofmayr is from South Africa,

and is one of the world’s top rhino vets.

Hopefully, in, in 20, 30 years’ time,

this will be a serious source population

for elsewhere in Zambia and other projects.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Glenton Combes is specialist bush pilot from Kenya.

And it is really a team effort.

And that’s another aspect that I really love about it,

is, you know, working with these people, doing this stuff.

The last preparations are being made.

They have just one week

to locate and process 14 rhinos

in an area of over 580 square miles.

This is the most important week of the year for Zambian rhinos.

(OPERATION RHINO TEAM SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

Tomorrow, Operation Rhino will begin.

There’s a huge task ahead.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

It is exhilarating for me. It’s one of the mo...

The best week of the year,

because I’m not stuck behind the office,

writing reports, or looking for funding,

or answering donors’ questions.

It’s... It’s out there, in the field,

erm, no email. Just the radios,

working on the ground with the scouts,

working on the ground with the rhinos.

That’s just what, er... That’s what the job is all about.

The first rhino they find, is a young female called Sungani.

Lead vet, Marcus, must immobilize her from the air.

Chopper pilot, Glenton, needs to get him into just the right position.

It’s a huge test of a pilot’s skill.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

The dart hits home.

They back off to give time for the drug to take effect.

(MALE TRACKER 1 SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

To the north, the team’s trackers

are already on the trail of another rhino.

A three-year-old bull called Hugo.

His transmitter needs replacing.

They will have to rely on skill alone.

Black rhino like dense wooded areas,

and can be difficult to spot from the air.

These units are the infantry of the operation...

And the first crucial stage in finding the animals.

(MALE TRACKER 1 SPEAKING)

(MALE TRACKERS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

Footprints, urine, and half-eaten food

offer clues to when the rhino was there and where it’s going.

These signs are referred to as "spoor."

(MALE TRACKER 2 SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

The rhino has just been sleeping here.

It’s close.

They must be careful,

stay downwind,

and move quietly.

Black rhino will charge if spooked,

a result of living in dense woodland

where it’s difficult to see predators.

The trackers have done well,

and have found Hugo without disturbing him.

They’ll stay close, and will call in the chopper

when the team’s ready for the next rhino.

(MACHINERY WHIRRING)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

The chopper team is now on the ground with the first rhino,

a six-year-old female called Sungani.

(WHIRRING)

They have around 25 minutes

before the drug begins to wear off.

It’s a rare opportunity to get this close to a wild rhino.

There’s a lot to do.

They take blood samples,

which they’ll analyze later to check her general health.

Key body parts are measured to chart the animal’s growth.

And they take samples of hair and ticks.

Sungani is constantly sprayed with water to keep her cool.

But the radio transmitter is the most important part of the operation.

It’s designed to fit directly inside her horn,

which is made of keratin,

the same substance as our fingernails.

The horn has no nerve endings,

so Sungani feels no discomfort.

She now has her own built-in security system.

With the tracking device in place,

the horn the poachers would kill her for

will now keep her safer.

MALE SCOUT 1: We don’t have much longer, eh? No.

(INDISTINCT TALKING)

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

MAN: (ON RADIO) So, you’re good to go.

The procedure has gone well.

Marcus has given Sungani a drug to reverse the sedative

and she is quickly back on her feet.

Jackson Katampi, a local vet, is new to the team this year.

(INDISTINCT) He’s never worked with black rhinos before.

It’s important that a Zambian vet

learns how to work with these animals

to help secure their future in the country.

I’m part of this rhino team for the first time, and, er,

my experience has been with white rhino.

But working with black rhino...

I can call myself, now, a rhino expert, you know?

(CHUCKLES)

By mid-afternoon on day one,

they’ve managed to process Hugo

and four other animals on their list.

Another bull, two females and a calf.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

Operation Rhino is ahead of schedule.

ED SAYER: Yeah, there.

NARRATOR: It’s late in the day.

The trackers have found a four-year-old female called Tazzazo.

This year, her horn should be big enough to take her first transmitter.

As a future breeding female,

she is especially important to protect.

