All language subtitles for Ch4 Secret Safari Into the Wild 1of6 1080i

Imagine a place where the world's
most endangered creatures

can roam free.

He's warming up his legs.

Oh, there he goes.

A vast wilderness

brimming with the intimate dramas

of its inhabitants...

..as they take their first steps,

learn to get along

and confront their rivals.

In the shadow of Mount Kenya,

Ol Pejeta is one of the few
untamed places left on Earth.

In Ol Pejeta, the wild really,
really is the wild.

It's home to 13,000 animals...

Let's get ready to rumble.

..watched over by
a dedicated team of rangers...

Just like you take care of your
kids, these are our kids.

..who every day must decide
if they should intervene

in a wild animal's life...

I'm going to see
who will win on this.

..or let nature take its course.

As these extraordinary creatures
strive to survive

in the wild.

He's up. There he goes.

Nice.

Ol Pejeta is 140 square miles
of equatorial Savannah.

And the mid-afternoon heat means,
for many of its animals,

a nap is in order.

And no-one enjoys a lazy
afternoon in the shade

quite like a pride of lionesses.

This is Ol Pejeta's eastern pride -

made up of four lionesses
and eight cubs.

This pride can sleep
the whole day...

..especially when
the sun is out there.

You might think they are lazy,
but it's a way of, you know,

trying to conserve energy.

Relax with the cubs.

As the afternoon cools,
bellies start to rumble.

And leader of the pride Sior
is thinking about dinner.

Sior is such an amazing character,

brilliant in everything
that she does.

She is a very protective mother,
really good hunter.

To me, she is the super lioness -
just like we have Superman

or Wonder Woman - in real life.
Yeah.

Lionesses are highly social
and Sior's second in command

is oldest member
of the pride Sekela.

She's now a granny,
11- or 12-years-old,

but she's a tough mama.

One of her eyes is completely blind
as a result of some fights.

But despite being old,
she's very influential

in as far as where the pride decides
to hunt and what to go for.

Lionesses need a successful kill
every two or three days,

and the pride is trekking towards
a hunting ground

that's proved fertile in the past.

With the help of the lionesses'
radio collars,

Nelson has been tracking the eastern
pride for the past six years.

Today, he's come to check on them
as they prepare to hunt,

and he's spotted
a potential problem.

We've noticed that one of them
is not around.

Can't seem to spot Sekela.

En route to the hunt, Sekela -

the oldest and wisest
member of the group -

seems to have wandered off.

And leader Sior has no choice

but to rely on less-experienced
pride members -

sisters Vanita and Sella.

Lions are not very good
in chasing prey.

They are mostly skilled in ambush
and they like to get very close

before they have to run after
their prey.

If the pride is going to
catch anything,

it's imperative Sior gets the two
young lionesses working together.

The way the lionesses hunt,

it's coordinated movement.

They move and space out,

there's one that is responsible
for trying to chase the kill

towards the ambush.

And Sekela has been
playing this role.

Despite being a lioness down,

Sior and the sisters

are closing in on their prey.

We can hear from a distance,

the call of the Zebra.

ZEBRA BARKING

It's a warning call - probably one
of them could pick up the smell

of lions from the wind.

The young lionesses' lack of
experience soon shows.

They've let the zebra
gone too far off.

So it looks like Sior and the two
lionesses have completely failed

in their attempt to hunt
this morning.

They really need their food because
they need to produce some milk,

which will then support their cubs.

If Sior's right-hand lioness Sekela
doesn't return soon,

the chances of her guiding
the pride to a kill

will only get more remote.

So I'm deeply worried
that if they do not succeed

at another attempt today,

this just reduces their chances
of survival as a group.

Surviving in the wild
is tough for any animal,

but in many species it's the females
with the added responsibility

of bringing up their young
that have the hardest job.

I think being a female in
the wild is a lot of work.

Being a female in wild animals

is pretty much like in humans.

You have to put in twice as much
work, you have to be responsible

for your kids, make sure
they are always safe.

During hunting,
it's normally the females -

the females rock this world.

But like lionesses, many females
increase their odds of survival

and that of their young
by organising themselves

into matriarchies
and sharing the workload.

But there are some animals that
lead a more solitary existence.

