All language subtitles for Animal Reunions PBS Nature 2016 1080p EN

¶¶

THOMAS: We hold the bonds
of family and friendship

as a sacred trust.

LUSICHI: The same care that
we give to our human children

is the same that we give
to the baby elephants.

So it's like having
a newborn baby.

ASPINALL: You develop trust
with a gorilla

the same way you develop trust
with a human.

You give it
unconditional kindness,

unconditional love.

You treat it as an equal.

THOMAS: But can
a truly wild creature

feel affection for us?

We're about to put some
very intriguing relationships

to the test.

WOLHUTER: I'm
going to get out now,

and I'm just going to go
lie down to the side here

and then see how it plays out.

THOMAS: We are going to reunite
some remarkable old friends...

ASPINALL: I honestly didn't know
how Kwibi was going to react.

THOMAS: ...and see
what happens next.

¶¶

THOMAS: As part
of the natural world,

humans harbor
an instinctive desire

to connect with nature,
to bridge the gap

between us and
the creatures that live wild.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

What types of relationships
can we build with wild animals?

What kinds of bonds
are possible?

And can animals respond in kind?

By exploring reunions
between people and animals

who have had
deep emotional connections,

we may discover how
other species connect with us.

¶¶

ASPINALL: Come on!
Come on, then!

Come on!

THOMAS: Damian Aspinall,
a maverick conservationist,

is on the search
for an old friend.

Kwibi the gorilla
was born in captivity

but was released
back into the wild.

Now, after five years apart,
Damian has traveled to Gabon

in the hope
of reuniting with him.

ASPINALL: Come on, then!

MAN: Whoo-whee!

ASPINALL: I went
up and down the river,

I guess,
for about an hour or so,

calling Kwibi.

Come on!
Come on, then!

But I was very intrigued
to try and find him.

I wanted to see
if he was doing okay.

Just as I was about to give up,
he appeared.

THOMAS: But is this

the gentle gorilla
Damian once knew?

And will he remember his friend?

¶¶

Kwibi's journey began
in rural England.

It's here that Damian Aspinall,
a millionaire entrepreneur,

runs Howletts Wildlife Park.

ASPINALL: [ Laughs ]

THOMAS: This 90-acre
animal sanctuary

is open to the public,

but Damian is reluctant
to call it a zoo.

ASPINALL: Oh, yes.

The ethos of Howletts

is so different
to other institutions.

I mean, first of all, we
absolutely put the animal first.

In most collections,

you know, you'd have an animal
that would be on show,

but here, you know,
they can be out the back

and they wouldn't be on show.

But this is not
about the public.

I don't give a damn
about the public.

I give a damn about the animals.

THOMAS: More controversially,

Damian sees all the animals
in his care as friends.

ASPINALL: If you can reach
a stage

where you have a relationship
like this with a wild animal,

a black rhino,
who has faith and trust

and will effectively -- look --
fall asleep

under my care and touch,

you know,
there's no greater compliment.

And she's not trained
and she's not tamed or...

It's just love.

We love and nurture
these animals,

and then, wherever we can,
try and return

some of these animals
back to the wild.

THOMAS: Damian's passion stems
from an unusual childhood --

growing up in the wonderland
of his father's private zoo.

¶¶

ASPINALL: Animals
played a huge role in my life.

I grew up with animals
all around me in the house,

and I've had a sort of
deep affection for animals

as long as I can remember.

I was drawn to many animals,
but gorillas are so human-like.

So it's probably possible

to have a closer bond
with a gorilla

than it may be
with a rhino or a tiger.

You develop trust with a gorilla

the same way you develop trust
with a human.

You give it
unconditional kindness,

unconditional love,

and you don't try
and be the dominant partner.

You treat it as an equal.

If they want to be left alone,
they'll let you know.

If they're feeling
very affectionate,

they'll let you know.

THOMAS: Many of the gorillas
at Howletts

are the offspring of
those Damian knew as a boy.

And as Damian grew up,
he began to feel

that keeping his animals friends
in captivity was wrong.

ASPINALL: I've always felt
in my heart

that they have an absolute right

to have their chance
to live in the wild

and their progeny
to live free in the wild,

as long as they're protected.

THOMAS: In 2003, Damn chose
Kwibi and six others

to be some of the first
captive-born gorillas

to attempt life in the wild.

