1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:06,600 The Maasai Mara, East Africa. 2 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:12,360 Stage to one of the world's most extraordinary natural spectacles. 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:15,880 HOOVES THUNDER 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:24,360 Each year, 1.3 million wildebeest make an incredible 650km journey - 5 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,240 from the vast Serengeti plains in Tanzania 6 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:31,160 to the highlands of Kenya's Maasai Mara - and back again. 7 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:34,200 HOOVES POUND 8 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,920 I'm spending a year following them on their epic journey. 9 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,360 From the birthing plains... 10 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,120 to the treacherous river crossings. 11 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,280 A crocodile! It's got it, it's got it. 12 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:51,960 Wow. 13 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,040 And the perilous fight for survival. 14 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,440 I'll get up close with the animals. 15 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,680 Really? Really? The male is right next to me. 16 00:01:06,320 --> 00:01:08,440 HE GASPS 17 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,840 My heart's still pounding. 18 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:13,440 And meet the people... 19 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:15,320 This is nuts. 20 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:17,360 ..who are an integral part of this. 21 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,440 One of the large mammal migrations on Earth. 22 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:30,800 It's September. 23 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:33,640 I'm on the third leg of this great migration 24 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:35,680 that began seven months ago. 25 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:42,640 Back in February, 250,000 wildebeest calves were born, 26 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,360 and I began working with Dr Grant Hopcraft, 27 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,600 one of the world's leading researchers of wildebeest. 28 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,600 Here in the Serengeti, the healthy ecosystem is one driven by wildebeest. 29 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,120 If you imagine it's a big engine, the wildebeest are the major cog. 30 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:01,360 Everything else sort of spins off on the side of that. 31 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,720 He GPS-collared four mothers so that we could follow them. 32 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:11,360 So far, the herd has battled drought and was divided in two, 33 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:15,840 as hungry animals scoured the barren earth in search of food. 34 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:24,040 Since they started their epic journey, the wildebeest have travelled 300km, 35 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,240 crossing the border from Tanzania into Kenya, 36 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,720 where the reserve is divided in half by the snaking Mara River. 37 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,600 The herds have now rejoined here. 38 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,360 And this is where they face their next challenge. 39 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:52,400 I'm in Kenya. I've followed them all the way up through Tanzania, 40 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,640 through the mighty Serengeti, and now I'm here at the Mara River. 41 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,040 I've always, always wanted to come here. 42 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:01,880 This is a pretty scary place if you're a wildebeest. 43 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,840 It's full of crocodiles, hippos 44 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,120 and, for our youngsters, they're seven months old or so now, 45 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:12,600 this is pretty much the biggest obstacle they're gonna ever face in their lives, 46 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:15,320 because it's not just the predators in there, 47 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:19,800 it's the fast-flowing water, the sheer volume of wildebeest. 48 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:22,160 Drowning is a very real probability here. 49 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:33,760 I want to find out if our four collared wildebeest are still alive, 50 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,080 so catch up with Grant who's been tracking their movements. 51 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,040 So we've got Jane, we've got Virginia, 52 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,000 we've got Diane, and we've got - Rachel. Rachel. 53 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,920 So which wildebeest is closest to us? That's the most important thing. 54 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,640 That's right. I looked this morning, and Jane is just over here. 55 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,000 So she's across the Tanzania border here. 56 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:56,760 The other three are still on this side of the river, 57 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:01,240 and they're all still alive, more importantly. That is some very, very good news. 58 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:06,200 They have this big, obvious obstacle which we can see glinting in the sun. Yes. The Mara River. 59 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:10,080 This is the only source of water anywhere in the Serengeti right now. 60 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:14,840 That's why all these wildebeest are here. That's why Jane's here, she needs that water. 