Other than to mate,

female black rhino spend
most of their life alone,

foraging for food...with only
themselves to worry about.

Until, of course, they give birth.

Precious baby rhino Lottie

is just 12 hours old.

In the 1970s, there were
65,000 black rhinos.

Today, due to poaching
and habitat loss,

there are just
five and a half thousand,

and bringing them back
from the edge of extinction

has its own unique challenges.

The inter-calving interval,
which is the time difference

between one calf to the next,

is usually about three years.

Any calf you get, you will only
get another in three years' time.

And so every calf born counts.

Its survival counts in restoring
that particular population.

Seeing a new calf born to such
a critically endangered species

is a welcome sight for Ranger James.

When I first saw Lottie,
my heart skipped with joy

cos it was a sight
that gave a lot of hope.

Lottie's mom, Lola, is now 12

and was raised in captivity.

Growing up in his care,

Lola formed a special bond
with James.

We just hope that she is going
to play the role of the mother

and be effective on that
because she grew with us.

But she has now to grow
this calf by herself,

which is something she
didn't learn from a real mom.

So she will be playing this role
for the very first time.

When reared by human hands, rhino
can sometimes lack the aggression

needed to protect their calves
from the wild's constant dangers.

Right there.

It looks like it's a male.

Male rhino have been known
to kill calves

when they want to
mate with a female.

If she's not aggressive enough

to defend her calf from bullying
male rhinos,

she might lose her precious calf.

Lola may have seen off
the aggressor,

but protecting Lottie
in the coming days

is going to take all the mothering
instincts she can muster.

I think for now she looks active
in protecting the calf.

The hope now is on how
vigilant the mom is.

Out in the wild, it's generally the
females who have the responsibility

of rearing their young.

But there are exceptions.

Every year, the flocking season
brings grey crowned cranes

to the Ol Pejeta wetlands in
search of a mate.

They're here to pair. Those who
doesn't have their mates just yet.

So we're really excited to see

how many of them managed to
get here this year.

Mercy has been witnessing their
return for the past three years.

Oh, my God, there they are!

EXCITEDLY: Oh, my God!

A relative rarity in the animal
kingdom,

these birds share parenting duties.

So, with cranes, it's fifty-fifty
when it comes to parenting.

First of all, find a home together

and then once the female lays the
eggs,

they will incubate them together on
a fifty-fifty basis.

Their peak breeding season is from
December to February.

If they fail to find a partner,
they will have to wait another year.

But there's a good reason for them
to take things slowly.

Cranes only choose one partner

to live with for the rest of their
lives,

and they can live up to 22 years.

So that means that they have to be

really, really particular about
this one crane

that they're going to be spending
the rest of their lives with.

Choosing a mate might have
lifelong consequences,

but eager to ensure the
next generation of cranes,

these young, free and single birds
just want to mingle.

This is like a party, where I get
to see everybody in there

and get to choose who you really
like.

So the younger males get to look
around.

Who looks prettier? Who looks
healthier? Who looks more maternal?

And for the females as well,

they get to see who looks more
responsible.

Who's going to be a good mate to
pair with, to build a nest with?

CRANES CHATTER

It looks like one couple have
caught each other's eye.

We have a couple over there,
just checking on one another.

Oh my God.

I can tell the two of them are just
singing to one another.

One with the gold crest looks
absolutely amazing.

It's all come down to looking
really, really beautiful.

She looks like a princess.

We should call her a Malkia.
Malkia is "princess" in Swahili.

And she looks exactly like a
princess.

Courtship, for these
one-metre-high cranes,

starts with an elaborate set
of dance moves.

You must be a really, really good
dancer.

I mean, you'd better get that step
right,

or else you're going to be left out
in the bush, alone.

It looks like Malkia may have found
herself a first date...

..but the courtship is far from
over.

The pairing is not some
automatic process.

Ideally, they just have to choose
and keep trying

until they get accepted. So they
date for a while.

Malkia's suitor has decided what
better place than the local

watering hole for them to get
to know each other?

But if it was a quietly intimate
atmosphere they were looking for...

..this isn't quite the venue.

And things go from bad to worse.

I'm sure she was just thinking,

"We're trying to be on a date here,
please?"

It all proves a bit of a mood.
killer.