Marcus begins to make up the dart

that will immobilize her.

It takes a steady hand.

The drug he uses,

will put Tazzazo to sleep for 30 minutes.

But for Marcus, just a prick of the needle would be deadly.

It’s not just about getting a good shot.

North Luangwa has many steep gullies and riverbanks.

If Tazzazo falls off one of these,

she could be seriously injured.

(RIFLE FIRES)

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

NARRATOR: The chopper moves away

but guides her in a safe direction as the drug takes effect.

Something’s wrong.

It’s been six minutes. (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

Tazzazo isn’t going down.

The dart may have malfunctioned.

They’ll have to try again.

(RIFLE FIRES)

This time, the drug seems to be working.

But there’s another problem.

She’s heading straight for a narrow gully.

It’s exactly what they were trying to avoid.

She could be injured.

They must get to her quickly.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

Tazzazo has fallen through a tree.

Her legs are crushed beneath her,

which could cause nerve damage,

and her airway might be impeded.

They move her safely

into a special rhino recovery position

and she seems to be OK.

(OPERATION RHINO TEAM SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

(ED BLOWS)

Tazzazo is small for a four-year-old.

Her horn is only just big enough to house the transmitter.

Despite her size, she’s an important little rhino.

Her skin is in good condition.

She has few ticks, and her vital signs are good.

She’s in great health, and in a couple of years she could begin to breed,

and add to the park’s rhino population.

The transmitter’s in place,

so Marcus gives her the reversal drug.

It will only take a few minutes

to bring her back to her feet.

It’s been a long but productive first day.

Six animals in a day. You can’t do more than that, really.

All in all, couldn’t have gone better. Great day. Good day. Good day.

We win. (CHUCKLES)

NARRATOR: Day two starts early.

Tracking teams have been working since before sunrise. (BEEPING RHYTHMICALLY)

But signs of rhinos are proving thin on the ground.

The trackers need some extra help.

(ENGINE STARTING)

(ENGINE REVS) Roule Du Toit is an expert pilot

and works on rhino conservation in Zimbabwe.

This particular plane has been the top cover

for literally thousands of rhino dartings.

I mean, not just hundreds, thousands.

He’s not only an expert at locating rhino,

he also directs the chopper team from above,

and feeds back intelligence.

North Luangwa National Park covers a huge area,

and Roule has his work cut out.

(TALKING INDISTINCTLY)

With no rhinos, the chopper team is grounded,

and valuable time is being lost.

This is just one of many setbacks

Ed and Claire have experienced.

Working with rhinos is never easy,

especially when they’ve been introduced

from a different country.

For some animals, settling into a new home is hard.

And there’s well-documented evidence of social bonds of rhinos,

and how they very much form associations

and bonds with who they live next to,

and who’s around, who they smell, it makes a difference.

And then you pick up unrelated,

disassociated animals and you dump them in North Luangwa.

No wonder they all, kind of, freak out, and go,

"What was that all about? Why did you put me here?

"I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know where to find water,

"and I don’t know what that plant is to eat."

These are South African rhinos on Zambian soil.

There, Kango, is a, er... What is he now?

He’s a fourteen-year-old bull, who we’ve got, er...

Who was really struggling in the bush here.

He struggled to adapt.

Erm, and then he got knocked about

by some big boys, either side of him.

And his condition was deteriorating actually,

year on year on year.

Well, I think it’s the realities of, er,

reintroduction and adaptation from a South African...

In fact, he was from the Eastern Cape.

It’s a very different habitat type to here.

Ed and Claire decided to move Kango

into a large enclosed area of the park.

They supplement his food.

And he no longer has to put up with the local bullies.

After a year of special care, Kango is now in great shape.

(GRUNTS)

Soon he will be released back into a quieter area of the national park.

These animals are pioneers. It hasn’t been easy for them.

Ed and Claire hope that the rhinos will continue to adapt to their Zambian home.

It’s a process that can take many years.

The trackers have finally located another rhino.

It’s a huge male called Bwatcha.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) His transmitter stopped working some time ago,

and fitting a new on is a top priority.

