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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 MOANS
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.
HIPPO ROARS
There is an increasing urgency
to understand
and, crucially, to conserve the
wildlife of this great continent.
THEY WHISTLE
Today, there is a new generation
of naturalists and scientists
who are fighting
to save the wild places
and the animals that live in them.
One, two, three!
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 SNORTS
The demand for rhino horn
has rocketed.
There has been a 3,000% increase
in poaching
just in the last five years.
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 SNORTS
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
But these are not poachers.
These are protectors.
GUN CLICKS
GUNSHO RHINOS GROAN
And that protection is overseen
by rhino expert Dr Matthew Mutinda,
one of the Kenya Wildlife Services'
top vets.
'Black rhinos
are critically endangered.
'
That is what here, 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.
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.
This female has reacted badly
to the anaesthetic.
HE SPEAKS SWAHILI
She's not breathing.
It's a rare and extremely serious
situation.
He knows that the next few minutes
are crucial.
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 is breathing again.
They've got to get her
back on her feet.
Not surprisingly,
she is disorientated.
BANGING
RHINO GROANS
RHINO GROANS
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 SNOR THEY BELLOW
This water-hole 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.
THEY BELLOW
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.
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.
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.
TRANSLATOR: For me and any Maasai,
killing a lion
is the ultimate fulfilment
of a truly accomplished Maasai.
Nothing compares to that.
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?
TRANSLATOR: Around here,
there are about 100.
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.
For a Maasai warrior,
lions are nothing to be scared of.
But if I saw a lion, a lion
would be likely to attack me.
TRANSLATOR: Only if you threaten it.
Mmm, well, I hope
the next lion knows that.
THEY LAUGH
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.
HE SPEAKS MAASAI
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.
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 will be protecting them.
He teamed up
with Stephanie Dolrenry,
who helped pioneer the project.
THEY SPEAK MAASAI
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.
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 villages
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.
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 we're the biologists
or the teachers.
Or the guardians or the teachers.
We're both teachers
and we're both students
and I think that's
That blend is amazing.
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 the 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.
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.
ROOSTER CROWS
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.
Numbers here once dropped
to around 250.
They were facing extinction.
ROOSTER CROWS
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.
CORD WHIPPING
And vets watch their health closely.
No, don't take it
This is funded mostly
through eco-tourism
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.
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 1,500 elephants.
And this was the worst drought
for half a century.
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 front line for elephant
protection in the park.
And they know these animals
better than anyone else.
Nora Njiraini
and Katito and Soila Sayialel.
You know, all the elephants
have been given names.
They are family to us.
Hello, Anastasia!
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.
It really was terrible.
There was nothing actually
to feed on.
I even went and asked
the old Maasai men
whether they have ever experienced
such a drought.
The only time it was close
to what it was then, was in 1961.
In 2009
.
.
we lost quite a number
of elephants.
I think we lost about 400 elephants.
And it started with the young ones.
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 development of towns,
cities, farmland and roads,
leaving these elephants stuck.
This young calf is starving
.
.
and there is nothing
they can do to help.
ELEPHANT MOANS
For the sisters,
who know each elephant personally,
this is a terrible moment.
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.
It was a tough year for all
the young elephants in the region.
We lost all the calves
that were born that year.
All of them, we lost them.
ELEPHANT MOANS
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.
They found this female
stuck in the mud,
exhausted in a dried-up lake bed.
ELEPHANT MOANS
The elephant that got stuck
in the mud was Kolida.
Poor thing, you know.
She was there
for quite a long time.
A Maasai reported it to us
and we had to combine efforts with
the Kenya Wildlife Services people.
ALL SHOU Weighing about three tonnes,
Kolida is just too heavy
to shift by hand.
She is weakening fast.
So the next morning,
heavy machinery is brought in.
THEY SHOU THEY WHISTLE
KOLIDA SNORTS
THEY SHOU After two days stuck in the mud,
Kolida is exhausted,
but she's up on her feet again.
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?
They say that 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.
ELEPHANT SNORTS
Given the opportunity,
the numbers of elephants
in East Africa will recover.
Especially, if they're 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 lowland,
where they created havoc
amongst the farms.
Not only that, there were danger
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 3.
5 degrees centigrade hotter
in the past 20 years.
At the summit of Africa's most
famous mountain, Kilimanjaro,
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,
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.
They are 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,
has been allocated for logging.
The future of Africa's forest 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 changing 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.
But 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.
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.
So we began with only 16 fishermen
altogether in 1998.
Now we have hundreds of fishermen
working with us.
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.
She had an accident with a boat.
It was a hit from behind.
She lost three ribs
and her spine was damaged.
It's now in the process
of healing back together.
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.
We usually take Shella for
a sea bath on a daily basis,
and the reason for doing that
is to give her enough room
to get exercises.
She gets an opportunity
to eat her natural food.