Malkia and her date decide to go
their separate ways.

Due to habitat loss, the worldwide
number of these majestic birds

has plummeted by almost 80%.

But if Malkia does get to pair and
chicks,

at least she knows her life partner
will be there for her.

Cranes understand equality
to the letter, like.

They don't take chances.

"Everybody, let's look good,
let's dance the same,

"let's do everything together."

It's fifty-fifty, way from the way
we grew up,

all the way to parenting.

No chances. Cranes are...are
gender equal.

But such a sharing of
responsibilities

isn't always an option in the
animal kingdom.

Like all female black rhino,
Lola is a single mum.

Her new calf, Lottie, is now
just over a week old.

And like all youngsters, is
desperate for mum's attention.

Lottie is being a rhino calf.

They're pushing their mum to learn
a little bit of aggression.

It's really what makes them,
eventually,

become some of the powerful animals
in the bush.

So Lottie has to push mum
and tell her mum,

"Wake up, I need to play."

But abandoned by her own mum, play
is something Lola never experienced.

As Lottie gets more adventurous,

it's feared she won't have the
mothering, know-how to protect her,

and drastic action may be needed.

If we find Lola not playing a
very good role in protecting Lottie,

it will force us to make the
difficult decision

to be hand-reared, because we want
her to grow.

You know, nature, if you can, is
best left to its own devices.

Now, it's not always possible,

because there are species here
like rhinos, obviously,

because they're so critically
endangered.

When it comes to species like that,

it becomes, sometimes, a little bit
tricky.

So we will occasionally step in.

The other side of the argument is,
well, yeah, but this is nature,

and we would be disrupting

the natural course of things by
interfering.

Ol Pejeta may be a managed
wilderness,

but that doesn't include feeding
the lions.

It's now been four days since Sior's
eastern pride had a successful kill.

These females rely on each other
to keep their eight cubs fed,

and are seriously missing
the hunting experience

of Sior's second-in-command, Sekela,

who hasn't been seen for several
days.

But conservancy vet Steve has just
received a radio call.

An injured lioness, suspected to be
Sekela, has been spotted.

I was informed that there was severe
injuries on both hind legs,

and that there was evidence of
bleeding.

On arrival, the rangers' suspicions
are confirmed.

To assess how bad Sekela's injuries
are, Steve first tranquillises her.

SEKELA GROWLS

These are bad injuries.

Did not happen today. Several, maybe
two, three days ago.

We...

You can see, you see the type of
injuries that are here

and they are maggots, she
has metatarsal fractures.

Then look at the tail.

So many injuries on the tail.

Er...

STEVE SIGHS DEEPLY

Hm. It's going to be tough.

The severity of Sekela's wounds will
have left her in excruciating pain.

Definitely the injuries inflicted
by another lion,

maybe a male from a different pride.

They had an encounter and this was
the end result.

It's a tough call, it's a rough
call, definitely.

But, you know, you need to look at
the welfare of the animal.

And in my opinion, as a
veterinarian,

I will recommend that we
put this lioness to sleep,

for the sake of the animal.

WHISPERS: Yeah.

But Steve knows that Sekela is
a key member of the eastern pride,

and without her, they have been
struggling to hunt.

Hello, hello?

So he decides to get a second
opinion.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

OK.

So what we are going to do is

we are going to give this
lioness a chance...

..till tomorrow.

So we are going to manage these
wounds,

and then if she makes it through
the night,

then we make a decision.

Turn her.

Just over five kilometres to the
west,

after another day of unsuccessful
hunting...

..Sior and their cubs, once again,
go to sleep hungry.

The next morning, vet Steve is up
early.

I'm driving to go see Sekela,

so if we can see her today and make
a decision on the best way forward.

But on arrival, Steve finds
something he never expected.

It surprised me, we find that she's
nowhere to be seen.

The injuries that I saw in this
lioness were astonishing.

Some of the most serious injuries
I have seen on wild animals.

To say the least, she was crippled.

How could she have moved?

There is no sign Sekela has fallen
prey to scavengers,

but if she is still alive,

she's still vulnerable to attacks
by other animals.

It's vital she makes it back to the
protection of her pride.

We know that it's the best chance
for survival for her.

She also knows that.

In fact, she knows that
more than we do.