ASPINALL: The first time
I would've met Kwibi,

he would've been
a tiny little baby.

I had a good bond with Kwibi.

He was a sweet-natured gorilla,
and that's half the battle.

THOMAS: But gorillas in the wild
have a very different life.

For seven juvenile gorillas

to make the leap
from captivity to the wild

would be an enormous challenge,

and many people thought
it couldn't be done.

ASPINALL: When we release
the animals back into the wild,

critics will say, "Oh,
they haven't got a chance.

They've been, you know,
domesticized."

Well, first of all,
they're not domesticated at all.

These animals have a right

to have their chance
to live in the wild.

So people
always underestimate them.

"Oh, they won't learn
to live in the wild."

Well, how do you know
they won't learn

to live in the wild
unless you try?

THOMAS: After doing all he could

to prepare the gorillas
for the wilds of Africa,

the time came
for Damian and his family

to say farewell
to Kwibi and his friends.

ASPINALL: You can wave them off,
sweetheart,

but you say your goodbyes now.

GIRL: Okay.

Bye-bye!

Bye-bye.

I've got to go.

ASPINALL: You know, I'm sad
to see my friends go,

but that's entirely selfish,

and I'm actually much happier
in my heart

that they're out there.

We have really no right
to keep them in captivity.

THOMAS: The gorillas
were flown, 3,500 miles

to the million-acre
Batéké Plateau National Park

in Gabon, West Africa.

The gorillas were greeted
by a new team,

appointed by Damian,
to begin their introduction.

The last to step into
this new and unknown world

was Kwibi.

The gorillas
were introduced slowly,

starting out in a wooden house

and spending their days
in the forest

until they were ready
to leave for good.

Over the following years,
Kwibi and his group grew strong

and were adapting well
to their new environment.

ASPINALL: We got daily updates.

And as he grew up, he got bolder
and became more independent.

And whenever he was seen,
he seemed healthy and happy.

THOMAS: But in 2010,
the staff became concerned

after Kwibi, who was now
a 10-year-old territorial male,

became aggressive
and difficult to track.

ASPINALL: Dominant gorillas
can become reasonably aggressive

or very aggressive with humans,

because they see them
as a threat.

So he started to become
quite tricky

with some human contact.

THOMAS: When Damian
heard the news,

he traveled to Gabon.

ASPINALL: Come on!
Come on, then!

Come on!

THOMAS: He hadn't seen Kwibi
for five years.

He had no idea
if they could find him,

and if they did,
how Kwibi would respond.

After hours of searching...

Kwibi appeared on the riverbank.

ASPINALL: I was apprehensive.

I honestly didn't know
how Kwibi was going to react.

THOMAS: In case
the situation erupts,

a plan is put in place
to distract Kwibi with food.

ASPINALL: Throw food
if it kicks off.

THOMAS: After 5 years apart,
Damian approaches Kwibi,

unsure of
what might happen next.

[ Kwibi purring ]

ASPINALL:
[ Speaking indistinctly ]

I could hear his love gurgle...

...and I knew that he
would be fine with me then.

All his mannerisms
and vocalizations

was one of someone so happy
to see his old friend.

I was saying, "Lovely
to see you, too, my old friend,"

letting him know

that I was equally joyed
to see him as he was me.

I remember
sitting there with him,

holding him and him holding me,
and passing each other leaves.

It was lovely to see that --
that our bond was so strong.

It was all rather beautiful.

THOMAS: Then,
Kwibi's wives approached.

ASPINALL: A very proud moment
for Kwibi

when he sort of introduced me
to all his wives.

The female gorillas

would have only come close
if he was okay with it.

Otherwise, he
would have kept them away.

Of course, when
it was time to leave,

it was very sweet
when he was holding on to me.

Can you bring me over
a sleeping bag?

THOMAS: But the reunion
didn't end there.

ASPINALL: I got back
into the boat

and went for three or four miles
back to camp.

You know, I knew
he was following us,

and that night,
I could hear his calls.

I went for a swim
in the morning.

There he was,
at the edge of the riverbank,

coming to see his old friend.

Kwibi!

Who's a lovely boy?

I can see you.

BEKOFF: I think the formation

of these really strong, enduring
social bonds across species

has the same explanation
as bonds within species.

It's the shared emotions.
It's the empathy.

It's the understanding
what another animal is feeling.

It's the stimulus

that's just deeply engrained
in their head and their heart.