We believe it keeps her fit
and the other thing is,
she gets to use her rear flippers
quite often.
For Kahindi, it's one of the rewards
for all his hard work.
It's really enjoyable.
Very few
people have the privilege like I do
of swimming with the turtles
and having that fun.
I do enjoy what I'm doing.
HE CHUCKLES
Shella certainly did get stronger,
but the hope that some day
she might swim out in the open
was not to be fulfilled.
Unaccountably, she become weaker
and eventually died.
This kind of work will
inevitably have setbacks.
But there are always new turtles
to be cared for.
Is she healthy?
Yeah, this one is healthy.
She has a few bruises,
could be from the fishing gear.
Like these ones here.
Oh, yeah, but otherwise healthy.
Otherwise the turtle's healthy.
Shall we have a go?
Since 1998 till now,
we've released over 8,200 turtles.
It makes me feel proud and
privileged, we've done lots of work
with the community and changing
the attitudes and their behaviours.
I guess our job as an organisation
was really successful.
A young turtle like that
could lay 6,000-7,000 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.
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 look-out 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.
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.
You were going to show me something?
Yep, 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
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
They're what I like to call
the little things that run the Earth.
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.
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 reinsert big animals
with some confidence.
Have you got it in the vial yet?
I've got three of them.
Oh, good!
Professor Wilson was one
of the first scientists
to explore this area
together with local wildlife
biologist Tonga Tortuda.
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.
It's these little creatures,
together with the plants and trees,
that still make this place
a viable option
for reintroducing bigger animals.
I can't be sure that's a new species,
but 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.
It's a fine, shining example of
what to do with all our parks,
even those that have been damaged
by human activity.
But there's another reason
why Gorongosa is important
for the future of Africa
and perhaps for us all.
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.
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 larger 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% 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.
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.
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 are vast rainforests
the size of India.
Helicopters enable us to go
to extraordinary landscapes
We're heading off to do
the very first visit,
the opening of the whole
Africa series with David.
How do you like the view
from my office?
HE CHUCKLES
.
.
And attempt air-to-air filming.
'Stand by, David, and action!'
I'm flying over the
Great Rift Valley in East Africa.
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.
RHINO SNORTS, MAN YELPS
CRASHING, RHINO GRUNTS
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 Kaseyo
has brought 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 a one-tonne Elvis.
And this fact hasn't escaped
cameraman Mike Fox.
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.
Director Kate Broome
checks with Tonga that it's safe
for the crew to get closer.
(Normally, we have to stay
in the Land Rovers.
(They're saying it's OK to go in.
)
(This is such
an extraordinary opportunity,
(to be this close to
(a black rhino.
)
The trial goes well with Elvis and
the stage is set for future filming.
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? It looks great.
'The team check that they have
what they need
'and Elvis lets us know
that he's had enough.
'
Just watch out, everybody.
Yeah.
I'll get out of the way.
'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're 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 can also be one of
the dangerous/annoying things.
Absolutely.
In the annoying category,
vervet monkeys.
Vervet monkeys have stolen
my Ferrero Rocher
and one of my glow sticks
from our medical supplies.
So, if we see a luminous-faced
monkey in the night,
I'll identify the naughty one
that's been stealing our stuff.
And they leave little presents for us
when they've been in,
just as a calling card.
But camp manager Andres
finds more worrying animal signs.
Well, the lions were quite close,
just behind the tents.
Some must have come in
and I don't know
You can see a few scratches.
I think maybe he was wanting
to look at himself in the mirror.
'Lions in camp are worrying enough,
'but there I was
reading my book when'
Uh-oh.
Whoa!
'.
.
a Cape buffalo arrives.
'
'The most grumpy and dangerous
of the big five African animals.
'
KATE: Mike! Stay in your tent.
Shall we get David
to get in the tent?
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.
But I think it's just hot
and he's just plodding around
and wondering where he might get
a drink and a decent sandwich.
I feel the same way myself,
actually.
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.
It's like filling up a petrol tank.
'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
on the great continent
on which he lives.
David, I found that
Oh, gosh.
There's antseverywhere.
That's what it is.
Yeah, hang on.
Ants.
Ant attack!
I just found that
extraordinarily moving, actually.
What I said was all right?
Yes.
Are you sure?
And how you did it,
it made me cry, I'm afraid, so
David Attenborough's made me cry.
But just as we think we're
finishing, someone won't let us go.
Hello, little fellow.
'He starts to squeak and we're able
to have a little chat.
'
THE RHINO SQUEAKS
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
Oh.
Oh.
Mm.
Oh!
'Think about it,
he's got a black world, hasn't he?
'And 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.
'He's just inquisitive, I suppose.
'
Are you coming back?
Oh!
THE RHINO SQUEAKS
'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 can be returned to the wild
'just like Elvis.
'
I do hope he gets
a cataract operation.
It would be marvellous if he did.
Enchanting creature.