That, er, without them...

.. perhaps she's not going to make.

The life of a female out in the wild

is undoubtedly never tougher than
when you have young to look after.

But some species have managed
to find ways to ease the burden.

I definitely think that
motherhood is, like,

their worst time out in the wild,

but, being a female crane,
at least you have an assurance

of having a partner who's
really, really supportive.

Grey crowned cranes mate for life
and share parenting duties.

Mercy has been following the
romantic fortunes of female crane,

Malkia, and it looks like she might
have found her significant other.

Our couple is actually inspecting
a really good nesting site,

which would be perfect for them
to lay their eggs in.

It's right in the middle of the
water in a very shallow end,

but there's a lot of reeds
which could hide them.

This is definitely prime
real estate,

so I think we have a couple that has
bonded and agreed on the next steps,

which is really exciting.

The signs from Malkia and her
new partner look promising...

..but, further west,

news has come in concerning single
mum Lola and her calf, Lottie.

You can see all the Rangers,
none of them looks happy today.

Today, we had a call that
one of the black rhinos, Lola,

that had just given birth
a month ago,

is missing the calf.

So, we are out to scout for the calf

because it's a very young calf and
rhinos are very close to the calf,

so it's not typical to see
a mother without the calf.

While searching, the rangers
spot a lion guarding its prey...

..a black rhino calf.

Protecting Lottie from the wild has
proved too much for mum, Lola.

A baby rhino calf no match
for a 400-pound lion.

Lottie was just a month old.

The bond between a mother rhino
and the calf is normally very tight.

They are very close,
they always together,

and I'm sure this is really
going to devastate Lola now.

It's such a pity.

The lion is tranquilised

and will be removed to another
area of the conservancy,

15 miles away from the critically
endangered rhino population.

They can get a taste
for certain animals

the same way they would get a taste
if they were to eat a human being,

and they like that taste,
and if that prey is easy to catch,

then that would be
their prey of choice.

Any decision to intervene in the
conservancy's ecosystem

isn't taken lightly...

..but this lion has now
preyed upon three rhino calf

in the last six months.

The rhino is critically endangered.

That lion is not,
but is a species of concern.

And so, you definitely
need both, anyway.

All species are important
in their own rights,

and so you need to act to ensure
that each one, in a way,

continues to exist
within the conservancy.

PRODUCER: You blame the lion?

No, not really.
It's in the wilderness.

Survival for the fittest,
only the strong survive.

Do you feel sorry for Lola?
Very much.

It's... It's devastating.

GROWLING

LOW ROARING

GROWLING

Ranger James has known Lottie's mum,
Lola, since she was a calf herself.

I'm driving out to go
and look for Lola

and just spend some time with her.

LOLA EXHALES

It's heartbreaking to see her now
without her calf.

Here alone.

I think she's trying to
find comfort in the mud,

but it's really sad.

It's really heartbreaking.

I think she recognised my voice,

and she remembers me
even from the smell,

so it's easy for me to allow her
to get that close

and that's why she was
staring at me.

Being with these animals
for this long,

you really gain an
attachment to them.

I know there's nothing much
I can help her for now, but...

..I was trying to imagine
what she's feeling

and what she's going through,
and I passed my condolences to her.

I just hope she gets over it
and she is able to...move on.

In the east of Ol Pejeta, Sior's
pride of lionesses and their cubs

are running on empty.

After disappearing
with severe injuries,

the oldest and wisest member
of the matriarchy, Sekela,

hasn't been seen for several days...

..and the pride still hasn't
had a successful kill.

The worst case scenario
is that we find her dead.

I've been with her
for the past six years,

monitoring her,
following her closely.

I've seen her give birth,
rear the cubs to adulthood,

and she's...lived her life
very proudly up until now,

but we really hope that
she doesn't go out this way.

The best way for Nelson
to find Sekela

is to track her pride and hope
she's managed to catch up with them.

The aerial that I'm using now
is used to track lions.

I remember the days that we had
such an old-school TV aerial,

and we used to go up
our house using a ladder,

tune into different channels
manually and put our lives at risk

just to get a glimpse
of those favourite shows.

Here.

Nelson has found Sior's pride.

They still look hungry, and Sekela
doesn't seem to be with them.