MAN: (ON RADIO) This is a good place... There’s gullies on the sides.

He’s been found and he’s in good condition.

Weighing more than a ton,

Bwatcha is a black rhino in his prime.

Running through dense tree cover

makes things tough for the chopper.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

(RIFLE FIRES)

It’s a tricky shot, but the dart is in.

The drug takes effect. (INDISTINCT CHATTER)

But Bwatcha is heading towards a steep riverbank.

MAN: (ON RADIO) Er, he’s, he’s giving up.

A big fall could be fatal.

Marcus makes a startling call.

MARCUS HOFMAYR: (ON RADIO) I think so... If you watch my tail.

He will go in on foot to bring Bwatcha down.

(INDISTINCT TALKING THROUGH RADIO)

It’s dangerous, but Bwatcha’s life could depend on it.

Marcus approaches with caution.

He’s gauging the effect of the drug.

He can’t get this wrong.

Bwatcha’s finally down.

He signals to the chopper it’s now OK to land.

Marcus’s bold move has kept Bwatcha safe.

But it takes six fully-grown men

to put this heavyweight into his recovery position.

There’s a nasty little riverbed

just on the other side of this little incline here,

which we didn’t want him to enter.

MARCUS: If they’re sleeping enough,

you can actually grab them and other...

Walk them in a circle,

or actually trip them up against themselves.

That’s basically what I did there with this guy.

Ed has to drill a new hole in Bwatcha’s horn

for the replacement transmitter.

The number is, er...

The old one has moved upwards as the horn has grown.

(CLAIRE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

Rhino horn can grow up to two inches a year.

It’s been two years since the last transmitter was fitted.

ED: He’s a big bull, isn’t he? Isn’t he? Nice, big...

The biggest we’ve done so far, I think.

MARCUS: You can tell him too when we wake him up, eh?

Yeah, yeah, he’s a very big boy.

The chopper needs to shuttle some of the team back to the airfield,

leaving Ed, Marcus, and Jackson on the ground.

They can’t delay giving the revival drug to Bwatcha.

But waking him up while they’re on foot could be dangerous.

They must take to the trees for safety.

(LEAVES RUSTLING)

The reversal drug takes effect.

Black rhinos are notoriously bad tempered.

But most will avoid a confrontation,

moving away when they smell humans close by.

Bwatcha, however, doesn’t leave.

The team keep quiet and still.

(SNORTS)

(CRASHING)

(INDISTINCT TALKING, CHUCKLING)

(SNORTS)

NARRATOR: It’s a stark reminder

that black rhino are powerful and unpredictable. (SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

He saw the yellow, reflective jacket, and came for it.

Er, and obviously, that distance,

he came with immediate speed,

and you don’t have time to reach or act...

I was up in the tree when he came and hit it.

So I was out of the way, but then I slipped and fell out.

So, if he’d stayed, it would’ve been a bit of an issue,

and that’s why you actually need to be up the tree.

You know? So...

(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)

The team was lucky.

Bwatcha is the park’s top bull

and will hopefully pass on his highly-charged genes to new offspring

for many years to come.

As the helicopter nears the airfield, a call comes in.

(MAN SPEAKING ON RADIO)

Kango is getting bullied again.

A large bull elephant has learnt how to step over the fence into his enclosure.

He wants Kango’s special food.

They must use the chopper

to try to drive out the intruder.

GLENTON COMBES: With the elephant,

if you spend too long, putting extreme pressure,

they just get used to it, and they’ll call your bluff.

The bull is reluctant to leave.

Once an elephant’s called your bluff, that’s it.

You’ll never be able to fully control, or work with him again.

They just know, "If I just go straight,

"I’m done. I can do what I want."

(TRUMPETING)

Glenton applies a little more pressure

(TRUMPETING)

Finally, the elephant gets the message and leaves. (TRUMPETING)

Order is restored,

and Kango can now enjoy his room service in peace.

But soon it will end.

Next year, he’ll be moved out of the enclosure

and will have to make his own way

in North Luangwa National Park.

The team was lucky

no one was injured during Bwatcha’s charge.

