Original subtitles

ATTENBOROUGH: Africa.

In the four years of making this series, we've been to some astonishing places

and seen animals behaving in ways that have never been filmed before.

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETING)

But Africa has another story to tell.

The wildlife of this continent has seen more changes in the last 50 years

than it has in the last two million.

Changing landscapes and changing climate.

Today's animals are facing unprecedented challenges

whilst, around them, Africa's human population

is growing at nearly double the global rate.

(HIPPOS BRAYING)

There is an increasing urgency to understand

and, crucially, to conserve the wildlife of this great continent.

(MEN WHISTLING)

Today, there is a new generation of naturalists and scientists

who're fighting to save the wild places and the animals that live in them.

- One, two, three! - (INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

ATTENBOROUGH: This is the greatest wildlife continent on the planet.

And what happens here is relevant to us all.

So, what is the future of wild Africa?

This animal has become the world's number one target for poachers.

Its kind has been hunted almost to the point of extinction.

It's now so rare that this individual is watched over day and night.

This is the black rhinoceros.

And black rhinoceros are

notorious for being rather grumpy and suddenly charging.

But he is in great danger...

because he has, on his nose...

that horn...

which is worth its weight in gold.

(RHINO SNORTING)

The demand for rhino horn has rocketed.

There has been a 3,000% increase in poaching

just in the last five years.

(RHINO SNORTING)

Today, powdered rhino horn can fetch up to $65,000 a kilo.

Rhinos are a lucrative target for organised crime.

In Chinese medicine, it's believed that rhino horn can reduce fever.

And some Vietnamese sell it as a cure for everything,

from cancer to hangovers.

It's made of keratin, the same substance as hair and nail

and it has no clinically proven medicinal value.

(RHINO SNORTING)

But it has made every black rhino in Africa a target.

They've all been killed in Uganda and Rwanda,

and there are only around 600 left here, in Kenya.

But these are not poachers.

- These are protectors. - (COCKING GUN)

(SHOT FIRED)

(RHINOS GRUNTING)

And that protection is overseen by rhino expert Dr. Matthew Mutinda,

one of the Kenya Wildlife Services' top vets.

DR MUTINDA: Black rhinos are critically endangered.

And that is what we at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, we're trying to do.

Save the animal, provide a safe and secure sanctuary,

where the animal can breed and live freely.

ATTENBOROUGH: There aren't many true wild rhinos left in Africa.

Most, like these, in Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

are under armed guard.

This young female has reached the age when Matthew must do some health checks,

including taking blood samples.

This will help deter poachers and traffickers,

as DNA in illegally traded rhino horn can be tracked back to its origin.

If you have to do anaesthesia in the wild,

you will expect some degree of risk.

ATTENBOROUGH: This female has reacted badly to the anaesthetic.

(SPEAKING IN LOCAL DIALECT)

She's not breathing. It's a rare and extremely serious situation.

He knows that the next few minutes are crucial.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

And when an animal is this big,

there's only one way to get the heart going again when you're out in the bush.

Thanks to Matthew's quick thinking,

they can hear that she's breathing again.

(SPEAKING IN LOCAL DIALECT)

They've got to get her back on her feet.

(ANXIOUS CHATTER)

Not surprisingly, she's disorientated.

(THUDDING)

(RHINO SNORTING)

Mission accomplished.

It's been an ordeal,

but now this rhino can be tracked and protected for the rest of her life.

Within minutes, she's grazing peacefully again, with her mother.

It may seem heartless to treat an animal like that,

but we have to keep tabs on them and be able to identify individuals.

They're in great danger.

Even now, on average, one rhino is killed by poachers every day in Africa.

There are so few black rhino left in Kenya

that we're getting to know each individual.

But this is still a creature that can surprise us.

Previously, it was widely believed that black rhinos

were largely solitary creatures.

Here, in the Kalahari, a starlight camera reveals

that they may be much more sociable than many thought.

