Original subtitles

NARRATOR: When it comes to true friendship,

shape, size, or even species is irrelevant.

Respect, trust and understanding can be found

in the most surprising places.

Creating incredible connections...

that change our lives.

A near-death experience strengthens a bond.

I'm here for her, and she's here for me.

For one man, groundhog day is the best day.

There he is! Look, he's got bed head.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

And in friendship, even the most unlikely creatures

look for affection.

Just literally come in and just lean there and say, "Hi.

Can you pet me?"

The bond of friendship is universal.

Amongst the city streets of Nottingham, England,

the kettle's on for a birthday cuppa.

HANNAH: I like to do Penny a little bit of a treat,

because when I first rescued her,

I learned pretty quickly that she had

an acquired taste for a cup of chamomile.

Obviously, I don't know when she was actually born, because I rescued her

and she was probably already about three months when I found her.

But I treat her birthday as the day we found each other.

You like that, huh?

Ahh.

Penny is a precious pigeon that has changed Hannah's life.

I feel a very strong connection with Penny.

It's the way that she behaves with me.

She always wants to be around me,

on me, physically, you know, connected to me.

When I first got her,

I never thought this would be a possibility.

I never rescued her expecting

that I would be shown affection or love.

I was happy that she trusted me enough to help her.

But over time, as we've bonded,

to be able to pet her like this, is the loveliest thing.

It's really, really cool. And she loves it.

When I was growing up,

animals were always a huge part of my life.

I had guinea pigs, axolotls, newts,

I had a giant African snail, I had dogs, cats.

Never had a pigeon, and never had a bird.

Even though Penny is free to fly away,

she chooses to stay with Hannah,

and the two do everything together.

Good girl.

I like to start all of my days with Penny

by my side if at all possible,

because she's just so funny and she makes great company.

She just loves make... oh, yeah, that's a common occurrence.

She loves standing on your head, and she loves,

for some reason, makeup brushes. She's absolutely obsessed with them.

Is it practical having Penny here while I do my makeup?

No, but, you know, do I care?

Would I rather be the girl that does her makeup with a pigeon on her head? Absolutely.

I've no idea where Penny was before she found me at that pub.

I'm assuming she was just a feral pigeon.

So it really surprises me how she just managed

to settle so quickly into, like, domestic human life.

Good girl.

To be honest, before Penny sat on my lap at the pub,

I'd never even made physical contact with a pigeon.

So, it was very bizarre to me.

It was a chance encounter over a drink

that brought Hannah and Penny together.

I will never, ever forget when I first laid eyes on Penny.

She was a three-month-old scraggly fledgling.

I was in a pub with my friends,

and we were on a bench outside,

and this little scraggly thing hopped onto the bench.

And then she came all the way up to me,

nestled against my thigh,

and then hopped right onto my lap.

Hannah could see the young bird was badly injured.

The staff at the pub

told me that punters were kind of kicking her

with their feet, which made me very sad.

It was clear that this was a cry for help.

I'd never ever met this bird before, in my life,

and here she was, just interacting with me, communicating with me.

I was flabbergasted.

I popped her on my shoulder, and we got in my car, and we drove home.

But Penny was weak, and close to death.

I really didn't think she'd make it,

she was small, she was young, she was injured.

So, I just thought, "You know what I'll do?

I'll just make her last night really comfortable."

That's the best we can do.

Fast forward to the next day, she gave me a big yawn,

and I let her out in the garden,

and yeah, the rest was history, really.

Hey, little friend!

Every day, I would let her out of the cage,

just to see if she was interested in joining a flock,

or being feral again, and she never left.

You look good!

And we did this every single day for seven months.

She never left my side. So, please don't worry,

because I promise you, everything that Penny does

is by choice. (CHUCKLES)

Things did not come easy at first.

Penny's injuries were extensive.

She had a lot of trauma. On her chest, under her wing,

lost all of her feathers, it had cut through her skin.

I think had it been left, it probably would've become infected.

I had no idea what I was doing.