(OPERATION RHINO TEAM SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for their equipment.

MAN: See, if you look along the barrel here...

Yeah, we’re going to have to,

actually, put a bit of force here. MAN: Yeah.

Their only dart gun now has a bent barrel.

MAN: So...

Bring that hardwood one, Ed.

And I’d put it... That it’s pushing there.

Flying to collect a new rifle could cost them a day of operations.

A day they can’t afford.

Every hour of this week counts.

The more rhinos they can fit with transmitters,

the more secure the population becomes.

But that’s not all.

The black rhinos have now become the park’s protectors.

The military operation protecting them also protects other wildlife.

CLAIRE: If you can protect an endangered species

such as the black rhino,

then everything else is protected.

The elephant numbers here,

have at least, doubled in the last decade.

It’s a very vibrant lion population.

Wild dogs have certainly, erm, improved in numbers here.

We have very big herds of buffalo.

Rhinos have been here for millions of years.

They’ve sewn their presence into the landscape.

They love to eat the fruit of the sausage tree.

Coming across an old sausage tree in the middle of nowhere

could mean its seed was put there by

one of the 4,000 original black rhinos

that once called this place home.

The North Luangwan, reintroduced rhinos are pioneers,

forging a new life.

Their kind has a long heritage here.

Claire and Ed are trying to make sure it continues.

(INDISTINCT TALKING)

MARCUS: Yeah, I think that’s...

That’s quite all right then.

MAN 2: Yeah.

At the workshop, the team has done

what they can to correct Bwatcha’s handiwork.

Er... I think that’s about as good as we’re going to get it then.

All right, we need to get going.

Thank you. Thank you.

The vets must test the rifle to make sure it now shoots straight.

MAN: Yeah.

(CLAIRE SPEAKING)

(OPERATION RHINO TEAM CHUCKLE)

(RIFLE FIRES)

Looks OK. All right, now...

You try. JACKSON KATAMPI: Yeah.

After learning from Marcus all week,

Zambian vet, Jackson, will take the lead on the next darting.

He needs to be sure of a straight shot.

Er, sure thing, but, er...

ED: Needs pressure?

This little bit of it? Huh?

Oh, you know what? Try it... Probably... Great.

(RIFLE FIRES)

Yeah, it’s not bad, huh?

It will be quite a responsibility for the young vet.

The dart gun is working.

And just in time.

Roule and the trackers have found two rhinos

the team has been looking for all week.

A large female called Twikatanee

and her two-year-old male calf.

This is the most important operation of the week.

Working with a mother and calf together

will be their toughest challenge yet.

They can only work on one rhino at a time.

The only way to do this safely is to briefly separate them,

dart them individually.

Then, while the chopper team works on one rhino,

Roule will fly overhead with safety updates on the position of the other.

(PEOPLE IN HELICOPTER SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

Jackson will take the lead on Twikatanee.

Glenton gives him a pep talk.

Yeah. (GLENTON SPEAKING)

(GLENTON SPEAKING)

JACKSON: All right.

(GLENTON SPEAKING)

JACKSON: Sure.

(GLENTON SPEAKING)

There’s too much turbulence.

Jackson waits to take the shot.

He sees his moment.

(RIFLE FIRES)

The dart is good.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

(BEEPS) (MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

The chopper must now try to separate the pair.

Glenton drives the calf off.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

Twikatanee becomes increasingly drowsy.

(GLENTON SPEAKING)

The calf is still close by, so Glenton doesn’t land.

Even a small rhino could cause serious damage to the chopper.

ED: Pull towards you now. Like this?

Twikatanee has come down awkwardly between two trees.

They need to get her free quickly.

She is a very large female,

and they won’t be able to move her without extra help.

A spotter, Ed?

ED: No, we need manpower.

Despite the risk posed by the calf,

Glenton brings in reinforcements.

ED: This is the problem, here.

They need to maneuver her

around the tree and onto flat ground.

What about... What about rolling her that way,

putting a bag of ropes against her,

and then pushing her over?

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

(ALL GRUNTING)

CLAIRE: That’s... In a bit. That’ll hold. OK.