(RHINOS GRUNTING)

This waterhole gathering is an enchanting window into the past.

Early explorers reported seeing a rhino behind every bush.

Before the invention of the gun

there were probably hundreds of thousands of rhinos

across the continent.

The people protecting rhinos in Africa

are striving to ensure that we'll still be able to witness

wonderful scenes like this in 50 years' time.

Right across Africa, conservationists have realised

that if we want to save our big animals, then now is the time.

The human population of the continent has just exceeded one billion,

and many wild animals are being hunted commercially for food.

Some legally.

But many illegally.

(WILDEBEEST LOWING)

Wildlife meat is often sold as goat or beef.

The amount is astonishing.

Millions of tonnes are eaten across Africa every year.

At this rate, some species are almost certainly heading for extinction.

But commercial hunting is not just affecting the grazers.

As the prey decreases, it's affecting the predators, too.

Fifty years ago, there were about half a million lions in Africa.

Today, there are less than 30,000.

But in one particular part of Africa,

things are improving in a quite extraordinary way.

These hunters have become part of a new and unlikely alliance.

In recent years, hungry lions have increasingly been killing livestock.

(MOOING)

One group of traditional Maasai have reacted in a very untraditional way.

The Maasai are cattle herders who don't eat wild animals.

But when lions attack their herds, they've always retaliated.

Maasai and lions are ancient adversaries.

A lion hunt is still a rite of passage for young Maasai warriors

like Olubi Lairumbe.

(SPEAKING IN LOCAL DIALECT)

TRANSLATOR: For me and any Maasai,

killing a lion is the ultimate fulfilment

of a truly accomplished Maasai.

Nothing compares to that.

ATTENBOROUGH: There is nobody who knows more about living alongside lions

than the Maasai themselves.

I met Olubi and some of the other warriors in his village

to find out about their relationship with the local pride.

How many lions are there around here?

(SPEAKING IN LOCAL DIALECT)

TRANSLATOR: Around here there are about a hundred.

- Oh. - Yeah.

So they all have names?

TRANSLATOR: Every single lion has a name. A Maasai name.

And when you see a lion, do you know how it's going to behave?

TRANSLATOR: It depends on the lion.

TRANSLATOR: For a Maasai warrior, lions are nothing to be scared of.

If I saw a lion... A lion would be likely to attack me.

TRANSLATOR: Only if you threaten it.

Hmm, well, I hope the next lion knows that.

(ALL LAUGHING)

ATTENBOROUGH: Olubi killed his first lion when he was just 17,

after it attacked his cattle.

Unfortunately, the lion turned out to be pregnant.

And that led to a remarkable turnaround.

(SPEAKING IN LOCAL DIALECT)

TRANSLATOR: The Maasai respect all living things.

And I began to feel guilty about the lion that I had killed.

In the end, I came to admire the lions.

ATTENBOROUGH: Olubi had a dramatic change of heart.

He turned his back on hundreds of years of Maasai tradition.

Along with some other warriors, Olubi became a lion guardian.

Instead of hunting lions, Olubi would be protecting them.

He teamed up with Stephanie Dolrenry, who helped pioneer the project.

(SPEAKING IN LOCAL DIALECT)

Just by respecting their traditions

and also bringing in their ecological knowledge,

it's been hugely successful.

They know their areas, they know how to track lions,

they've been doing it for generation after generation.

They know how to track them, they know how to hunt them,

they know how to find them.

ATTENBOROUGH: This is only a small-scale project.

But with lion numbers as low as they are,

they need all the help they can get.

Olubi is tracking radio-collared lions.

He's able to warn villagers to move their cattle

when the pride is in the area.

And so they're avoiding conflict.

No lions have been killed in the immediate area

since the project began.

By combining the science, both ancient and contemporary,

they're beginning to make a real difference.

STEPHANIE: There's so much to be learned.

I feel I bring in modern technology, modern knowledge,

and, in return, they teach us about the environment,

and how things have changed in their environment.

