All language subtitles for Baby Animals Series 1 03of13 The More the Merrier 1080p

FEMALE NARRATOR:
Babies are vulnerable

and for many species,
there's safety in numbers.

Being part of a gang
is essential

for the survival of some animals
when they are young.

For Australian fur seals,

black bears,
meerkats and alpacas,

the more really is the merrier.

(♪♪♪)

(Birds chirping)

There's nothing cuter
than puppies.

Or maybe there is.

Seal pups might just edge out
the canines in the cute battle.

It's hard not to like them.

Their friendly critters
are very social

and don't stray too far
from their group.

The Australian fur seal
or brown fur seal

stays close to land
throughout its life.

Australian fur seals are
a really charismatic creature.

They're one of the top predators
in the marine ecosystem.

They're distributed throughout
Southern Victoria,

Southern New South Wales
or in Tasmania

and some parts
of South Australia.

The Australian fur seal
is different from other seals

in that its flippers
are strong enough,

that it can run around
on the rocks.

They start off small and cute,

but they'll grow up
to be pretty big.

Australian fur seal
is a brownish color

and they have
a golden hue to them as well.

They're quite a large fur seal
in Australia.

They're about 100-kilos
for a female.

That's 220 pounds.

And an adult male can be up to
6-feet long

and weigh 660 pounds.

Seal babies,
like this little guy,

are called pups.

He, like all other pups,
looks slightly different

than adults.

When seal pups are born,

they have what we call
the lanugo coat,

which is really dark brown.

Their coat is not only
darker, it's also softer
and thicker.

It keeps them warm and
dry underneath like a wetsuit.

But in a few months,
as they get older,

they'll begin to shed
their coat,

a process called molting,

and they will turn the same
grey color as the adults.

Unlike other species of seals
and sea lions,

this little guy will grow up
to be quite the socializer.

They quite like lying next
to each other

and around each other

as a lot of other species prefer
to be sitting on their own

on their own rocks.

Every October,
large groups of seals

take that love of socializing
to a whole new level.

It's time to make babies.

The mating process
of the Australian fur seal,

that goes over a few months

from October
right through to December

when the males come ashore
and they start holding harems

and they guard those harems
very vigorously

against other males.

A breeding colony can have
as many as 1,500 single seals.

Loud aggressive males
become so focused

on protecting their harem
and their breeding ground

that they won't even
go out to sea to grab a bite.

The breeding colony
is a noisy place.

It's full of seals
and full of harems

and fighting males and seals
running in and out of the water,

trying to get access to females
and pups being born.

It's an amazing place to see.

As soon as
this little guy is born,

he calls for his mommy.

(Seal bleating)

The birthing process can take
several hours.

And then straight away, they
start calling to each other.

(Seals bleating)

So that they develop the bond
that they need

in order to
find each other later on

when the female goes foraging
in such a big colony.

(Seals bleating)

Each pup has
a distinct voice.

That personalized call
allows the mom

to find her own pup
among so many youngsters

after she's gone out
for some grub.

(Seal bleating)

And a pup makes sure
he's heard.

We don't know what they say,

but they certainly make
a lot of noise.

(Seals bleating)

Mom's shopping run can take
a couple of days.

While he's home alone,

this pup takes advantage
of his free time

to play with his pals.

I love watching the pups.

They're just always out
for an adventure

and they have so much fun.

They're very curious
about the world around them

and they're really exploring.

They're quite inquisitive.

They run around together
in gangs

and they fall off rocks
and they throw kelp around

and they play together.

When mom does get back,

she's usually bringing home
seal favorites

like fish, octopus
or crustaceans.

(Seal bleating)

Now that this pup has reached
2-months-old,

it's time for him to take his
first swimming lesson.

(♪♪♪)

It will be another 8 months,

before he can learn
how to catch his own fish.

In the meantime,

he's still very much dependent
on mom and her precious milk.

But eventually,
he will be cut off.

The weaning process happens

up to a month prior to
the mother having another pup

and generally speaking,

she just starts to push
the older pup away.

She wants to wean that pup
before she has the next one,

otherwise, the older pup
might out-compete the new one.

By the time he hits
11 months, this pup will be
fully weaned.

When he's full-grown,

he'll be able to dive
some 600 feet to forage.

When he does, this pup
will have to stay on the lookout

for natural predators
like sharks and orcas.

(Wave crashing)

But for today,
his biggest worry is

getting a little shuteye --
in a really noisy place.

(♪♪♪)

The big black bear.

Massive.

Strong.

Well, maybe one day.

For now,
they're just hangin' around.

I don't know if they learn
that or they're born with it

cause they're awesome climbers.

I've never seen one fall
and they can climb like crazy.

Baby bears
are incredibly nimble.

Climbing is a good skill

for these North-American
black bear cubs to have

if they wanna find food
and escape enemies in the wild.

So is wrestling,
as it develops fighting

and defense skills
that adults need.