MARCUS: OK. We try and go the other way now?

One, two, three! (ALL GRUNTING)

NARRATOR: The extra help is just enough.

Twikatanee is into the recovery position and out of danger.

ED: (BREATHING DEEPLY) Thanks.

We’re not taking these animals away from their native area so they know the terrain.

And, er, they’re actually incredibly good at finding each other again.

JACKSON: That one went well. The animal is down, so, er,

it wasn’t the perfect dart I would want,

but, er, I think, er, it still worked.

So it’s quite good for me.

"Four... 4-C-3-D."

Er, this here’s Twikatanee. She’s quite elusive.

Erm, so she’s, er... It’s really important to get her.

Erm, and it’ll help our monitoring efforts a lot.

Twikatanee could live until she’s 40,

and produce many more calves.

Now the team can track her, and keep her safe.

With the mother done, it’s time to find her calf.

They quickly find him.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

He hasn’t gone far.

The calf is far more nimble on its feet than the adults.

Glenton must be just as nimble with the chopper.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) (RIFLE FIRES)

The calf runs straight into an area with dense vegetation.

This could put him in danger.

Marcus will once again try to bring him down safely.

The calf may only be a couple of years old,

but he already weighs half a ton.

(SNORTING)

He’s down and safe.

Glenton can drop the rest of the team.

Above them, Roule has spotted Twikatanee.

She’s back on her feet, and looking for her calf.

The chopper team on the ground now relies on Roule

to monitor her position

and make sure she doesn’t become a danger.

(DRILL WHIRRING)

The young calf has yet to be given a name.

And there’s a reason for that.

CLAIRE: We don’t name them for a long time, because we’re too nervous

that they’re not going to survive.

That’s one of the reasons they’re not named.

In North Luangwa, an adult rhino

has little to fear apart from humans.

Lions will rarely take them on.

(GROWLING)

But for a young calf, the story is very different.

We’ve got high densities of lions and hyenas here.

We’ve seen lion claw marks and scars,

and relatively fresh wounds of lion attempts on adult rhinos.

(PEOPLE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

His mum could soon have a new calf,

and he will have to fend for himself.

(INDISTINCT)

(ALL CHUCKLING)

NARRATOR: Implanting a transmitter into his horn

will enable Claire and Ed

to watch him more closely

when mum’s not around to protect him.

From the air, Roule spots Twikatanee heading directly towards them.

She won’t be happy if she finds them with her calf.

The team has to move quickly.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

As they leave, calf and mum reunite.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

Operations are complete for this year.

The rhino population originally brought in from South Africa

is now safer from poachers.

Signs are good that they are continuing to thrive in their new Zambian home.

But North Luangwa has one more surprise in store for the team.

Below, they spot something very special.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

A female.

And with her, a baby calf,

around six weeks old.

It’s a new animal in the North Luangwa population.

(MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

They may have come from South African bloodlines,

but these new animals are thriving.

There’s no turning back. They’re Zambians now.

(CAMERA CLICKING)

The team’s work in North Luangwa

is protecting this new population of black rhino.

These animals will hopefully form a source population

for introductions elsewhere in Zambia.

MARCUS: For me, this is one of the most satisfying aspects of my job,

is to just actually see a project

where rhinos literally were hunted to extinction,

getting back off its feet.

If I had to stop this job, I think I would stop flying.

And, and I mean that.

As a Zambian, it gives us pride.

We had rhinos here, and they ran into extinction,

and then this introduction, just seeing it work,

you know, makes us feel like, "Wow, we can do more?"

Another story to tell at home.

I say, "OK, I darted a black rhino from a helicopter."

That was good for me. Yeah.

The dedication of people like these

is holding back the tide of poaching.

Having thousands and thousands of rhinos

is still many, many, many decades...

Hundreds of years away, if ever.

But it’s got a mega-herbivore back in the ecosystem,

which had once been exterminated.

Claire and Ed dream of a large and secure black rhino population.

Not just in North Luangwa, but throughout the Zambian bush.

Operation Rhino has brought that dream one step closer.

(SNORTING)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(SNORTS)