And it's a really neat exchange...

You can't say the biologists are the teachers

or the guardians are the teachers.

We're both teachers and we're both students.

And I think that's... That blend is amazing.

ATTENBOROUGH: Critically,

at the heart of this project is a huge attitude change

by these Maasai warriors.

An animal that was once their sworn enemy, they now protect.

And their willingness to share knowledge with other communities

means that projects like this could be repeated in other parts of Africa.

Traditionally, when a warrior killed a lion, he took the name of the lion.

Now, it's the other way round.

Now the lion takes the name of the warrior who protects it.

The scheme is a huge success.

There are about 100 lions involved in this scheme in this neighbourhood.

This is 21st century conservation in action.

Perhaps the biggest threat to wildlife is the competition for space

with the rapidly growing human population.

The Virunga volcanoes straddle the borders of Rwanda, Uganda

and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The rich volcanic soils are extremely fertile.

It's one of the most intensively cultivated areas in Africa.

But the farmers also share this region with one of our closest relatives.

This is home to the last 800 or so

wild mountain gorillas left on Earth.

We know a great deal about these animals.

They've been closely studied for 50 years.

One strong silverback male keeps everyone in order.

And gorilla family life is mostly peaceful.

(MURMURING)

Until a few generations ago, mountain gorillas,

hidden in the seclusion of their forests,

were seldom seen by human beings.

But their habitat was steadily being carved away.

And now these gorillas are marooned

on the volcanic slopes in a sea of farmland.

The fact that gorillas now regularly come into contact with people

not only means an increased threat of poaching,

but also of disease.

Gorillas have little or no resistance to the bugs that we carry.

(GRUNTS)

Numbers here once dropped to around 250.

They were facing extinction.

Action had to be taken.

The boundaries of the national park were strictly enforced,

halting the encroachment of farmland.

And it was decided that the only solution

was to intensively manage the remaining gorillas.

Teams of scientists constantly monitor them.

Their forests are patrolled to cut poachers' snares.

(GRUNTS)

And vets watch their health closely.

This is funded mostly through ecotourism

and donations from all over the world.

Mountain gorillas are now back from the brink.

This level of human intervention might not be ideal, but it's working.

Every year there are a few more mountain gorillas

and possibly just a little more optimism.

Intensive management within a protected area

may represent the only future for many African species.

But for some animals that is simply not possible.

(ELEPHANT TRUMPETING)

What happens if the animal you're trying to protect

is not suited to park life?

Elephants require vast amounts of space to roam.

They have a range of up to 1,300 square miles.

Given the chance,

they will even move between countries in search of the best food,

particularly if conditions get rough.

This was the scene in Amboseli National Park in 2009.

The park is home to nearly one and a half thousand elephants.

And this was the worst drought for half a century.

60% of zebras and 95% of wildebeest were wiped out.

The seasonal rains had failed for the last two years.

And the elephants that lived here were slowly starving.

The park created to protect them is now surrounded by farmland.

The elephants had little choice of where else to go.

Caught up in this catastrophe were three sisters.

They are the frontline for elephant protection in the park.

And they know these animals better than anyone else.

Nora Njiraini,

and Katito and Soila Sayialel.

SOILA: All the elephants have been given names.

They're a family to us.

Hello, Anastasia.

ATTENBOROUGH: The sisters have been following these elephants

for over 25 years,

trying to ensure their safety,

particularly at times when life is tough for these animals.

SOILA: It really was terrible.

There was nothing, actually, to feed on.

We even went and asked the old Maasai men

whether they have ever experienced such a drought.

The only time it was close to what was then, was in 1961.

SOILA: In 2009,

we lost quite a number of elephants.

I think we lost about 400 elephants.

SOILA: And it started with the young ones.

ATTENBOROUGH: Elephants usually escape drought

by moving into other less affected areas.

But Africa's human population is growing at double the global rate.