The only thing I knew to do was run her a nice, warm bath, give her food and water.

That was my basic understanding of keeping a bird alive.

Bit by bit, Penny grew stronger.

But always remained by Hannah's side.

Hannah started to share videos of her and Penny's daily lives online.

What am I gonna do with you?

Advice and support from around the world came flooding in,

and soon, Penny became a fully fledged social media sensation.

Did you guys see that?

And now she's famous, Penny likes to be pampered.

She loves having a bath. Contrary to popular belief,

pigeons are really, really clean animals,

and they absolutely love having baths,

and we bathe her literally once a week, and she absolutely loves it.

She also likes it when I wash her wing pits.

She'll hold up her little wing cos she'll want me to wash underneath.

She's very particular, she knows how she likes it. (LAUGHS)

I feel very bonded with Penny when we have bath time.

I remember the first time she did it after I rescued her...

I'm getting under the wing pits.

I was so thrilled, and I felt like

it was a real trusting moment for both of us.

Look at this.

And, yeah, every time she lets me bath her, it just gives me

such an absolute sense of joy.

I think we're about done. Yes, because she's gonna jump out.

I'm just gonna grab a towel for her and give her a swaddle.

One of her favourite things

is to be swaddled in a little towel.

I think it kind of makes her feel a bit safer.

There you go. That's better.

I love Penny to pieces. I genuinely love her so much.

I care about her wellbeing and her happiness.

If there's any way that pigeons can feel love,

or any animal can feel love or affection,

I do believe she feels that for me.

She chose me, not the other way round.

It's been exactly a year

since Hannah and Penny found each other.

And to celebrate, they're having a tea party.

I'm gonna try my best

to make a makeshift Victoria sponge, and just see how we go.

So, the aim is to cut it into circles

the same size as this little plate.

We've got my afternoon tea,

but Penny has also got her own little tea set,

and we've got tea pot, and Victoria sponge.

Everything, basically, that I've got, but just in a mini version,

which I found at a charity shop, and I'm so thrilled with. (LAUGHS)

And Penny's sharing the celebrations with all her followers.

Hi, everybody! So, today is Penny's birthday,

because it's a year since I rescued her.

And, honestly, she has changed my life in all the best ways.

So, I thought today we'd do a little tea party for her.

We're gonna have a little party,

everyone's gonna wish you happy birthday. Good girl.

Penny taught me a very important lesson.

Never be afraid to ask for help.

Even when you hit rock bottom.

Even if you've been treated badly in the past.

Always be brave enough to ask for help,

because you never know what might happen,

and that's exactly what Penny did. She asked for help

even though she hadn't been shown kindness before.

And she didn't just find kindness, she found a family.

You have quite happily changed my life, little miss.

You're so pretty and I love you so much.

Thank you. Thank you. You're my best friend.

I can taste strawberry. (LAUGHS)

In challenging times, we can form the strongest of bonds.

In Limpopo, South Africa,

two pals are heading out for a picnic.

For me, friendship is to be there for somebody no matter what.

Through thick and thin. That somebody can rely on you,

to be there, to be close, to be like this.

Going for a walk is the most precious activity

Riana can do with Faith the cheetah.

After contracting meningitis,

Faith faces physical and neurological disabilities.

A friend is exactly what she needs.

Faith is such a sweet cat, you know?

It was so easy, actually, to create a bond with her.

I think she knew that we are helping her,

and so the bond was there right from the start.

Oh, hello!

It's time for a tasty meal.

Ooh, what's this?

What is this, Mummy?

Smell it, smell it.

Get up, get up. There we go. Ooh.

Breakfast at last, huh?

Oh, as you can see, ooh,

this girl, she's got a good appetite.

You cleaned this out, oh, my word, huh?

That was nice.

Hey, that was very, very nice.

Oh-ho-ho.

I want some more.

I want to make that face clean.

Can I just quickly clean there,

otherwise the flies will come.

Do you know, because of her balance and things,

it's difficult, she can't clean her face like the other cheetahs.

