All language subtitles for BBC.Elephants.on.the.Move.720p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org Eng

The great British seaside -
millions flock to the coast

for sun, sea and sand.

But that's not why I'm here.

I'm here for the elephants,

because a herd of Asian elephants
is being re-homed here in Blackpool.

And these are the girls
who are off to start a new family

and help protect
this endangered species.

It's an ambitious plan.

We've never had
a breeding herd before.

We've never had a male before.

But how do you move four of
the world's largest animals

from their Midlands home,
up one of our busiest motorways?

We can do all what we can do with
them but, at the end of the day,

if the elephants
don't want to go in there,

they don't want to go in there.

Good girl, Minbu!

It's all going to happen
at the elephants' pace.

How do you move an Asian elephant?

BOTH: Slowly!

And it's vital to get
this move right,

as elephants have been known
to die in transit.

It's the biggest challenge

this dedicated group of zookeepers
has ever faced,

and we'll be there
every step of the way,

with the Elephants On The Move.

Twycross Zoo in the heart
of the Midlands,

home to the herd
heading to the seaside.

For over 50 years,
animals from all over the world

have been on show to the public
here in Leicestershire...

..and one of the biggest attractions
is Elephant Creek,

where Minbu, Tara, Noorjahan
and Esha live.

Baby of the bunch is little Esha.

Born and brought up here,
she's just four years old.

Esha is just your typical toddler.

She's literally running around,
she's causing havoc,

she gets under Minbu's toes
and Minbu doesn't like that.

Her mum is Noorjahan.
She's the quiet one.

She kind of keeps her distance from
most of the other elephants as well.

That's kind of just
Noorjahan's personality.

Boss lady of this herd is Minbu.

So, Minbu's our matriarch.
She's 33 years old.

Her personality, I always say,

definitely the most stubborn
elephant you would ever meet.

HE LAUGHS

And finally, meet Tara.

This teenager's lived
at Twycross all her life.

Tara, to me, I always see Tara
as a cartoon elephant.

Do you know what I mean?

She's rounded and she just
looks like a cartoon.

She's just fun to be with. She's
always the one that breaks stuff.

You come in in the morning,
you find something broken,

you're always like,
"That's definitely Tara!"

And we go back on the cameras and,
"Yeah, we're right, it's Tara!"

Elephants are very bright. Keeping
them amused is quite a challenge.

Yeah, yeah, really intelligent.

Sometimes more than the keepers!
HE LAUGHS

It's January, and leftover
Christmas trees are coming in handy

as elephant entertainment.

So, yeah, you prepare something,
you do something,

and then they destroy it in seconds.

These girls have probably spent
their last Christmas

in Elephant Creek.

They'll soon be off to the seaside,
where this all-female herd

will get the chance
for a bit of romance

as part of a European
breeding programme.

But how do you move
a herd of elephants 140 miles

to the north-west of England?

Well, for starters,
you need some huge containers.

So, this is one of the crates in
which just one of the elephants

will be transported
all the way to Blackpool.

They've been specifically
designed for the purpose.

And they're over three metres tall,
two metres in width,

7.5 metres in length.

And with an elephant in, it will
weigh over 13 metric tonnes.

But persuading an elephant to get
into a big metal box isn't easy.

Good girl.

Steady. OK.

They've been training the girls
for nine months.

It's taken a lot of coaxing,
and a lot of fruit.

Oh, and Albert, an elephant-moving
specialist flown in from Barcelona.

I've been involved in a couple
of elephant moves before.

But obviously not

as big as moving
four elephants at the same time.

But, yeah, all of this past
experience is helping

in this next move.

Moving elephants has its dangers.

Sadly, one died in transit from
a UK safari park only last year.

In extreme cases,
stress can be a killer

with these huge
but sensitive creatures.

So Twycross are working
at the elephants' pace.

The animals have to be ready
to leave.

Forcing them into the crates
just isn't going to happen.

Why would you not sedate
or anaesthetise the elephants

and move them that way?
Because it's a lot of risks.

There's a lot of things
you can't control.

And with the training
and doing everything volunteer,

it's less stressful,
it's better for the animals.

So you have more control
over what's going on,

and they know what's going on.

So getting into the crate

has become part of
the elephants' daily routine.

But one thing they can't
practise is hoisting them

onto the back of a lorry
and driving up the motorway.

No-one can predict
how they might react

so a team of vets
will be with them all the way.