Instinct doesn't die completely
in captivity,

but these 4 cubs, Scout, Blue,
Kaptain and Klondike

live in a place called Bearizona
in-- you guessed it, Arizona,

so they can concentrate
on growing up.

When they're born,
they're tiny.

They're size of a Twinkie
or a stick of butter.

Then as they get bigger,
they get longer and taller.

Right now, I think,
they're 12 to 15 pounds.

Bear cubs are born while
their mother is hibernating

during the winter months.

These cubs don't have their mom
with them.

In the wild, they would stay
with her for 17 months,

hibernating a second time
with her

through their first birthday.

When they finally emerge
from their den,

the young bear stick close
to their mom until late summer.

At that point, females will stay
within mom's territory,

while males stray farther away
to venture off on their own.

But these cubs aren't
really interested

in leading a solitary life.

Scout is little around
(Unclear)

She's a tough bear for bein'
the only female in there.

(♪♪♪)

And then Blue is pretty much
a trouble maker.

He always, always has been.

He likes to stir up trouble.

And Kaptain and Klondike
are pretty curious

or more the explorers,
like that.

They're starting to get a feel
for that they're a bear,

so they're acting big
and tough now.

(♪♪♪)

They're already
expert climbers.

But eventually,
these guys will be able

to run up to 30 miles per hour
to avoid any danger.

And they're getting lots of
practice chasing each other,

even though they don't really
need it here.

In the wild, bear cubs will be
vulnerable to predators

such as coyotes, wolves
and even other bears.

But bear cubs can't rely on
their mobility alone

to survive in the wild.

They would need to learn
how to stay away from people.

They would also need to learn
how to build their own housing,

how to travel and look for food.

It wouldn't be
presented to them.

And these cubs
love their food.

(♪♪♪)

No wonder
they're growing so fast.

By 5 years, these bear cubs
will reach their full size.

A female like Scout
could weigh 330 pounds.

And a male like Klondike,
twice that.

They will eat as much
as 20,000 calories a day

before hibernating.

With up to 85% of their diet
being vegetation,

that's a lot of berries, nuts
and grass.

But their fondness for food
and keen sense of smell

could get these bear cubs
in trouble

if they were in the wild.

(♪♪♪)

People will feed 'em,
people leave trash cans open.

That's a easy way for them
to get food.

They don't have to work for it.

They like the ease
of the capture of the food

and they kind of get in
the neighborhoods

and get into trouble that way.

But here at the zoo,
they're staying out of trouble.

These cubs play all day.

They jump at each other.

They'll bounce and launch at
each other, which is great.

They roll around, they bite,
they wrestle.

They're always playin',
that's great.

For Scout,

Blue,

Kaptain and Klondike,

playing together
is an important part

of exploring their new world.

They can climb, play and learn

all in the company
of their furry friends.

(♪♪♪)

In the wild, meerkat pups
live in underground burrows,

the tunnel under the blistering
hot deserts of southern Africa.

But these baby meerkats
at the Perth Zoo,

were born just 6-1/2 weeks ago.

They belong to a complex group
or colony

made up of as many
as 20 other members.

Each group is a family
made up of the alpha female

and alpha male.

Everybody else in the group is
siblings or their offspring.

In this family,
the dominant female is Tilly.

She is the breeding female.

She is also the mother of all
of the juveniles

that have born in this exhibit.

And as such
she is the boss of the group.

Like most alpha females,
Tilly is older, wiser and larger

than any other female
in the family.

Tilly's a really relaxed
and experienced mom.

She's had quite a few number
of baby's here

and she does a really good job
with looking after her babies.

What the meerkat pups
need most from their mom

is her sweet milk.

But to keep that milk flowing,

Tilly needs to stock up on
some serous calories.

In the wild, she would leave
the colony and forage all day.

So what does that mean for these
little defenseless guys?

Not to worry.

Mom has that covered.

Because only the dominant pair
actually mate,

there are lots of other members
ready and able to help out.

Quite often an older sibling
or a baby sitter

will stay with the kits
and look after them,

while the mom goes out and feeds
to get enough of a milk supply.

But the other family members
do more than just babysit.

They actually
teach these little guys

how to coexist together.

Older siblings in this group
are really good

at teaching young kits
things about life.

So they do teach them,
primarily, how to eat

and that's mainly just that

the little kits
will trundle along

behind their older brothers
and sisters

and watch
how they physically eat food.

(♪♪♪)

They can also pass on
some killer grooming tips,

because it's always important
to look your best.

(♪♪♪)

The father of these pups
is the group's alpha male.

While he plays
a key role in the family,

he's nowhere
near as important as Tilly.

The alpha male is, basically,
the female's stud, I suppose.

Yes, he's the breeder

and he likes to protect that
breeding right.

Like, so he's basically
the only one

who will mate
with the alpha female.

In the wild,

because a dominant female
like Tilly

won't mate with members
of her own family,

the dominant male has to come
from another group.