And traditional migration routes have been cut

by the developments of towns, cities, farmland and roads,

leaving these elephants stuck.

This young calf is starving,

and there is nothing they can do to help.

For the sisters, who know each elephant personally,

this is a terrible moment.

SOILA: It is something that we feel in our hearts.

You can imagine the kind of feelings that we get.

You know, knowing those elephants and seeing something like that happen,

it really touches us.

ATTENBOROUGH: It was a tough year for all the young elephants in the region.

We lost all the calves who were born that year.

All of them. We lost them.

(GRUNTING)

ATTENBOROUGH: There was nothing the sisters could do to save the baby.

But they were determined to save any elephants they could,

especially mothers who could breed again.

(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)

They found this female stuck in the mud, exhausted,

in a dried-up lakebed.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

(MAN SPEAKING IN LOCAL DIALECT)

The elephant that got stuck in the mud was Qualida.

Poor thing, you know, she was there for quite a long time.

SOILA: The Maasai reported it to us,

and we had to combine efforts with the Kenya Wildlife Services people.

(ALL SHOUTING)

ATTENBOROUGH: Weighing about three tonnes,

Qualida is just too heavy to shift by hand.

She's weakening fast.

So the next morning, heavy machinery is brought in.

(MAN SPEAKING IN LOCAL DIALECT)

(PEOPLE CHEERING)

(MEN SPEAKING IN LOCAL DIALECT)

(WHISTLING)

After two days stuck in the mud,

Qualida is exhausted.

But she is up on her feet again.

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

The rains did return to Amboseli,

and, thanks in part to the work of those dedicated three women,

elephant numbers are now beginning to rise again.

There's no doubt that this was an extremely severe event.

But is it an isolated incident or a developing pattern?

SOILA: Especially with global warming,

we actually don't know what's going to happen,

but we just have to cross fingers and hope for a better future.

ATTENBOROUGH: Given the opportunity, the numbers of elephants

in East Africa will recover.

Especially if they are given the freedom to range widely,

and so avoid the harshest conditions.

One solution to help elephants find the space they need

is to link parks together and provide safe routes between them.

Elephants are great travellers,

and here, in this part of Kenya, they regularly moved from the lowlands

up the side of the mountains to feed in the forests up there.

But then, the human population of Kenya grew,

and roads like this one were constructed.

Penning the elephants down in the lowlands

where they created havoc amongst the farms.

Not only that, there were dangers of collisions on the road.

And then someone suggested building an underpass.

Within 24 hours of it being completed,

one elephant had passed through,

and now all the elephants use that route

to go up the mountain, often at night, to feed.

Simple ideas like this underpass are a lifeline for these elephants.

Especially in times of drought.

Africa's climate is certainly changing.

Some parts of the continent

have become three and a half degrees centigrade hotter

in the past 20 years.

At the summit of Africa's most famous mountain, Kilimanjaro,

80 percent of its permanent ice fields have disappeared.

Soon, it will be free of ice altogether.

All over Africa

the mountainous regions are often the first indicators of climate change.

Here, in the Ethiopian Highlands, live very unusual-looking creatures.

Gelada baboons.

Climate change refugees.

Although this region of Ethiopia lies in the tropics,

up at 4,000 metres, it doesn't feel like it.

Unlike most African animals,

geladas are adapted to life in the cold.

They used to be one of Africa's most successful primates,

found all over the continent.

At one stage, there were six different species.

Now there is only one.

With the warming climate,

their grazing is becoming more and more scarce,

restricted to cooler and higher places.

These geladas are being forced higher into the mountains.

Soon there will be nowhere left to go.

This is a species living on the edge.

Even though they're isolated on the mountain tops,

they're not immune to our influence.

As a result of changing climate,

these gelada baboons may soon be gone from our planet.

Africa is the world's hottest continent.

And there is no doubt, it's getting warmer.

The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world.

Very little can survive in these harsh conditions.