Then the flies come to her ears, and to her face, so...

we clean it for her, my darling.

Yes, we clean it for you.

After breakfast, it's time to go home.

That's it, come!

The pair share a house,

with Faith having run of the downstairs and garden.

You can have a bit of water while I have my coffee.

So, she always needs to...

..eat and drink standing up,

cos she can't bend down like normal cheetahs.

Riana runs The Cheetah Experience,

a centre for animals in need.

It's where Faith was born,

and it was clear from the start that all was not right.

It was a very cold night and three cubs were born.

That morning, one cub was already dead of the cold.

Rejected by their mother, Riana found a home for one cub,

and hand-reared the other herself.

The cub grew healthy, until one day, she lost strength.

When she was one month old,

her whole body went paralysed.

First her back legs, and...

..a little while after that, her whole body.

She could not even lift her head.

She was totally, totally paralysed.

And was then...

rushed to the vet in Pretoria.

He did tests, and he...

said it is meningitis.

And he said he would try his best.

As for humans, meningitis can be fatal for a cheetah.

When she was fighting for her life,

I said, "Her name will be Faith,

cos I have faith...

that she will get better, and she will come back to me."

Miraculously, Faith lived up to her name,

and survived, but was permanently brain damaged

by the infection that nearly killed her.

So, the meningitis that she caught is an infection in the brain.

And it affected her nerve system,

her eyes, she's got squint eyes,

and that's why also her tail is not like a normal cheetah's tail.

Where other cheetahs use their tail for their balance,

her tail is a curly tail.

Riana was determined to save Faith,

because as a child, a cheetah once saved her.

I grew up as a child in a very abusive home.

I was afraid, I cried a lot,

and I liked to watch animals in books, magazines.

And one day I saw this photo of a cheetah,

the face of the cheetah,

and the tear marks, it looks like they've been crying.

There was a connection between me and that photo of the cheetah,

and I could feel that somehow we connected.

And I think, you know, you've been crying and I've been crying

and maybe I can make a difference in your life,

and you can make a difference in my life.

That would be absolutely a dream come true.

The Cheetah Experience is the realisation of that dream.

Riana's charity rescues, cares for, and rehabilitates

a variety of injured and orphaned animals.

Hello, my boy! Hello!

And aims to conserve the cheetah species,

and protect it from endangerment or extinction.

And at the centre of her world, it's always been Faith.

With endless love, physio, and daily care,

Riana rehabilitated her,

helping her learn to walk again.

Soldiers, we march.

So, it was basically to teach her brain how to move her muscles,

because her brain could not do that.

Faith would not have survived without Riana's help.

Ten years later, the pair are inseparable.

Faith is for sure one of my very good friends.

I am very sure that

I am one of Faith's favourite best friends.

I'm this happy person when I'm with her.

I was just alive and now I'm living.

Such a privilege, I'm here for her,

and she's here for me. (FAITH PURRING)

And we can comfort each other.

It's just lovely.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

NARRATOR: When it comes to relationships,

it's not always love at first sight.

As organic gardener Jeff Permar discovered.

He is in Delaware, USA, wondering if spring will ever come.

And he's longing to know if the visitors that nibble his crops

each season will return.

I've been growing a garden for about 20 something years.

So, I like to plant pretty much everything,

from asparagus to zucchini,

and all things in between.

Whenever you garden, there's always some kind of pest.

But one day, Jeff saw damage to his prized vegetables

that couldn't be explained by the odd slug or snail.

At first, I noticed a bunch of chunks that were missing

from vegetables, and I'd never experienced that before.

Look at these zucchini! Oh, God.

In an attempt to catch the culprit,

he set up a hidden camera.

All of a sudden...

pops up out of nowhere is a groundhog.

And Jeff soon discovered that there was more than one.

When I first found these guys,

it was going through my head, look, I gotta get rid of these guys.

You know, this is my livelihood.

At first, I was very upset about it, you know,

I would try to put up a barrier, put up a fence,

but everything I did,

these guys would seem to be one step ahead of me.