The elephant could become stressed
during the transportation,

we might need to think
about sedating them.

Hopefully not - that's like
our worst-case scenario.

They're going to be having lots
of food and water on the truck,

to basically keep them entertained,

just like you would children
in a car on a long journey.

With just a week to go, they're
as ready as they'll ever be.

But it's bittersweet.

Keepers build really strong bonds
with their animals,

and Chris has been
with these girls for six years.

How are you going to feel,
saying goodbye to the elephants?

Very, very sad. Why?

Oh, don't!

Come on, tell me why.

The whole team will be sad.

Very sad.

But they're only down the road.

But we're not working with them.

They're going to a good place,
though. They are.

They're going to a very good place.

But, yeah, we will miss
working with them. For sure.

I can see it's a big, emotional
decision, letting the girls go.

And they will be missed here.

So why are they
allowing them to leave?

Well, it's all about letting
the elephants live out

the rest of their days
in the most natural way possible,

even though they are
still in captivity.

There used to be elephants
right across Asia.

But over the last 100 years,
as their habitat has disappeared,

their numbers have halved.

They're now more endangered
than their African cousins.

In the wild, Asian elephants
live in large family herds.

Traditionally, zoos have kept their
elephants in small female groups,

like at Twycross.

But modern zoos want to
make life in captivity

as close to the wild as possible

and that means bigger herds, with
a male bull elephant to breed with.

Which is why Twycross has decided
it's time to let the girls go.

So, Sharon, end of an era.
Mm-hm. Elephants leaving Twycross.

Yeah. A big decision for you, hey?

Well, end of an era and
start of a new one, I think,

is how we're looking at it. Yeah.

It's a big decision for us to make
but it's the right one.

They need to be with a bull
and be bred more naturally

and kept in a more
natural herd situation.

And we don't have the resources
to do that right now.

And we could hang onto them
but I don't think that's right.

Bulls are much bigger
and stronger than females.

The enclosure here
can't contain a bull

so they're going
to a place that can.

But they have to stay together.

We've got a family group here

so it is a stipulation of ours
that they move together.

And they're bonded,
and they're very intelligent,

long-lived social animals, so it
was an absolute prerequisite for us

that wherever they went to,
they stay together.

There aren't many places
that can take in four elephants

and Twycross are picky
about where the girls are going.

And they're coming here,
to the seaside.

Lots of things spring to mind
when you think of Blackpool,

but probably not elephants.

Blackpool Zoo wants to change that

and the Twycross girls can help.

The zoo wants to start
breeding Asian elephants.

They've built a huge,
state-of-the-art elephant habitat,

and now need a group of girls and
a bull to join their only resident.

This beautiful old girl is Kate.

She's already making herself at home
in this L5 million facility.

I know it's stating the obvious,
but that is one enormous animal.

Hello, Kate! Hello!

Kate's lived at the zoo
for most of her 49 years,

and is looked after by keeper Adam.

She means the world to me.
She's absolutely incredible animal.

She was of the first elephants
that I ever worked with.

She basically taught me my trade,

if that makes sense.

So, in that respect,
she's probably a teacher as well.

Kate's pretty pampered.

But back in the 1970s,

life for captive elephants
was very different.

I have much pleasure in declaring
this zoo open. Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

Television presenter Johnny Morris
actually rode a circus elephant

to the opening of the zoo in 1972.

But that was almost 50 years ago

and so much has changed since then.

And with elephant care,
Blackpool Zoo is leading the way.

In her twilight years,
Kate's enjoying her new luxury pad.

You know, she's 49 years old,

so she's quite in her sort of
geriatric years, if you will.

When you're younger, you'll go
to the park and play around.

And if you go when you're older,

you'd rather sit on the bench
with a coffee and a paper.

I think she's kind of
at the coffee and paper stage.

I can relate to that!

Kate's lived alone now for two
years since her companions died,

and doesn't know she's
getting some new housemates.

Her new home was built
to house a herd.

That is a massive door!

It certainly is. That's what it
needs for animals of three, four,

upwards of four tonnes.

This is enormous, Adam. It's the
size of a football pitch almost.

Yeah, that's it. I mean,
it needs to be, you know?

We've got animals
that live in herds,

and that's the way we want to keep
them, that's more natural for them.

Erm, so they need the space.

And there's plenty for them to do,
so they've got lots of choices

to exercise their muscles
and their minds.

So, Adam, I'm your assistant today.