There's a heart issue there,

because they would not show it
to just anyone.

ASPINALL: I'll come and
see you tomorrow, okay?

MORELL: People who want to have

a more objective look
at this particular interaction

will accuse us
of anthropomorphizing,

of saying,
"Well, you're suggesting

that those animals feel
the way that you do,

and you have no evidence
for that,

because you're
not those animals.

You really don't know
how they feel."

I don't think anyone would say

that the animals
aren't feeling something.

But are they experiencing it
in the way that we experience

when we use the word "love"?

ASPINALL: Humans
are often surprised

by how much emotional capacity
animals have.

But I think a lot of animals
have the same range as humans.

There's as much a desire
for a bond

for a gorilla
with a human friend

as a human friend
with a gorilla.

THOMAS: Damian's reunion
with Kwibi

appears to be based on
a shared emotional connection.

But the idea that animals
even have emotions

was once controversial.

In the 1950s, Jane Goodall was
one of the first scientists

to build relationships
with wild animals

and also to show how those bonds
could advance science.

Her studies of chimpanzees
changed the way we thought

about the emotional capacities
of animals.

GOODALL: I found that
it was really important

to establish
a trusting relationship

with the chimpanzees
when I first arrived,

because, otherwise,
I wouldn't have been able

to observe them.

THOMAS: Jane spent weeks

catching only fleeting glimpses
of chimpanzees.

But eventually, she noticed

one chimp who was
unlike the others.

GOODALL: Fortunately,
one of them,

whom I named David Greybeard --

very distinctive,
beautiful white beard,

and for some odd reason,

he was more trusting
than the others,

right from the beginning.

It was David who first began

to allow me to approach
more closely in the wild.

It was almost as though,
in this way,

he introduced me
to his companions in the forest.

THOMAS: With access

to the previously hidden
world of chimpanzees,

Jane began observing things
no one had ever seen.

[ Chimpanzee cries ]

GOODALL: As I got to know them,

I began to describe
the kind of behavior I saw.

It was so clear
when they were sad,

when they were content,
and when they were angry.

They have emotions.

THOMAS: But when Jane
reported her findings

back to
her university professors,

she was met with ridicule.

GOODALL: I was told
I'd done everything wrong.

First of all, I should have
given the chimpanzees numbers

rather than names,

because that was
more scientific.

Secondly, I couldn't talk
about them having personalities

and certainly not emotions,

because those were unique
to the human animal.

For all
their scientific know-how,

I knew that the professors
were actually wrong.

THOMAS: Jane's relationship with
David Greybeard and the chimps

reconnected us with
our closest animal relatives

and shaped
a new way of thinking.

MORELL: She gave chimpanzees
their biographies, their lives,

and it didn't just stop
at chimpanzees.

It extended to every animal
on the earth.

This whole area
of animal minds and emotions

that had really been forbidden,

she opened it to all of us.

THOMAS: Jane's pioneering work

broke down the barriers
between wild animals and humans.

And today, people
are pursuing relationships

with even
the most unlikely creatures.

In Zimbabwe,
wildlife cameraman Kim Wolhuter

wanted to get closer than anyone

to the fastest mammal
on earth -- the cheetah.

WOLHUTER: [ Grunting ]

[ Panting ]

¶¶

I'm right there.

Seeing it from a perspective

that nobody else
has ever seen before,

and I'm able to film it in a way
that people can now

actually feel what it's like
to be a cheetah.

[ Cheetah growls ]

THOMAS: Kim is
a third-generation bushranger,

who grew up surrounded by
Africa's most iconic wildlife.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

But as a filmmaker, he wanted
to get even closer to animals

to experience them as they are.

[ Birds chirping ]

To be accepted by the
notoriously skittish cheetah,

Kim first had to find a way
to build a relationship.

¶¶

WOLHUTER: Trust is crucial

to any bond you want to develop
with these guys.

Unless you can get their trust,
you won't do anything,

and to build that trust
takes time.

The first six months

is getting them
sort of used to the vehicle.

The next six months is
you're out of the vehicle.

The following six months is

getting to actually
start bonding with them.

And the last six months
is pure and utter bliss,

where you've got
this amazing bond

and you're just seeing
everything

as natural as it can be,

because they're
so trusting of you

and they've got nothing
to worry about.

THOMAS: No one had ever tried

to film this close
to a wild cheetah before.