Tried to re-secure the garden, and... they got me again.

After days of being outsmarted by the groundhogs,

Jeff had a change of heart.

It dawned on me one day,

it's like, they're just out here trying to survive.

Just gotta stop fighting, man. These guys are so cool.

So much swagger, they just pop right up in front of the camera,

and they're just eating away, so innocent,

lips smacking, juice everywhere,

it's the most coolest thing you'll see.

I transitioned from being an organic farmer that spends, like,

hours tending to the garden, to caretaker of a family of groundhogs.

It's their land, too, I just put a garden on it.

In a bid to spare his own livelihood,

and satisfy his groundhog companions,

Jeff started planting extra vegetables.

But the banquets are on hold while the groundhogs are in hibernation.

So over here, we have the den for the groundhogs, um,

where they come out of the den, come right through there,

and into the garden.

Groundhogs are notoriously shy.

Jeff only ever sees them through the footage which he captures.

So this here is a wireless camera with 100 yards of range.

When they come out of the den there,

you'll see their head pop out, this will get tripped,

and it will start recording, and this sends that recording right to the cloud.

It's not just Jeff who's looking forward to the groundhogs waking up.

As the time went on, and seeing them in the camera,

I posted it on social media.

It went viral instantly.

And people were commenting,

"Wow, this is just what I needed to see."

"I was having a really bad day."

"I really needed to see this, thank you so much."

"It actually lifted my spirits."

Seeing how much joy the groundhogs brought others

further persuaded Jeff that they were not garden pests,

but welcome visitors.

So, from that point on, it had purpose.

And basically, I embraced it.

As a surprise for his new friends when they wake from hibernation,

he's making them their very own garden furniture.

Which should come in handy for their growing family.

I saw he had a girlfriend, too.

It pulled on a couple heartstrings even more.

Like, hey, this guy's got a family, he's got a girlfriend,

they're just like us.

Jeff's growing affection for them

prompted him to get to know Chunk's extended family.

I named the first one Chunk cos he was taking chunks out of vegetables.

But then as times went on the family started expanding.

The first season it was Chunk, Nibbles, Nugget,

Chip and Chibbles.

Now we have Chunk Junior, Chewing Yummy Snacks,

Wookie, Niblet.

I'd say it looks pretty good.

Sturdy.

So, the anticipation is, like, you don't know what groundhog is gonna come out,

you don't know if it's gonna come back from last year.

They go away and they hibernate from November to mid-February,

so you're not seeing them for all that time.

That's it. There's the Chunk's picnic table.

After years of sharing his garden with the groundhogs,

Jeff knows they will be stirring soon.

He has built them a welcoming space ready for when they wake.

I got this sign from a fan who made it for us.

We're official now. It's Chunk Land.

Now for the finishing touch.

A little spring sign. We all could use some spring.

Alright, everything's complete here.

All we need now is some cameras to set up

so we can capture some footage.

I'll put one here that goes straight on.

I'll also put one here to get the side profile right here.

That looks about right.

Chunky Chunky, let's get something to eat.

With everything in place...

and the perfect conditions for groundhog day...

..Jeff decides to give the shy creatures some space.

I'm headed to this taco restaurant.

Chef Billiot created a taco in honour of the Chunk.

He's a big fan, and he invited me down to try this taco.

OK, here it is. "Chunk Don't Eat Junk.

Veggie taco."

Billy here? I saw on that sign.

BILLY: Chunk Don't Eat Junk! Wanna try one?

Now, let's do it.

Can I get a couple Chunk Don't Eat Junks, please?

Oh, man, this looks delicious.

And the verdict?

You nailed it, man. Chunk would love it.

And someone else is ready for lunch, too.

Waiting any moment to get, like, a notification on the phone.

Ooh, got some activity. Let's check it out.

(GASPS)There he is! Dude, there he is.

Oh, he's tearing up that carrot.

Chunk has woken from hibernation.

And it's groundhog day once again.

Oh, that's awesome.