What kind of jobs can we do
to make Kate's day more exciting?

First things first, we're
going to clear out all the muck,

and we're going to replenish
all her feed stocks,

her options to feed.

We've got some bamboo to stick
around, so we can encourage her

to move around the facility
and move around the exhibit.

And then we're going to change

the actual landscape of
the habitat itself, as well.

Picking up poo, moving logs,
building sand castles -

it sounds like the perfect job!

Well, you are in Blackpool!
HE LAUGHS

The elephants won't be
walking on the beach,

but they will have this floor
of deep, soft sand

to protect their feet.

And keeping it clean is quite a job.

Dung coming through!

They produce a lot of dung!

And dung is helping Kate and her new
housemates get to know each other.

Swapping poo between
the two zoos means the girls

can get used to each other's
scents before they meet.

She'll know that it's not hers. Yes.

So she can start getting used
to something else being here,

and actually another elephant.
Not in a physical presence,

but in a sort of chemical presence,
if you will. Fantastic.

That's the poo done. Next?
Almost. Almost?

My next job is sorting out the food.

And in the wild,
she'd have to forage

so we're going to make Kate
work for it,

putting that all-important trunk
to good use.

It's their world, really. It's what
they smell with, it's their hands,

it's their nose,
it's what they drink with,

it's what they communicate
with a lot of the time as well.

Kate will be investigating this

in about five minutes, hopefully.
She will, yeah.

OK, Adam, hoist away!

Changing the landscape every day

makes life
more interesting for Kate.

Last finishing touches.

By the looks of it,
Kate is itching to get in.

So, it's time for us to get out.

In she comes!

Look at this!
HE LAUGHS

She's just moved the trunk
to the perfect position...

Sorry to interrupt! That's all
right. ..to reach the browse.

Look at that mouth!
She's using the log

to give her the position
to get higher as well.

The funny thing is, when you put
their browse bag there in position,

I thought,
"You've put that too high." Yeah.

But it is designed to test her
and get her using her grey matter.

Absolutely. And that log wasn't
put there, we didn't put it there.

She's moved it over there to be
able to gain that extra height.

Obviously, within
a captive environment,

we can't put the wild
in there every day,

but we can change the habitat so
it's different for them every day.

The way elephants are treated
has completely changed.

Just look at these being moved
in the 1940s.

They're clearly terrified
and very distressed.

And just a few months ago,

five circus elephants were
involved in this accident.

Sadly, one died.

Four were left battered and bruised
at the side of a Spanish motorway.

It's a horrible reminder
of what can go wrong.

It's move day at Twycross Zoo.

All those long months of planning

come down to what happens
in the next few hours.

It's a cold January morning.

Matriarch Minbu and teenager Tara
are due to leave today.

But there seems to be a problem.

Tara's going to be the first and
the only, because Minbu's not ready.

Minbu, the most nervous
of the girls,

has been spooked
by the whole affair,

and has decided
today's not her day.

So Tara's going to have to
go to Blackpool on her own.

And she's going to be missed.

She's a Twycross girl,
born and bred.

This is the first time
she's left the place.

So, there won't be many
dry eyes later on, I think.

But for now, it's all about
getting Tara on her way.

They want to make sure at least
one elephant does move today.

These bracelets will help to keep
her on her feet in the crate.

Good girl, Tara.
You're putting them on your foot.

Once she's out in the yard,
all the keepers can do is watch on

to see if all those months
of training pay off.

And they do.

Practice really does make perfect.

It's all going to plan.

But when the bars go in,
it seems to spook her.

She drops to her knees.

If she stays like this,
she won't be able to travel.

But, with encouragement
from her trusted keeper, Lisa...

Good girl, Tara. She's getting up.

..she's soon back on her feet.

Really good, really good.

She did what we expected her to do.

So, she's calm, she's relaxed.

We have an elephant to go,
to Blackpool?

Yes. Well done. Thank you. OK.

So, now she's in, it's time to
get her hoisted onto the truck.

That's 13 tonnes of elephant
and crate

so it needs moving very gently.

OK, Tars?

Hot air will be piped in
to keep Tara warm all the way

on her three-hour journey
up the motorway.

And she'll need to drink plenty of
water and eat plenty of fruit

to make sure she stays hydrated.

Is she hungry? Is she eating
the carrots, no? Good.

Yeah, try and get as much of that
fluid into her as possible.

Alan Roocroft
is an old hand at this.