Along the desert edge, life clings on

in the face of encroaching sands.

But for how long?

Alongside the wildlife,

22 million people struggle to make a living

on these desert margins.

Can anything be done to stop the sand overwhelming this fragile land?

One idea is to build a green wall of trees

across 11 countries.

The project has already started, in Senegal,

but, like all big ideas, it has big problems.

Getting 11 countries to work together is not easy,

and simply irrigating a 5,000-mile-long belt of trees

is an ambitious task.

But, all over Africa, people are recognising

how important it is to have trees

as part of their local landscape.

This group of volunteers has planted nearly 100 million saplings.

And they're just one of countless similar groups and individuals,

taking it upon themselves

to reforest their own part of this great continent.

Trees are essential for the future of the continent,

and indeed to the rest of the planet.

This is the Congo basin.

It's one of the most biologically important forests on Earth,

and it's not just because of the concentration

of plants and animals that live here.

It's because it's also one of the powerhouses

behind the planet's wind and rain.

Each hectare of trees releases as vapour

almost 190,000 litres of water a year.

This water passes into the atmosphere,

to be transported around the entire globe.

That means the heart of the world's weather

lies in tropical forests.

Unfortunately, there's an almost insatiable demand in Europe and China,

for hardwood from these very forests.

And that is having an enormous impact.

As more tropical forest is felled,

some scientists are seeing a correlation

with changing storm patterns across Europe and America.

And it's likely to become more extreme.

Staggeringly, 50 percent of the Congo basin forest

has been allocated for logging.

The future of Africa's forests has never been more critical for us all.

But the consequences of global warming aren't limited to the land.

Africa is almost completely surrounded by oceans.

Here, on the east coast,

there are animals feeling the change in climate

in a most surprising way.

This is a young female green turtle.

During her lifetime, she will travel thousands of miles

through the ocean, looking for food.

Turtles return to the same beach from which they hatched

to lay their own eggs.

The eggs are buried in the sand,

and the hatchlings will emerge after about two months.

Now, there's a strange thing. about turtle eggs,

and that is the temperature at which the eggs are kept

will determine the sex of most of the hatchlings.

If the sand temperature is high, they will be female.

If it's low, they will be male.

So global warming could have a crucial effect

on turtle populations.

And this young female

may find it very difficult,

in years to come, to find a male with which to mate.

But a local conservation group recognised that the odds are stacking up

against these little turtles.

There's not much they can do about climate change,

but they have got together with the local fishermen

to try and improve the turtles' chances of survival.

Every turtle counts.

So each time one is found injured or accidentally caught in the nets,

it's brought to Kahindi Changawa and his team.

CHANGAWA: So we began with only 16 fishermen altogether, in 1998,

and now we have hundreds of fishermen working with us.

ATTENBOROUGH: Grazing by turtles

is essential for the health of the beds of seagrass.

And these are the home of shrimps and lobsters,

and that, of course, helps fishermen, too.

The project has a turtle rehabilitation centre,

and for the last two years, it's become home to Shella.

CHANGAWA: She had an accident with a boat, was hit from behind.

She lost three ribs and her spine was, as well, damaged.

It's now in the process of healing back together.

ATTENBOROUGH: Shella's injuries have affected her buoyancy.

She's healed well,

and to encourage her to exercise her flippers properly,

she has, every day, a little trip to the seaside.

CHANGAWA: So we usually take Shella for a sea bath on daily basis,

and the whole reason why we're doing that,

we're trying to give her enough room to get exercises.

And she gets an opportunity to eat her natural food.

We believe that it keeps her fit,

and the other thing is she gets to use her rear flippers quite often.

ATTENBOROUGH: For Kahindi, it's one of the rewards for all his hard work.

CHANGAWA: It's really, really enjoyable.

Very few people have the privilege, like I do,

swimming with the turtles, and having that fun.

I do enjoy what I'm doing.