Man. (LAUGHS)

Oh, my goodness. That's so funny, look at him. (LAUGHS)

He is the happiest groundhog in the world.

Next time I visit y'all, I'll bring tortillas.Deal.

Deal.Good to see you, mate. You too, man.

Most people don't like groundhogs. It's a well-known fact.

In fact, they're a nuisance.

But for me, they're a blessing. And I couldn't see it any other way.

So happy that they're here.

(PLAYING JOYFUL TUNE)

The groundhogs have definitely taught me how to coexist.

They're just trying to survive just like we are.

# Chomp, chomp, chomppity, chomp

# Who is it? Was is it? Hm...

The groundhogs are definitely my friends. Friends and family.

# He became so special to me

# That I named him Chunk And he eats for free

# Chunk...

I think from their perspective they're probably watching me.

Right? Come out to the den, and putting the stuff down.

If they could, I think they would say,

"Hey, man. Thanks for the grub."

(CHUCKLES)

# He don't care what you say

# He gonna eat your veggies anyway #

If I had one message to send out there about groundhogs,

it would be give them a chance,

don't invite them to your doorstep. I don't do that.

I take care of them from afar.

It's about just learning to live together

in harmony where we both can benefit.

That's cos Chunk don't eat junk.

Friends support each other through the hardest of times,

and are there for the moments of greatest adversity.

Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in the north of England.

It's a world away from home for Ryad Alsous.

I left my country, Syria, in 2013 because of the war.

One of my distant relatives lives here in Huddersfield,

and he invited us to come to the UK.

In Syria, Ryad was a professor of agriculture

at Damascus University,

where he was a renowned bee expert.

I look from my balcony to Damascus, places burning.

Clouds of smoke...

and explosions.

Ryad and his family escaped Syria

and arrived in the UK as refugees.

He was gifted a hive of European honey bees.

After 50 years, I'm continuing my job as beekeeper.

I owe to bees a lot of things

because they taught me a lot of things.

The bees gave Ryad an opportunity to rebuild his life.

We are going to check the hives, if they are happy or not,

if they have food or not.

You see it is calm hive, here.

Not aggressive, it is very calm.

Ryad's life story provided the inspiration

for the best-selling book The Beekeeper of Aleppo.

Every day I have a new lesson from bees,

and how they behave to survive in a peaceful way

that is the best society available on Earth.

They are doing their job, without any order from others.

Like a computer in a quiet way, without any pushing.

Ryad keeps European honey bees,

evolved to withstand harsh conditions.

British bees are adapted in English weather.

We have long winter, wet season in summer time,

they can do their job in an excellent way,

better than any other imported bees.

Ryad is inspired by the important role of bees

in our ecosystem.

You see, the dust.

This is the pollen.

Without bees, no pollination.

Without pollination we will not get any fruit,

or any meat, or any type of food.

If they disappear on Earth,

the human life will disappear.

When we put a colony in this orchard here,

the quality of fruit will improve.

The taste of fruit will be different, also.

The quantity of fruit will increase.

Very important to spread the word

by spreading the bees.

Ryad is as passionate about beekeeping

as he is about helping other refugees.

English bees and refugees, they have same issue.

They need the same help.

He founded The Buzz Project,

helping refugees to rebuild their lives

through community and understanding.

It is beautiful to help English bees by refugees,

just to say thank you, England.

You saved our life,

and we also want to share...

saving the life of your bees

here in this country.

Ryad hopes he can inspire a new generation of beekeepers,

whilst also providing companionship, and jobs.

All of us, we are one unit. Me, bees, and refugees,

we are working here in this community,

doing the same job, and same aim.

I will be very happy to find people doing beekeeping and owning bees.

Because they share and maintain our nature, to improve our nature.

Not only are bees vital pollinators...

..they of course provide us with honey.

WOMAN: Hello!

Hi! How are you doing?

Good, good, thank you.Excellent. Are you selling the honey?

We are, indeed. They've gone down really, really well.

The people are happy with it? Absolutely, yes.

Alright, OK, thank you, thank you.

Alright, Ryad. Have a good day.