Since they've been born,

the pups have been learning
how to perfect the one thing

that meerkats are famous for,
standing up on their back legs

for sentry duty.

I love when the little babies
are learning to stand up.

How to do sentry duty.

(♪♪♪)

Their little legs
are a bit wobbly sometimes.

So in the beginning stages,
they find it quite difficult.

They'll try and stand up
and, sort of, fall over.

In the wilds of Africa,

sentry duty is key
to the pup's survival.

Obviously being quite little,
you're bit of a snack-sized

for anything that
might wanna come and eat you.

So things like
birds of prey, other predators,

like any of your, sort of,
terrestrial carnivores

will quite often try
and take a little meerkat pup.

As they get older,

these pups will develop
an excellent sense

of sight, smell and hearing.

All things that will help them
detect the approach of enemies.

But in the meantime,

the rest of the colony
totally has their back.

If their siblings
or other relatives

sense a predator coming,

they will immediately
sound the alarm.

(Meerkat calls)

And that would usually
send a response

to the rest of the group
to run away and hide.

(♪♪♪)

In time, these newborn
meerkats will learn

to master
30 different types of call,

each with its own
specific meaning.

For these pups,

being born
to the dominant female Tilly,

doesn't give them
any special rights.

In a couple of years,

when they finally become
sexually mature,

they will have to fight like
all the others

to assert their dominance
within the colony.

And while it may look like
they're just goofing around

with their brothers and sisters,

they're really getting ready
for that big day.

(♪♪♪)

A really big part of being
a meerkat kit is

learning how to
play with your siblings

and some of that play is
actually to go on later in life

and learn how to fight
other meerkats.

So all meerkat kits do
a lot of tumbling, wrestling,

play-biting
and that sort of thing.

So that is really important.

For these baby meerkats,
power is truly in numbers.

Everything they do
is for the family,

and in turn everything they do
is for them.

Soon enough they will learn
that in the long run,

showing their devotion
to the family

can help them move up the ranks

and possibly
even help them become

the next
dominant male or female.

But for now sneaking up
on your brother

and tagging him is
just a fun game.

(♪♪♪)

Maybe it's the huge eyes
or the long eyelashes

or the friendly trot.

Maybe it's the way
they stick together.

But it's hard
not to love alpacas.

They're gentle, curious
and playful.

And their peaceful temperament

seems to match
their tranquil environment.

Baby alpacas are called crias

and they don't waste anytime
sitting around

once they're born.

Their bodies
are highly developed at birth

so that they can
escape predators right away.

Crias birth in the day time,
which is great.

They are up and walking usually
within 30 minutes,

which is very speedy.

They're up and running around
within a few hours.

This incredible ability is
common to all species

of the camelid family.

Llamas, camels, vicuñas
and guanacos.

Crias have to
start drinking milk

within a few hours of birth,

otherwise,
they're unlikely to survive.

Within a couple of weeks,
they begin to feed

on grass, hay and other plants.

Alpacas originally came
from South America,

high up in the Andes Mountains
at an altitude

of around 12,000 feet.

They adapted to survive in
a harsh environment.

Alpacas have been domesticated
for thousands of years,

but they were
only recently introduced

to other parts of the world

like here in Akaroa,
New Zealand.

Shamarra Alpaca Farm raises
Alpacas for their fiber.

It's soft and luxurious

and can be processed
into clothing.

Alpaca fiber's very fine.

It's as fine as cashmere
or finer than cashmere.

It comes in 22 different colors

and has excellent
thermal properties.

It's warmer than sheep wool

and also stronger than
sheep wool.

The fur of a cria
is particularly soft.

This baby fleece is known
as alpaca royal.

We shear all our alpacas.

The youngest ones are about
7 or 8 months

the first time they're shorn.

But we shear them every year.

Yep, so all the babies get
shorn as well.

Alpacas reach full maturity
around 2-years-old.

Eventually, they can grow to
3-feet tall

at the shoulder blade.

Alpacas are social animals
and they live in groups

with one dominant male,
several females

and, of course, their offspring.

The males do tend to be
a little bit more rambunctious.

They tend to wrestle a lot,
which is quite sweet.

Females are a little more
lady-like than the boys.

One of the things
a young alpaca cria learns

is to stick with the herd

and that keeps it safe
from predators.

In their native
South America,

pumas and foxes
pose a constant threat.

In North America,
coyotes are a dangerous foe.

But here in New Zealand,

alpacas have
no natural predators.

This makes it an ideal place
to farm them.

What I love about alpacas,
just their lovely nature.

They're so soothing.

They're quiet.

Just something endearing
about alpacas.

You just, sort of,
fall in love with them.

Growing up with company
makes life a little sweeter.

Playing and hanging out
with siblings and playmates,

helps these animals explore
and learn.

For these creatures,

the more definitely
is the merrier.

(♪♪♪)

(♪♪♪)

(♪♪♪)