And after 18 months
of persistence,

she allowed Kim into her world.

¶¶

WOLHUTER: I was getting
some amazing shots.

Oh, it was great and
it was just a lovely time.

¶¶

But then suddenly,
out of the blue,

she disappeared.

THOMAS: Kim spent months

searching
the Malilangwe Reserve...

but there was no sign of her...

until he got a call
from one of the park rangers.

WOLHUTER:
About six months later,

one of the guides
called on the radio

to say that he had found
this cheetah.

[ Engine starts ]

THOMAS: When Kim
finally caught up with her,

he saw she'd been missing
for good reason.

WOLHUTER: There's five of them.

THOMAS: It's been six months
since Kim last saw her.

But even as a new mother,
she accepts his presence.

WOLHUTER: If it wasn't
for the mother,

who I've worked with before,

there's no ways I'd be allowed

this close to
these little guys, eh?

They're still a bit wobbly
on their legs, huh?

THOMAS: It's exceptional

to be allowed to get
this close to cheetah cubs.

And now Kim wants to see

how far the mother's trust
extends.

WOLHUTER:
I'm going to get out now

and see how -- how they react,

but I'm not going to walk
straight towards them.

I'm just going to go and
lie down to the side here

and then see how it plays out.

Yeah, hopefully, the cubs
will take their cue from her,

and if she remains chilled,
they will.

[ Door latches ]

THOMAS: Kim is cautious.

Wild cheetahs can be highly
protective of their young.

It could all change
in an instant.

¶¶

In an attempt
to appear unthreatening,

Kim lies down.

¶¶

And in a sign of trust,
so does the mother.

The cubs are now free
to explore.

¶¶

WOLHUTER: This one little cub

crawled between my legs,
on to my stomach.

He's climbing all over me here.

And it was --
yeah, it was amazing.

This is a totally wild cheetah.

I just thought
it was incredible.

Why did she let me do that?
It was insane.

It's a bond
that just is so special.

It's -- It's incredible.

And the trust is -- Well,
that's what it's all about.

It all comes down to trust.

It was incredibly special.

That's the reason
why I do what I do.

It's those special moments.

THOMAS: This remarkable trust

between one man
and one wild predator

was so complete

that the mother extended it
to her cubs.

Maternal protection is vital
to the survival of animals,

and the maternal bond so strong

that without it,
offspring can die.

MORELL: The fundamental bond
in all mammals

is between
the mother and her child.

And so that's sort of where

we begin to first experience
feelings of love,

as an attachment to our mother.

And then we want
to go on in life

and form similar attachments.

Emotions are certainly
very essential to survival.

I don't see how animals
can take care of their offspring

if there's not a bond there.

THOMAS: When wild animals
lose their mothers,

humans can take on the role
of surrogate parent.

How is this vital bond
re-created?

And when the animal is
introduced back into the wild,

can the bond survive?

In Congo,
the Jane Goodall Institute's

Tchimpounga Chimpanzee
Rehabilitation Center

is home to
over 100 orphaned chimpanzees,

many born in the wild.

But they're all in
desperate need of one thing --

a mother's love.

GOODALL: The orphan chimpanzees
that come to our sanctuaries,

they've been traumatized,
they've lost their mothers,

they're very often wounded.

It's absolutely essential

that they do see their caregiver
as a sort of surrogate mother.

ATENCIA: Allez.
Allez, allez, allez.

THOMAS: Dr. Rebeca Atencia
is a vet

with 15 years of experience

caring for sick
and orphaned chimpanzees.

Her aim is to raise and
nurture them back to the wild.

ATENCIA: These mornings
are just great.

To see how
they go to the forest,

they just walk
through the savanna with us,

playing and playing
like in the wild, you know?

WOMAN: Hey.

THOMAS: Once they reach
the forest playground,

it's breakfast time.

In the wild, a chimp relies
on its mother's milk

until it's about 5 years old.

ATENCIA: We want to have
healthy chimps,

that they develop normal
behavior like in the wild.

And for that, they
need to play every day.

They need to enjoy.

They need to just be babies
like they are now.

[ Chuckles ]

THOMAS: Chimpanzees share 98%
of their DNA with humans.

And just like us,

one of the best ways to learn
is through play.

WOMAN: Hey.

THOMAS: These little ones

don't just need food
and a safe place to learn.

There's one thing they're
missing more than anything.