When you love your job, you can do all day,

you will not feel tiredness.

Bees, they have ugly feeling and happy feeling,

they feel the same as human.

Don't look to bees as small insect,

it is, like, high-level of developed creatures.

It is a very strong relationship,

it is like they are my soul,

it is my nature.

I believe my soul connected with them.

Without them, I can't have a nice life.

To me, they are my children.

NARRATOR: It's often chance meetings

that lead to surprising, but genuine connections.

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

On the outskirts of the city,

Baye Pigors is friends with one of Africa's

most recognizable animals.

Morning, Richmond. Hi! Hello.

So, this is Richmond,

and he's at the gate every morning to meet me.

And we just have a little cuddle and a hello to see how our night went.

Baye runs the Free To Be Wild Rescue Sanctuary.

One of the things I'm most grateful for is that I found my calling

and my passion really early on in life.

I'd never say no to an animal in need.

Too domesticated to be released,

Richmond will live out his days here,

as Baye's right-hand man.

So, every morning we come and do a patrol along the boundary fence,

and this is part of our anti-poaching practices,

where we just make sure there's no holes in the fence,

no animals have come in, no animals have tried to get out.

Along for the ride are some of Richmond's friends.

Come on, guys!

When I started, I definitely didn't think that

the zebra species would become almost my spirit animal,

and here I am, almost ten years later,

with the strongest bonds I have,

opposed to any other animal that I've ever had to care for.

It's also just a really nice morning routine

to spend a bit of time with Richmond.

It was at a time when I really needed a friend,

and he was that creature for me.

He's probably had one of the biggest impacts on my life,

and the most positive.

Obviously, being in a city environment, we are quite a hotspot,

because we've got a lot of foot traffic

that comes through this area,

but we're fortunate enough to have not had

an incident of poaching for a really long time.

I like to think it's because of our

ever so efficient anti-poaching zebra.

I've ridden horses since I was about two years old,

and to me, a zebra is just a magical, wild horse.

With the boundary lines secure,

it's time for a well-earned breakfast.

Hello!

Richmond was rescued from a suburb on the outskirts of Bulawayo.

He, one morning, was found next to a supermarket,

which was kind of bizarre, because you don't see

a wild animal in the city.

Baye managed to organise a horse trailer

to take Richmond to the sanctuary.

And Richmond seemed to take an instant liking to Baye.

Richmond just walked onto the trailer.

We were absolutely astounded that a wild animal

that, at that time, showed quite a lot of fear to people,

was willing to walk onto a horse trailer,

better than my own horses have ever walked onto it.

Hello, sweet boy!

I think Richmond's circumstances were that he had been harassed.

Whether he had been chased by dogs and dog poachers,

or the fact that he had found himself lost in a city environment,

I think he kind of got that feeling that we were there to help him.

Once Richmond settled in, he bonded not just with Baye,

but the other animals, too.

He befriends everyone,

and really helps new orphans accept,

or get used to their life at the sanctuary,

and integrate into what is the zebra herd here at Free To Be Wild.

He has the freedom to come and go in the presence of people.

So, if he wants to hang around and be close to me, he can,

if he doesn't want to, he's got the freedom and space to choose not to.

Richmond's instinct to be friend

and guardian are now needed more than ever.

The most incredible little arrival

that got here nearly two weeks ago,

Peggy the zebra.

Hi, Peggy Peggy!

Peggy broke her leg on a game reserve in Zimbabwe.

It was a really bad fracture,

unfortunately the infection was too deep,

and her leg couldn't be saved.

We've just received a sling for Peggy's leg,

and we have had to be a little bit creative

in trying to treat her wound and stop her from bumping the stump,

and knocking out her stitches.

So we are just gonna put it on, and hopefully it fits

and works and serves its purpose.

The sling is just a temporary measure.

If it all goes to plan and she heals well,

we are gonna actually get Peggy fitted with a prosthetic leg.

She hasn't quite realised that she doesn't have her leg,

and she keeps putting it down. So we came up with the sling idea

to help her hold the leg up.