Looking at the pride,

from the last time I saw them,
they've not had something to eat.

I can see their ribs.

But then, a few yards
down the track,

Nelson spots another lioness.

I think that's Sekela.

Oh, my.

It's the first time Nelson has seen
the extent of Sekela's injuries.

I feel very sad.

It's hard to see her this way.

She is struggling to walk,

and she looks so much in pain.

I feel it's...worse than
I could have imagined.

It's actually amazing
that she is still alive.

LIONS MEWL

Sekela may have caught
up with her pride...

..but lionesses often travel
up to ten kilometres a day

in search of food.

She cannot really keep up with them.

So, I feel that at some point
they will have to leave her.

THROATY MEWLING

It's a tough call for them,

but for any mother,
especially in the wild,

their first instinct is to
provide for their cubs.

They might feel bad for Sekela...

..but they would put
their cubs first.

When it comes to surviving
out in the wild,

belonging to a matriarchy
has a definite advantage.

After trekking alone
through the wilderness,

injured lioness Sekela
has managed to make it

back to the protection of her pride.

But if she's to stand
any chance of recovery,

she desperately needs leader Sior

and the rest of the pride
to provide her with food.

But they, too, have grown weak.

Sior really needs to be there
for the group,

she's thinking about her own cub,

the cubs of the twins,
and also the health of Sekela.

It's been days since
they had a good meal.

And in this dire situation
that has been developing,

she needs to step up.

THUNDER CRACKS

After failing to bring down bigger
prey, Sior, Vanita and Sella

have changed strategy.

Now targeting something smaller.

WARTHOG SQUEALS

The new strategy has paid off.

Really nice to see them
with a warthog here.

It's a small meal
but it has just given us hope

that they would make it
through the week.

It's been six days without any food.

So this is just a glimpse of hope
that has just come up today.

Their chances of survival
have slightly gone up.

It might not be enough,
but it's a step

in the right direction.

Everyone gets some
much-needed sustenance.

But worryingly for Nelson, Sekela
hasn't made it to the kill site.

Then, as dusk falls, Nelson
spots something in the distance.

For the first time in over a week

Sekela finally gets the food
she needs to survive.

We've never really known
Sekela to be a quitter.

She's always found a way
to get another day to fight on.

Over in the marshlands,
grey crowned crane Malkia

and her new mate have been proving
inseparable for almost a month...

Oh, my God.

..the time it takes
for crane eggs to hatch.

We have a little chick
walking around already.

Oh, my God, she is so small.

So beautiful.

It's a huge, huge surprise.

And it's such an assurance also
for us to know

that they are able
to find nesting areas.

And also believe that this is secure

enough for them to bring up
their young ones.

So this is absolutely amazing.

I don't think I'm going
to be able to sleep today.

The real threat that
they are going to see is

getting snatched off
by birds of prey

and we have plenty of them
in this area.

But the massive advantage
that a chick has

is the fact that she has
not one but two parents

looking after her 24/7.

And then we hope that
she grows to become like

the mum or the daddy,
to just grow big and beautiful.

It's been nearly five weeks
since black rhino Lola

lost her calf to a lion kill.

Ranger James has come to see
how she's doing.

Oh, wow.

That's Lola right over there and
she is being followed by a male.

I'm so happy for her.

You know, overcoming
the loss of a calf recently

and she has found a new boyfriend
to walk around with.

That's quite so impressive of her.

It's a clear sign that there is
a big prospect of mating soon.

I hope the male is up to the task

and will be able to complete the job

that is needed to make another
calf as soon as possible.

The eastern pride's most
experienced lioness, Sekela,

recently sustained
horrific injuries.

Her wounds so bad, it was thought

she should be put to sleep.

But after trekking across the
Savannah to rejoin her family,

this incredibly resilient female

is almost back to full strength.

With Sekela's return to health,

the pride's prowess in
the hunt has also returned.

You cannot explain the joy of...

..the odds turning around
in such a way.

I think it goes even beyond
what we expected

and shows that lions actually
have a secret life that...

..humans may never
really understand.

Comparing the kind of meal
they just had,

it's just like that big
Christmas dinner for humans,

where you would eat until you can't
find any more space in your stomach.

And the next thing is to just
have a good night's sleep.

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