ATENCIA: At that time
of their life,

their mother is
the center of their life.

It's everything for them.

GOODALL: The child is suckling,
riding the mother's back,

sleeping with her at night

until the age of 5 --
5 years.

So the mother-infant bond
in chimpanzee society

is absolutely,
desperately important.

THOMAS: And for the caregivers,
replacing that love

is like becoming a mother
themselves.

ATENCIA: This relationship
is like a maternal relationship.

They feel
that it's their support

for the rest of their life.

If something is going to happen
and that person is around,

they feel at home

because that person
is part of their family.

THOMAS: One chimp Rebeca formed
a special relationship with

arrived at the sanctuary
nine years ago.

She'd lost her parents
to poachers

and was severely malnourished.

ATENCIA: She had that lost look
in her eyes.

She was confused.

We gave her a big mango,

and she was eating and eating
and eating

and not stop eating.

Kudia, it means "to eat"
in local language.

And we said, "Okay, we know
already her name -- Kudia."

THOMAS: Kudia was raised
in Rebeca's care day and night.

The two became inseparable.

ATENCIA: I just took her with me
and I hug her.

She was lost for all this time
and she was afraid of everybody,

and suddenly,

she found her adoptive mother,
and it was me.

BEKOFF: The mother-infant
relationship

is one of the strongest
and most highly evolved.

And there's some people
who actually believe

that that is the root
of all the bonding

and compassion and empathy
that we see among animals.

They really believe
that it's basically born,

if you will,
in the mother-infant bond.

MORELL: They're brought into
this very loving environment

and a person cares for them,
feeds them,

does everything for them

that their mothers
would have done.

The most natural
sort of response

is to be completely attached
to that individual.

THOMAS: Rebeca and
her cameraman husband, Fernando,

spent seven years
watching Kudia grow

from strength to strength,

and soon it was time
to send her back to the wild.

ATENCIA: I was happy for her.

I knew that she would be great
in the forest.

She will be
like a real wild chimp.

But I was afraid of
what is going to happen to her.

At the end,
they are like your children.

They are part of your life.

THOMAS: Rebeca is heading out
to a remote river island,

which has been home to Kudia
for the last two years,

in the hope of a reunion.

As a vet, she wants to make sure
Kudia is healthy

and adapting
to life in the wild.

And as a mother, she just wants
to see her baby again.

ATENCIA: When you are
in the life of somebody

for so many years,
you have this connection,

and she's part of my life,
you know, part of my family.

THOMAS: Living on the island
keeps Kudia safe from poachers.

But she's far from alone.

The Congo's rivers and forests
can be deadly.

There are 20 other chimps
on Kudia's island...

...and the older males in
particular can be aggressive.

ATENCIA: It is very possible

that a chimpanzee
in a specific situation

can kill somebody.

A question of minutes.

Okay, we need to get ready,
and we'll go to the chimps.

FERNANDO: Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

THOMAS: Until they know
it's safe,

Fernando,
Rebeca's cameraman husband,

will take over the filming.

ATENCIA: We think
that Kudia is around,

that we are going to --
Fernando and me,

we are going down to try
to check if Kudia is here.

Back.

[ Speaking Spanish ]

I am nervous.

I don't know
what she's going to do.

How is she going to show
that she knows me?

This bond that we started
when she was young --

still there or not?

I don't know
what is going to happen,

and it's like a mystery.

Allez, allez, allez!

Kudia.

Allez, allez, allez.

[ Chimpanzees screeching ]

THOMAS: Sure enough,

there's movement
up in the tree canopy.

The chimps know
they have visitors.

And then a familiar face.

ATENCIA: Kudia.

¶¶

[ Kudia cheeping ]

[ Chuckles ]

¶¶

THOMAS: It's
a cautious first encounter.

After two years, does Kudia
even want to reconnect?

ATENCIA:
[ Speaking indistinctly ]

THOMAS: But like any mother,
Rebeca doesn't give up easily.

ATENCIA: Oh.
[ Chuckles ]

[ Speaking Spanish ]

¶¶

Oh.

THOMAS: In her gentle way,

Kudia leads Rebeca
towards a clearing.

And then, acceptance
turns to unmistakable affection.

ATENCIA: This is so natural,

the way that she's just
putting her hand on my shoulder.

She's just touching my skin,

and she's so sweet
in the way that she does that.