Perfect! That is so cool.

To the best of our knowledge, we believe that this is gonna be

the first zebra in the world with a prosthetic leg,

and definitely the first wild animal in Zimbabwe

to ever be fitted with a prosthetic leg.

Central to her recovery will be Richmond.

Richmond has become such an amazing ambassador

of his species that really helps

settle in other zebra rescues that come in.

Our hope is that once Peggy is a little bit older,

and she's got her prosthetic leg,

and provided everything's going well,

that we will be able to introduce her to Richmond,

and hopefully they'll be able to form a natural relationship

that she would have in the wild.

That's one of the things we aim to do with our animals,

is replicate as close to a natural environment as possible.

Bye-bye, Pegs. See you later.

Satisfied that Peggy is doing well,

Baye has an important task for Richmond.

Some tick medication.

Although they live in a natural environment,

we still have elements of health we need to be able to control.

Hey, boy. Come.

So, I'm just applying it down his mane and his spine,

and then the body will absorb it.

(RICHMOND SNORTS)

I think that was a snort of approval.

Our task is complete.

Every evening, Baye and Richmond spend

some quality, one-on-one time together.

One of my favourite times of day, and things to do with Richmond,

is kind of just a quiet time,

taking a moment out of the chaotic life

of running the sanctuary

and just grounding myself in the present moment,

and doing that in his presence.

While zebra might be my spirit animal,

Richmond is definitely my soul animal.

(CHUCKLES)

Just sometimes sitting on a rock and just having him close.

Yeah, just his love and presence

is a really, really special bonding moment

that I really find important in my life.

I really do love him so much with all of my heart.

Richmond has one of those macho personalities,

where he kind of portrays himself

as this big bad boy, and on the inside,

he's really soft and just loves a good love.

One of the best parts about Richmond and my friendship

is the fact that he can choose to be with me.

If we wants to roam the sanctuary

and just be a zebra, he's able to do that.

Friendship to me is someone that when you're in their presence,

you just feel like you're at home.

You feel like you can fully trust them,

rely on them, their loyalty is undeniable,

and I feel like my relationship with Richmond

is all of those things.

It's love, it's compassion, most importantly, it's trust.

He trusts me and I trust him,

and I think that is a huge foundation for any relationship.

From the dusty African Savanna,

to the turquoise waters of the West Indies...

..where the underwater environment of The Bahamas

makes for incredible encounters.

Italian-born conservationist Cristina Zenato

is preparing to visit some close friends.

And they rush in to welcome her.

Caribbean reef sharks.

I stand there and let the sharks come in.

There's no phones, no computers, no people,

it's just me and the sharks.

Everything is just absolutely peaceful.

My heart rate just drops, my breathing drops.

My brain clears,

and it's just like... (DEEP INHALE AND EXHALE)

The ocean has always been part of Cristina's life,

as far back as she can remember.

I grew up with my dad being this phenomenal diver.

He would always go free diving, spear fishing,

or collecting, for example, mussels.

And so I was always in the water with him.

I would swim eight to ten hours per day. I had no concept of hypothermia.

My mum would tell me to come out of the water, cos my lips were purple.

Cristina turned her passion

into a career as a professional diver.

For the past three decades, she has called Grand Bahama her home.

I came to The Bahamas to pursue this dream of diving.

My idea was, "Well, I'll dive for a while, I'm 22."

If you don't do something like that when you're 22,

when are you gonna do it? And so I'll get diving out of my system,

then I'll go back home, and...

here we are 29 years later.

We're at a dive site called Shark Junction.

This where I've been coming for the last 29 years.

Cristina's never forgotten her first dive here.

On my first checkout dive, on my open water course,

I submerged and there were Caribbean reef sharks

swimming around me.

It was the dream come true, all in one.

I was scuba diving, there were sharks, and crystal clear water.

And you have to imagine these sunbeams are coming down

and they dance, you know, with the reef.

When I entered the water here, it almost felt as if I had gone home.