ATTENBOROUGH: Shella certainly did get stronger,

but the hope that someday she might swim out in the open

was not to be fulfilled.

Unaccountably, she became weaker and eventually died.

This kind of work will inevitably have setbacks.

But there are always new turtles to be cared for.

ATTENBOROUGH: Is she healthy?

Yeah, this one is healthy. I mean, she has a few bruises,

could be from the fishing gear.

Um, like these ones here.

ATTENBOROUGH: Oh, yeah, but otherwise healthy?

CHANGAWA: Otherwise, the turtle is obviously really healthy.

ATTENBOROUGH: Shall we let her go?

CHANGAWA: Since 1998, till now,

we've released over 8,200 turtles.

It fills me... feel proud and privileged.

We've done lots of work with the community,

on changing their attitudes

and their behaviours and everything.

So I guess...

our job as an organisation is really successful.

A young turtle like that

could lay 6,000 or 7,000 eggs

in her lifetime.

So the survival of just one

could have huge consequences.

Saving just one individual requires huge effort,

and of course, saving a species requires even more.

But these heroic efforts are only ever going to be a partial solution.

Every individual animal is part of a much bigger story,

part of an interconnected web of plants, animals,

and the landscape itself,

that make up an entire ecosystem.

Saving ecosystems is the key to Africa's wild future.

Gorongosa in Mozambique, is a modern-day Jurassic Park.

It's ruled by some of the world's biggest crocodiles.

Some of these monsters are six metres long

and close to 50 years old.

Somehow, they managed to escape a civil war lasting nearly 20 years,

which swept through Gorongosa.

95% of all the other large animals were wiped out.

But 50 years ago the scene was very different.

This was a thriving tourist attraction, a wild paradise.

Visitors flocked from around the world,

drawn by the vast range and abundance of the wildlife.

The most popular spot for tourists

was an old restaurant,

a lookout post for the local lions.

The restaurant has long gone.

Along with the lions.

Gorongosa looked empty and beyond rescue.

But not to everyone.

A brave and ambitious project began

to try and restore the park to its former richness and splendour.

The first stage is to find out which animals,

as well as crocodiles, are still here.

So the team is mapping and counting all the big animals they see in the park.

(INDISTINCT)

But it soon became clear that these big animals were only part of the story.

Perhaps even more important

might be the little ones hidden underfoot.

It's understanding these creatures

that is attracting some of the best minds

in the scientific world.

ED WILSON: You were going to show me something?

MAN: Yeah, something new.

Professor Ed Wilson

is a world expert on biodiversity.

And at a mere 83, he's still pursuing his passion -

ants.

You see, there's a big nest of... I think they're Myrmicarias.

WILSON: Wow! Let me just get one specimen.

If you look down at your feet,

you may see them,

walking by here and there, an ant, a little beetle...

What I like to call the little things that run the earth.

ATTENBOROUGH: It's the rich diversity of insect life here

that gives Gorongosa the prospect of a future.

These creatures form the basis of life in the park.

WILSON: This is so much fun.

These little invertebrate creatures,

the creatures that do most of the work, turn most of the energy,

save most of the material,

and allow us to re-insert big animals with some confidence.

WILSON: Have you got it in the vial yet?

MAN: Yeah, I got three of them. WILSON: Oh, good.

ATTENBOROUGH: Professor Wilson was one of the first scientists

to explore this area, together with local wildlife biologist

Tonga Torcida.

That's a good one.

If you could gather them all up,

all these little invertebrate creatures,

and weigh them,

they would weigh...

far more than all of the big animals put together,

even in a fully restored park.

ATTENBOROUGH: It's these little creatures,

together with the plants and trees,

that still make this place a viable option

for re-introducing bigger animals.

I can't be sure that's a new species

but, you know, this is the kind of thing that might be.

This park came...

that close to vanishing.

And I'm happy to report it is coming back.

And this is one of the great stories. It's inspirational, I think.