She's trying to show me
that she has love.

THOMAS: Over an hour passes

with Kudia seemingly content
just to be close to Rebeca.

¶¶

ATENCIA: Kudia,
what's happening with you?

¶¶

THOMAS: Convinced
she's happy and healthy

in her new wild paradise,

it's nearly time to say goodbye.

ATENCIA: When you live
with chimpanzees,

and you are part of their group

and you are
part of their family,

you start to see
how close they are to us

and how close we are to them.

You understand
that they feel love.

Bye, Kudia.

Hoot, hoot.

¶¶

BEKOFF: We call it love
between two humans,

so there's no reason
not to call it love

between a non-human and a human.

THOMAS: Love, like all emotions,
has a physiological foundation.

It originates in the brain.

BEKOFF: All mammals share
the same structures

in what's called
the limbic system

that underlie emotions.

There's a little almond-shaped
structure called the amygdala.

We all have it,

and it works
to generate feelings of emotions

across mammals.

THOMAS: We're not
the only creatures

whose brains are hard-wired
for emotional lives.

And along with many mammals,
we also share hormones

released
during social interactions

that generate feelings
of trust and love.

MORELL: The feeling of love
is triggered by oxytocin,

this chemical
that's released in our bodies.

Other animals have it.

We may not be able to say
exactly what they are feeling.

But is the chemical
being expressed?

Yes.

THOMAS: If mammals share
similar brain chemistry

and are primed to have
emotional lives like us,

can we use this knowledge
to help them?

[ Birds chirping ]

It's dawn at Nairobi's

David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
elephant orphanage.

[ Elephant snorts ]

Head keeper Edwin Lusichi
has spent 16 years

rescuing orphaned elephants and
sending them back to the wild.

LUSICHI: When the orphans
come in the nursery,

some of them come in
in very, very poor conditions.

All their bodies malnourished.

They've not had food
for a long time.

No water.

They're just
seriously starving to death.

THOMAS: Edwin trained
to be a priest,

but when he came
to the Nairobi nursery,

he found his true calling
and never looked back.

LUSICHI: I believe
I have a special gift

for working with elephants,

because sometimes
I really don't understand.

Some of the new elephants
who come in,

touching them or coming close
to them for the first time,

they just accept me.

THOMAS: Edwin's sensitivity
to the animals is crucial.

Nearly 100 elephants are killed
by poachers every day in Africa.

The babies not only witness

the violent attacks
on their families,

they're often left
having to fend for themselves.

When the rescued orphans arrive,

they're often
too frightened of people

to accept the keepers' help.

So Edwin and his team
have to find ways

to build relationships
with the elephants

before they can treat them,
care for them,

and feed them back to health.

LUSICHI: The same care that
we give to our human children

is the same that we give
to the baby elephants.

So it's like
having a newborn baby.

[ Chuckles ]

THOMAS: These babies don't just

need to be nursed back to health
physically.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

LUSICHI: If their mothers
were killed by poachers

and they saw it happen,
they are emotionally

or seriously
stressed and traumatized.

[ Speaking native language ]

These elephants
are family-oriented animals,

so we have to be
part of their family.

We have to show them love.

THOMAS: But how do you build

a loving relationship
with an elephant?

[ Elephant grunts ]

LUSICHI: A lot of touch
is showing affection,

because they feel
very, very comfortable

when you touch them around.

Okay, there you are.

[ Speaking native language ]

MAN: [ Laughs ]

LUSICHI: When they suck
on your fingers,

they just feel very relaxed
and very affectionate.

And being close to them

and the positive thoughts
about them

helps them to heal
from all the trauma,

from all the stress
they have encountered.

THOMAS: Over time,
the elephants show signs

that they are embracing Edwin

and that a strong bond
is forming.

LUSICHI: We do get love
back from the elephants,

because we see
how they react to us --

wanting to sniff us everywhere,

putting their trunk
all around our body.

So we see the love coming back
from the elephants.

[ Elephant snorts ]

BEKOFF: Some people
might find it surprising

that animals who have been
traumatized with humans

still form bonds with them.

I think they're
reading the human,

and at some point,

they're going,
"I can trust you."

And then, once
they form this trust,

the doors are wide-open

to forming a very strong, deep,
and long-lasting bond.

THOMAS: These bonds of trust

form the basis
of their social skills,

which will be essential

when they reintegrate
into wild herds.