61 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:20,120 The other problem is that water's full of crocodiles and strong currents and all this sortof thing, 62 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:22,160 and she has to cross back and forth, 63 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:25,520 so she needs it, but it's a dangerous resource at the same time. 64 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,240 Which way, Grant? Yeah, straight ahead. Straight ahead? Yeah. 65 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:34,960 TRACKER BEEPS 66 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,040 Towards this group over here? 67 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,040 I think so. Just let me listen. No, it's not that guy. 68 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,840 I think it's over this way actually, off to your right. To my right? Yes. 69 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,800 Grant and I are eager to lay eyes on Jane, 70 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,240 whose calf had died the last time we saw her. 71 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:58,000 It's a needle in a haystack, but we have modern technology to help us. 72 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:00,680 It's nice, they're all walking by... 73 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,600 Actually, that's her there. I think that's her. Where? 74 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,560 Right at the very back of this group here. She's just grazing just now. 75 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,360 I think I'm being blind. Oh, hang on. 76 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:14,120 There you go, there she is. That's her. That is amazing. 77 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,560 That is amazing. Welcome to Kenya. That's right! 78 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,760 Can I see your visa? Passport, please? Immigration. 79 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:23,160 So she looks to me, I'm no expert, 80 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:27,440 but she looks like she's in relatively good health. Yeah, she's in good nick. 81 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,640 She'd be in probably better health than all the other females 82 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,640 because she hasn't had to produce milk for the entire trip. 83 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,520 And it's most likely she's eating for two again now. 84 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,360 She's eating for two, I'm sure of it. I'm sure of it. 85 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:43,400 90% of these females here would be pregnant already. 86 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,960 This season's calves are now seven months old. 87 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,080 They're weaning, and need all their strength. 88 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:54,640 Is this almost the moment, a bit like a boy becomes a man or a girl becomes a woman? Yes. 89 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,600 Is this when a calf becomes a wildebeest? 90 00:05:57,720 --> 00:05:59,760 It's well on the way to being a wildebeest, 91 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:02,920 to relate it to humans. It's about the age of a ten-year-old. 92 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,760 They don't actually achieve adulthood for another year-and-a-half. 93 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,880 Keen to understand what these crossings are about, 94 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,520 Grant and I speed down to the river where a big herd is building up. 95 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:28,600 And they won't cross just the once. Over the next few weeks, 96 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,720 as the river winds its way through the national park, 97 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:34,840 the wildebeest will have to cross as many as ten times, 98 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:37,680 back and forth, to reach the best feeding grounds. 99 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:44,040 Is there much data as to who's up at the front there, or can you even see? 100 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:48,040 Is it males? Is it females? Is it mothers with calves? Mmm. 101 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,640 Well, at this distance we can't really tell, 102 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,400 but generally it's the males that come in first. 103 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,480 They're sort of the boldest. They'll come in and start having a look - 104 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:01,040 Boldest or hungriest? Boldest, really. 105 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:03,080 Well, stupidest, perhaps. 106 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:12,080 Across the river, 107 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:14,840 the pressure ridge of wildebeest is building up... 108 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,280 ..pushing the frontrunners to the water's edge. 109 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:28,280 It's a classic situation of 110 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,440 it just takes a long time for things to happen suddenly. 111 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:35,240 You wait and wait, and then suddenly they all decide and they cross. 112 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,000 Capturing that moment, it's a sort of "a moment". 113 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:40,040 But it could happen at any point. 114 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:44,600 There's danger all around. 115 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:53,480 Look, look, look at this here. A croc coming in right there. 116 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,200 Oh, wow, look at that. Wow, look at the power of that. 117 00:07:57,320 --> 00:07:59,560 Yeah, that just looks evil, doesn't it? 118 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:04,880 This five-metre crocodile, weighing up to 700 kilos, 119 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,040 may not have eaten since the wildebeest were here last - 120 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:09,960 a year ago. 121 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:18,360 Eventually, one brave male finds the courage to slowly enter the water 122 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,400 and kick-start the crossing. 123 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:28,440 This gets the attention of a deadly predator. 124 00:08:34,560 --> 00:08:36,960 Yeah, look at that, there it goes. Oh, God. 125 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:40,640 I don't know if I can look at that. That's unbelievable. That's scary. 126 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:42,720 That is the stuff of nightmares. Yes. 127 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:45,600 Aiming straight for the herd, 128 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,320 the crocodile prepares to make its attack. 