But the most beautiful home

that somebody could ever prepare for me.

For Cristina, that first magical encounter

with the sharks sealed the deal.

But like all relationships,

the trust grew over time.

If you go on a speed date, you can't say,

"I'm in a long-term relationship."

That's your first encounter. Then you have to have many more.

And, so, it's the same with sharks. It was time,

and repetition, and presence. That's how you build.

Cristina's relationship with the sharks has been developing

for 29 years.

She dives at every opportunity that conditions allow.

When interacting with Caribbean reef sharks,

Cristina wears a suit made of chain mail.

You wear a glove over your arm

for the bird of prey to land on it.

Not because the bird of prey has any intention to hurt you,

but just, you need something for them to grasp on

that is not your flesh.

It's very comfortable. It's 20 pounds, about ten kilos.

It's distributed amongst the body.

The only thing chain mail doesn't have is...

a stretch. So, it's very soft,

it's very gentle to the touch.

But it cannot stretch.

Sharks have many nerve endings under the skin

that are sensitive to touch.

Cristina's protective suit allows her to have

uniquely physical interactions.

Some sharks are very shy.

They're very, like, "Oh, I'm coming in."

"But not ready." "Oh, you're trying to touch me. Oof."

There are individuals that will literally come in

and just lean there and say, "Hi, can you pet me?"

So, I do believe it is a shark's choice.

It has to do with their personality.

It has to do with how they feel.

You can tell if your loved one comes home

and has been disturbed by a bad day at work.

The way they say hello, the way they sigh,

and the same thing I can tell with a shark.

I can also tell when she finally goes...

(SIGHS)

It's almost like, "OK, this is good."

She's aware that not everyone sees sharks the same way she does.

I had absolutely zero understanding

how frightened people were of sharks,

until I started saying, "I love sharks."

And people were like, "(GASPS) Shark!"

And that's what set me up into this mission,

of changing people's perceptions about sharks in the ocean.

Why they are there, why we need them,

how we need to understand them.

As Cristina's appreciation for the sharks grew,

she began to name many of them.

They're very weird names.

Grandma, for example, has a very light skin colour.

Very light grey. She reminds me a lot of the head of hair

that my grandma had.

Crook has both of her pectoral fins just slightly crooked.

One is bent in, one is dented a little bit.

Once you give a name and an identity

to an animal that is normally perceived

a large, carnivorous predator,

you create a connection.

And by creating that care, you create that desire to protect.

That's what I try to do.

My father taught me very much about the animals.

One of the things he used to say,

"There are no monsters in the sea.

Only the ones you make happen in your head."

(SEAGULLS SQUAWKING)

Out of the water, Cristina continues her shark conservation work.

The box of hope was gifted to me, on a trip to China.

I was invited in China by a group of people there

that were interested in trying to educate more

the public about shark fin soup.

Sharks are shot with hooks from fishers,

so they end up with this stuff on their mouth,

and, however, I can remove them.

There's, like, layers and layers of hooks.

Hooks, like these, they were on a fish,

and a shark ate the fish and got caught with the hook.

But then there's hooks like these that might be questionable.

Could be deep sea fishing,

but they're big enough, also,

to capture an animal the size of a shark.

I watched them with a hook inside their mouth having a huge infection,

having their skin rubbed raw by the wire.

I watched them struggling to eat.

Think about how disturbed we are when we have

a tiny little splinter in our finger tips.

Now think about having something like this.

I single-handedly remove all those hooks, one-by-one.

Cristina's been removing hooks from sharks for over 20 years.

The other day we counted, and it was over 300.

These hooks and these sharks

became then ambassadors for the plight that sharks have in the world

for the misunderstandings that they go through.

Thankfully, no hooks today.

But Cristina doesn't want to get out of the water yet.

I could sit there forever and ever.

It's very relaxing, it's very soothing.

It's very connecting.

The sharks are family to me.

I love them, I love sharks.

I know we have a relationship,

dictated by the limitation of a shark animal that it is,

but I love sharks.

AccessibleCustomerService@sky.uk