One pioneering ethologist

knows just how complex
their social lives are.

In Amboseli National Park
in Kenya,

renowned wildlife biologist
Cynthia Moss

set out on what would become

the longest continuous study
of elephants.

MOSS: The project in Amboseli
has been running since 1972.

We've been following over 3,000
elephants over that time.

We know every animal
individually,

and we follow individual lives
from birth to death.

THOMAS: She soon discovered
that elephants have

one of the most highly developed
social lives

in the animal kingdom.

MOSS: In my studies, I've shown

that there's five levels
of social organization.

The base is the family unit,

and that consists of
females and their calves.

And then families have

special relationships
with other families,

and those are called
bond groups.

And then we have a clan,

which is maybe made up of
10 or more families.

They're interacting
and intermingling.

Often, there's a whole meeting

and aggregating
and breaking down.

It's called
a fission-fusion society.

THOMAS: Cynthia also observed

how excited they can be
when family members reunite.

MOSS: When they come back
together again,

there is inevitably
a wonderful greeting ceremony

where they run together,
you know,

already trumpeting and rumbling
and screaming.

And then they come together,

and they click their tusks
and entwine their trunks

and spin around and urinate
and defecate and everything,

and that's what we call
the greeting ceremony.

And that is
just a very joyful thing.

THOMAS: Back in Nairobi,
it's bedtime at the nursery.

The keepers
sleep in with the orphans,

spending each night
with a different elephant,

to prevent the orphans
from becoming too attached.

For Edwin and the keepers,

it's one long process
of letting go.

LUSICHI: When the elephants
graduate from the nursery

and they go to be reintroduced
back into the wild,

yes, I miss them,

but I feel a lot
and a lot of joy,

to see them
go back into the wild.

And so that is
the happiest moment in my life,

despite the missing them.

THOMAS: Tomorrow,
Edwin will embark on a journey

that he hopes will reunite him
with elephants he has missed

ever since
they left the orphanage.

One of them is Naipoki,

who was just 3 months old
when she was rescued.

LUSICHI: It was sad,
it was painful.

And I concentrated a lot

on just making sure
that she's okay.

She was one of my favorites
when she was in the nursery.

So friendly, very playful.

THOMAS: Another of his
favorites, called Lempaute,

was rescued 10 years ago
from the roadside

after losing her mother.

LUSICHI: She was
a very, very cheeky elephant

from the beginning.

Very, very cheeky
and sometimes very naughty.

THOMAS: This is
Tsavo East National Park

in southern Kenya,

home to 12,000 wild elephants.

It's here that Edwin's orphans
are transferred

to begin their reintroduction
into the wild.

The orphans are growing up fast.

Naipoki, Lempaute,
and the others

are learning to rely
less on the keepers

and more on each other.

¶¶

SAUNI: When they are happy
like now,

they are healing
psychologically,

because when they came in,
they were very much traumatized

and they were given that love
by the keepers.

So with their fellow orphans,

they usually team up
in groups of friends

and they have some socializing
and happy games.

So this will keep them busy.

They will forget
their bad and terrible past

and they get their life back.

THOMAS: Edwin has not seen
his ex-orphans in over a year.

He's eager to reunite
with Naipoki and Lempaute

and discover
whether they remember him.

LUSICHI: Very exciting.

I just want to see
how they're progressing.

THOMAS: Now in Tsavo,

he's just minutes away
from seeing his old friends.

[ Engine shuts off ]

[ Door opens, closes ]

LUSICHI: Being reunited
with the elephants,

it is like meeting
an old longtime friend

or meeting
an old longtime family.

That excitement
is what I'm here for.

THOMAS: But now that
Edwin's babies have grown up,

will they remember him?

And now that
they've bonded as a herd,

will they care?

Edwin has spent his life
working with them,

and even he has no idea
how they'll react.

But then...

LUSICHI: Hello, Naipoki.

Hello, Naipoki.

How are you doing, Naipoki?

How are you?
Do you remember me?

It's good.

I can see
you have big tusks now,

becoming a big girl.

[ Naipoki grunts ]

THOMAS: They've been apart
for almost two years.

But it's clear
Naipoki remembers.

LUSICHI: I hope you're fine.

[ Naipoki grunts ]

You happy to see me?

I'm happy to see you.

Naipoki.

Don't put my head
in your mouth.

Don't put my head
in your mouth.