He's moved elephants
all over the world.

He's seen and done it all before.

And that extra pair of eyes
is exactly what they need

to make sure Tara's move
goes smoothly.

Basically, what we're doing
with her is just allowing her

to take all the information she
needs to settle down, to understand.

She's the best elephant
to go first, really, then?

Probably. Yeah, we'll see.

I mean, she might not be.
We'll see. We're not there yet.

With elephants, you never know.
So they'll check on her all the way.

This is where Albert will
be sitting for the duration

of the journey to Blackpool.

And the great thing is he'll be
able to monitor Tara's progress

the whole way by CCTV.

And you can see here,
Tara's derriere!

It looks like she's doing fine.

I'm pretty sure no-one driving past
this lorry on the motorway

has any idea that they're
overtaking an elephant today.

Tara's got to travel 140 miles

across some of the country's
busiest motorway networks.

Luckily, today, the roads are clear.

No-one wants to be stuck
in a traffic jam

with an elephant in the back.

Three hours later and the famous
Blackpool Tower is in sight.

Welcome to the seaside!

Adam, there's an elephant in there,
and it's in Blackpool Zoo.

I know. How are you feeling?

It's a mixture of emotions,
cos she's still on there yet.

Let's, you know, we want to get
her in and get the doors shut,

and we'll be happy then.

It's not until you watch

that you realise what
a massive operation it is,

moving an Asian elephant
from one zoo to another.

Astonishing, isn't it? Yeah.
Many, many people involved.

And all that effort is worth it

when Tara takes a first few
tentative steps into her new home.

Well, what a brilliant end
to a long and tiring day.

Tara has arrived in Blackpool.

And the great thing is,
she's settling in really well.

Seeing Tara arrive safely
is a huge relief for everyone.

But someone else wants to know
what all the fuss is about,

and who's moving in next door.

It's not just a monumental day
for Tara.

It is for Kate, too.
She has spent so long on her own.

I would love to know
what she's thinking,

because she can smell and hear Tara
just a few metres away.

Adam, Blackpool has just doubled
the number of its elephants.

How do you feel?
Tired, exhausted, relieved, happy.

It's a mixture of emotions,
it really is.

I mean, it's been a long day.

It's Tara's first night
in Blackpool.

After such an eventful day,
how is she getting on?

The zoo's CCTV shows
she's doing just fine.

The next morning, she's telling
anyone who'll listen she's arrived.

TARA ROARS
Oh! What does that mean?

That's Tara. That's Tara.
She's, eh...

She's either attention seeking
there or, eh,

there's an element as well
that she will do that,

and naturally
the rest of the herd would come.

But of course
they're not here at the minute.

But someone is.
It's time for Kate to meet Tara.

These are big animals
with big personalities.

They need to work out who's boss.

And with animals this size,

it needs to be carefully managed
through bars to start with.

Because at some point they will
have potentially an altercation

to sort out pecking order. Yeah.

And that's fine, because that's
part and parcel of elephant life

and that hierarchy and that
matriarchal society.

What we don't want is any aggression
that is too much, too hard.

They live in a big, physical world,

but we don't want to end up
treating any injuries unnecessarily.

There's no trumpeting or
untoward noises between the pair.

All very calm, very relaxed.
It's really good.

We couldn't really have hoped
for a better first meeting.

Hopefully it's the start of
a beautiful relationship?

Yeah, absolutely. That's what
we hope. Friendship. Yeah, yeah.

They're only baby steps,
but all in the right direction.

Elephants live a long time,

so a breeding herd is a massive
commitment for Blackpool Zoo.

Just feeding an elephant
for a month costs L1,500.

Yeah, the cost of the zoo is,
you know, is vast.

But, to actually maintain these
animals in the right way,

in the way that they deserve
to be looked after,

is a commitment that all good zoos
should be making.

Modern zoos play an important role
in conservation.

These elephants are part of
a European breeding programme.

Yeah, well, I think
with all species in zoos,

what we're trying to do is
to keep a captive population

where the genetics are viable

erm, so that we can maintain
these animals for the long-term.

If there is ever an opportunity
to put them back in the wild,

we need to be able to make sure that
we've got genetically viable animals

that can go back and
assist a population.

But to breed,
they'll need more elephants.

So, what's happening
back at Twycross?

It's five weeks
since teenager Tara left.

Matriarch Minbu
didn't move as planned

but training has been going well

and the zoo thinks
she's ready to try again.