And it's a fine shining example of what to do with all our parks,

even those that have been damaged by human activity.

ATTENBOROUGH: But there's another reason

why Gorongosa is important for the future of Africa,

and perhaps for us all.

WILSON: So it is here, in this park,

that people come to see...

not just the big animals that thrill us,

but they will see Earth as it looked and felt

before the coming of humanity.

ATTENBOROUGH: Saving big animals is important,

but to do that with any real success,

we have to start understanding and preserving the plants and insects

that support an ecosystem.

It's this that will allow the large animals to thrive.

Gorongosa is a real success story.

The government and the management team

have pledged themselves to a plan

to restore the land to what it was.

While it can never be exactly the same as it was before the war,

it can still become a rich and thriving ecosystem.

The scale of the challenge across Africa is enormous.

After all, it's a huge continent.

The United Kingdom, China, the United States of America,

India, Japan and most of the rest of Europe

would all fit within its borders.

Africa still retains 45 percent of the Earth's uncultivated land.

It's still the greatest wilderness on Earth.

And that is why it's important.

Human beings have lived alongside wildlife here

longer than anywhere else.

But now, in the 21st century,

animal numbers are at a critical level.

Like it or not, this generation is responsible

for handing on the world's wildlife to the next.

Come on...

That means taking care of the animals and lands where they live,

so there is still space for us all to coexist.

Nobody knows...

what the future has in store for this little calf.

Or, indeed,

how the changes that inevitably are going to take place in Africa

will affect the rest of the world and this little animal.

But one thing is certain -

what happens here

is more important than it has ever been,

and that the relationship of the rest of the world

to this great continent and the creatures that live in it

is more important than ever before.

On whichever part of the planet we live,

we all have a part to play

in what sort of future this wild continent has.

ATTENBOROUGH: Africa, the final shoot.

It's one of our most ambitious trips,

with lots of locations to visit

and many technical hurdles to overcome.

Five, take one.

To the west, a vast rainforest the size of India.

Helicopters enable us to go to extraordinary landscapes.

We're heading off to do the very first piece to camera,

the opening of the whole Africa series with David.

Well, how do you like the view from my office?

(LAUGHS)

ATTENBOROUGH: And attempt air-to-air filming.

Standby, David, and action!

I'm flying over the Great Rift Valley in East Africa.

ATTENBOROUGH: But perhaps the most ambitious task for this shoot

is the filming with black rhinoceros.

They have a reputation for being aggressive

and, with poor eyesight,

they're likely to charge objects or people they don't recognise.

But the plight of the rhino is such an important story

that we want to get as close to them as possible.

We also want to meet the people who are working to protect them.

So our team have come to assess the viability of filming up-close

with a rhino called Elvis, who's been reared by humans.

He should be safer than a wild rhino,

but there's still a risk he could be unpredictable with strangers.

Wildlife ranger Tonga Casio has bought up Elvis by hand

and knows that tickling him gently with a stick keeps him calm.

But if anything were to go seriously wrong,

there would be little he could do against the one-tonne Elvis.

And this fact hasn't escaped cameraman Mike Fox.

MIKE: He knows we're here. We're here on his terms.

If he decided to bat us all into the next world, he would do.

ATTENBOROUGH: Director Kate Broome checks with Tonga

that it's safe for the crew to get closer.

KATE: (WHISPERS) Normally we have to stay in the Land Rovers.

He's saying it's okay to go in.

This is such an extraordinary opportunity,

to be this close to a black rhino.

ATTENBOROUGH: The trial goes well with Elvis.

And the stage is set for future filming.

What I'm saying...

ATTENBOROUGH: Several weeks later, the team are back.

And this time I've joined them.

But Elvis's mood has changed.

He seems more wilful.

Now, I've stood by many wild animals in my time,

but I'm not as fast on my pins as I used to be.

We don't want to test Elvis's patience, so we get on with filming.

A horn that is worth its weight in gold.