[ Chuckles ]

THOMAS: Naipoki is showing all
the signs of elephant happiness.

But then, an older female
breaks up the party.

LUSICHI: Lempaute.
Lempaute.

Lempaute, don't.

Lempaute, Lempaute.
[ Elephant grunts ]

THOMAS: It's another of
Edwin's orphans, Lempaute.

She was always
the unpredictable one.

And she hasn't seen Edwin
in over a year.

LUSICHI: You remember me now?

THOMAS: Is this aggression,
or could it be jealousy?

LUSICHI: You don't need to push.

You now remember me again?

You now want to be with me?

THOMAS: She wants to show Edwin
a bit of love herself.

LUSICHI: Mm-hmm?

[ Blowing ]

Now I can see you remember.

You are big, big, big, big.

I just feel so happy

to be in the middle
of all these elephants,

all with their trunk around me,
touching and smelling.

It's a sign
that they remember me.

BEKOFF: It's a way
of rekindling.

It's almost like
a handshake in humans.

They're just taking in the odor.

They're taking in
the sight and the sound.

It's like, "Wow, it's you.

Wow, it's really you."

MORELL: There is a long memory
in those animals

of their caretaker,

of the person
that they loved and trusted.

[ Elephant snorts ]

And that just is not erased.

You know, that, I don't think,
is probably ever forgotten.

LUSICHI: It is a big, big part
of my family reunion.

And I'm happy to be reunited
with them after some long time.

THOMAS: But this reunion
is also a goodbye.

Soon, these elephants
will bond with wild herds

and leave the keepers for good.

Another farewell, two years ago,
raised questions

about the depths of
an animal's emotional awareness.

Jane Goodall traveled
to the Republic of Congo

for the release of an orphaned
chimpanzee -- Wounda.

GOODALL: She'd been very sick.

And I met her when she'd
recovered from her sickness.

And it was decided
to release her

onto this beautiful
Tchindzoulou Island.

It was very exciting.

THOMAS: During
the one-hour boat ride,

Jane did her best
to soothe the distressed animal.

GOODALL: I was sitting
just outside the cage,

and she must have been,
you know, "Where am I going?

What's happening?
Is this a boat? This is new."

So I was kind of talking to her
through the bars

and trying to reassure her

that it was going to be
wonderful,

and communicating,
mostly silently.

THOMAS: The team arrived
on Tchindzoulou Island.

With Jane was
Wounda's caregiver, Rebeca.

GOODALL: Then, when we opened
the bars of the cage

and she came out,

then climbed up
on the top of the cage,

we didn't know
what she'd do.

And her caregivers
that she knows are around her.

And then she turned

and she looked
directly into my eyes.

And then this extraordinary
thing happened.

And it went on and on.
It wasn't just a quick embrace.

It was unbelievably moving.
We all were crying.

THOMAS: Though she had known
Jane Goodall for just an hour,

Wounda seemed to perceive
something special

in this singular human being.

GOODALL: One of the guys said,
"How did Wounda know

that that lady was the one
responsible for all of this?"

Which, of course,
she didn't know.

BEKOFF: If you want to say
Wounda was saying thank you,

that's fine.

Who knows, really?

But it was an indication
of an incredible bond.

THOMAS: Wounda shows us

that animals can initiate
relationships with humans.

But what lies
behind their motivation

still captivates us.

GOODALL: What Wounda was saying
to me with that embrace,

none of us know.

I have absolutely no idea.

THOMAS: Even after
decades of study,

animals still evoke
profound questions and wonder.

MORELL: We want to know
what animals think and feel.

Now we have people
who are going out there

and they're answering
these questions for us.

They're bringing back this
information from this frontier.

It's a wonderful time.

THOMAS: And as
our understanding develops,

these provocative reunions
may help us

to see animals
in a whole new light.

BEKOFF: I think these reunions

are wonderful examples
of these enduring bonds.

They're part of
who the animal is.

They're in the animal's heart.
They really are.

ASPINALL: People are amazed

that they're, you know,
they're so emotional,

that they have these --
this ability to love.

THOMAS: These reunions show
how companionship, trust, love,

and maternal bonds

are characteristics
that many species share.

Emotional connections may be

as important to animals
as they are to us.

¶¶

To learn more about what you've
seen on this "Nature" program,
as important to animals
as they are to us.

visit pbs.org.