Will she make the move today?

If she decides she's not up for it,
we'll have to abandon everything.

She's been really good
the last couple of days.

But, yeah, Minbu is, for us,
the one that's most unpredictable.

We've just got to wait and see what
mood she's in this morning, really.

We are trying to do it
for her best interests.

She probably doesn't understand that
right at the minute.

But when she gets to Blackpool
tonight, she's going to meet Tara,

and she'll go, "Ah - I get it."

Good girl, Min.

But maybe she does get it,

as she surprises everyone
when she gets in with no fuss.

Steady. It's a big relief for all.

Yeah, because,
with Minbu you never know.

She has good days, she has bad days,
and you don't know what to expect.

So she had a good day this morning.

As Minbu's such a nervous animal,

the vets are worried she may get
stressed and collapse in the crate.

But again, Minbu surprises everyone,

and, after getting her balance,
takes it all in her stride.

In Blackpool, Minbu's eager
to explore her new surroundings

and it's a major milestone
for everyone.

Half the herd are here.

Getting the girls here
was just the start.

The new housemates had to
settle on a pecking order.

They've been a big hit
with the visitors to the zoo.

One, two, three! Wow!

But what about with the original
Blackpool resident, Kate?

It took a few weeks to get them
all moved into the same living area

and this CCTV footage

shows just how they worked it out.

Although rarely seen,

dominance tussles are normal
behaviour in elephant herds.

This is Tara and Kate's
first full-on meeting.

Kate's on the left.

She's swinging her trunk at Tara,
making sure she knows who's boss,

and youngster Tara submits
with no arguments.

But when Minbu met Kate,
it was a different story.

And with Minbu, she's used to
being the matriarch at Twycross.

She's been a dominant animal
for most of her life, really.

So that's what she was looking
to achieve when she came here.

But little did she know,
she hadn't met Kate at that point,

and Kate is also very similar.

That's Kate, closest to the camera.

They faced each other up,

which is more of
a threatening stance,

particularly when they meet.

Then Minbu tried to push Kate back,

and move her and displace her
physically.

Minbu soon realised Kate
wasn't having any of it.

You can almost see it in her eyes,
that she's made the wrong decision.

HE LAUGHS

And then... So she didn't
back down straightaway,

but slowly Kate turned her around

and got the submissive
sort of behaviour from Minbu.

And that was it, really.

It looks like Kate's going to be
the top girl in this gang for now.

The last two Twycross girls and that
all-important boy are still to come.

How long can we expect
before the big bull arrives?

Hopefully he'll be certainly in
before the end of this year.

That's the aim.

And the pitter-patter of huge feet?

A couple of years after that!
THEY LAUGH

If he gets to work quickly,
a couple of years.

But what about the other two girls
back at Twycross?

When the move first began,

everyone thought the herd would be
transported quite quickly.

But the days have turned into
weeks, and weeks into months,

and Noorjahan and Esha
haven't budged.

It's late spring. Four months
have passed since Tara left,

and there's one growing problem.

Initially, mother and calf were
going to travel in the same crate.

But as time has gone on,
Esha has got so big

she's going to have to travel
in her own crate,

which means she needs
a whole lot more training.

Mum and calf have never been apart.

They both have to travel on the same
day and they aren't quite ready yet

so the move's been postponed again.

This is what happens. You can
make the best plans on paper.

If the animals say no, they say no!

The last thing we want is to
force them and have it be

a really negative
experience for them.

That's not great, not what
we need to do. And don't forget,

they're really long-lived animals
with long memories.

I know it's always
a bit of a joke, but they are.

So, they know each other, they'll
reunite in a few months' time.

So, they'll stay put
till the end of the summer.

And that means Esha gets
some quality time with mum.

The bond of the mother and daughter

has got a lot better,
a lot stronger.

Noorjahan, normally when Minbu
and Tara were here,

she kind of kept herself away and
left the aunties to look after Esha.

But we've actually seen now
they seem much closer,

which is really nice to see.

Mother and daughter should join
their friends in a few weeks.

Although,
when it comes to elephants,

nothing's ever guaranteed.

The half of the herd who have moved

are having a great time
by the seaside.

Well, it's brilliant news

that Kate, Tara and Minbu
have settled in just fine.

And hopefully
it won't be too long now

until they're joined
by Noorjahan and Esha,

and the Blackpool herd
continues to grow.