And one way...

of protecting him...

would be...

to cut that horn off the nose.

How is it?

Looks great.

ATTENBOROUGH: The team check that they have what they need,

and Elvis lets us know that he's had enough.

KATE: Just watch out everybody. Yeah.

- Okay. - Right then.

ATTENBOROUGH: But, actually, it's a positive sign

that Elvis is not as friendly this time.

Tonga and his colleagues want Elvis to live more like a wild rhino

and develop a wariness of humans,

that may offer him some protection from poachers.

Good luck to you, Elvis.

Whilst filming, we are lucky enough to have a very well-equipped camp.

It's in the bush and there's no escaping the wild animals.

One of the great, wonderful things about camping out

in the middle of the open is the animals.

But it could also be one of the dangerous, stroke, annoying things.

Absolutely.

ATTENBOROUGH: In the annoying category - vervet monkeys.

Vervet monkeys have stolen my Ferrero Rocher,

and one of my glow sticks from our medical supplies.

Um, so if we see a luminous-faced monkey in the night, um,

I'll identify the naughty one that's been stealing our stuff.

RUDOLPH: And they leave little, uh, presents for us

when they've been in, just as a calling card.

ATTENBOROUGH: But camp manager Andres finds more worrying animal signs.

Well, the lions were quite close, um, just behind the tents.

And some must have come in,

and I don't know, uh... (LAUGHS)

You can see a few scratches.

I think maybe he was wanting to look at himself in the mirror. (CHUCKLES)

ATTENBOROUGH: Lions in camp are worrying enough,

but there I was reading my book, when...

- Uh, uh... - Whoa!

A Cape buffalo arrives.

The most grumpy and dangerous of the big five African animals.

KATE: Mike, stay in your tent.

Should we get David to get in the tent?

ATTENBOROUGH: Buffalo usually move in herds,

so there's something odd about him.

It may be that it was brought up as a calf, and is humanised,

or it may be that he's an outcast from the herd, in some way,

and that he's rather grumpy and fed up with life.

Uh, but I think it's just hot, and he's just trotting around

and wondering where he might get a drink and a decent sandwich.

Because I feel the same way myself actually. (LAUGHS)

ATTENBOROUGH: The team's filming has coincided with the newest arrival

at Lewa.

A baby rhino in need of 24-hour care.

This little chap was born blind and is guided everywhere by his keepers.

They took him away from his mother a few weeks ago

because she couldn't protect him any more.

He's very vulnerable, so he would have been killed by predators.

(LAUGHS) It's like filling up a petrol tank.

ATTENBOROUGH: Every rhino is precious.

And so it seems a fitting end for the final scene of the series.

No one knows what the future holds for this little creature.

Nor, indeed, what changes will take place

in the great continent on which he lives.

David, I found that...

Gosh, there's ants.

They're everywhere, yeah, hang on.

Ants! Ants attack.

I just found that extraordinarily moving, actually.

- What I said was all right? - Yes.

You sure?

And how you did it... I just... It made me cry. (DAVID LAUGHS)

I'm afraid so.

David Attenborough has made me cry.

ATTENBOROUGH: But just as we think we're finishing,

someone won't let us go.

Hello, little friend.

ATTENBOROUGH: He starts to squeak.

And we're able to have a little chat.

(RHINO SQUEAKING)

(MIMICS RHINO)

ATTENBOROUGH: Think about it. He's got a black world, doesn't he?

And, uh, he's got smell.

And he's got sound, so...

He's more likely to be responding to sound

if he hasn't got the vision.

And yet, just inquisitive, I suppose.

You coming back? (CHUCKLES)

(SQUEAKS)

(MIMICS)

ATTENBOROUGH: There is hope for this little fellow.

He's due to have an operation on his eyes,

which may mean that, as an adult, he could be returned to the wild.

Just like Elvis.

I do hope he gets a cataract operation. It'd be marvellous if he did.

Well, what an enchanting creature.