129 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:52,920 But the full force of the stampede tramples it underwater 130 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:54,960 before it can launch its strike. 131 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:58,840 Whoa, God, come on, come on. 132 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,280 Which side are you on? The croc's side or the wildebeests' side? 133 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,320 Wildebeests' all the way. 134 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:10,920 Unnerved, the herd panic and turn back to the refuge of the shore. 135 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:19,040 Just a handful, including the brave male who started the crossing, 136 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:21,120 have made it safely to the other side. 137 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:27,400 And now look, they're all going. It's like someone just went, "Everyone out." Yep. 138 00:09:27,560 --> 00:09:31,880 Exactly. Somebody's lost nerve at the back there and just decided that's it. 139 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,880 As quickly as they arrived and now are leaving, 140 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,840 I suppose they can reverse and come back again. Yeah. 141 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:41,000 And, you know, any one of these individuals may have been 142 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,800 having a look at this river multiple times today. 143 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:50,800 For now, the fear of predators has prevailed. 144 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:54,080 But the great temptation - and the need for fresh grass - 145 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:58,880 means the wildebeest must face the river and its dangers... again. 146 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:15,080 It's morning in the Maasai Mara, 147 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,320 and the herd that failed to cross the river yesterday 148 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:20,960 has again made its way to the water's edge. 149 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:25,760 They've travelled a further five kilometres upstream, 150 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,520 in search of an entry point from the eastern side to the west. 151 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:40,040 An army of 10,000-strong have lined up, summoning courage. 152 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:44,920 But they've not chosen wisely. 153 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:50,400 This stretch is famed for its strong current, 154 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:52,440 and has claimed many victims. 155 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,880 Grant and I don't wait long before a plucky leader 156 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,040 looks set to start the crossing. 157 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:10,600 I can see there's one lone one coming down. 158 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:15,280 Go on. Missing a horn. Look how old that thing is. 159 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:17,800 Oh, yes. Would he have lost that in a fight? 160 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:22,200 Probably, yeah. Here's a typical case of somebody who's motivated, 161 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,520 you know? And an animal like that might be making a decision 162 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:28,880 that's not necessarily in the interests of everybody else, 163 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:33,280 but their own self-interest, to have a drink or maybe to cross. 164 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:37,480 If they cross, everybody else might think, "Well, we'll do it, too." 165 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:44,160 It's interesting that they're drinking in threes. 166 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:49,480 Mm-hm. Is there any significance to that? No. I don't think an animal feels secure drinking by itself. 167 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,200 That animal with the one horn was probably trying 168 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:54,680 to recruit somebody else to have a drink with. 169 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:56,800 You know, "Aren't you thirsty? Come on. 170 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,120 "Come down to the water with me." Like us going to the pub. Exactly. 171 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,080 You don't wanna drink by yourself, do you? 172 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,680 But it's one-horned companion that takes the first plunge. 173 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:21,800 The floodgates have opened, 174 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:24,400 as more and more wildebeest follow suit, 175 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:26,960 hurling themselves into the unknown waters. 176 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,040 Look at the leaps they did there. Fantastic. 177 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:34,160 A big leap and a splash. This is amazing to watch, isn't it? 178 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,600 They pull out of the water and they fully submerge. 179 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,360 Yeah, that's right. A big jump in. It's a bit like when you swim. 180 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,320 You push yourself off the side and get a little bit more propulsion. 181 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:53,440 Cos they want to be in that water for as short a time as possible. That's right. 182 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:56,120 The objective is get across as quickly as you can. 183 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:59,520 This is an astonishing spectacle, I have to say. It is, isn't it? 184 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:09,120 In this section of the Mara, the greatest threat is the brutal current. 185 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:17,920 The water might not be deep but their hooves struggle over the slippery stones 186 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,600 as they desperately try and fight their way out. 187 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:33,040 You can see where the injuries are occurring here, can't you? As soon as they start scrambling out, 188 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:36,600 and you're on unstable ground, trying to climb over slippery rocks, 189 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:40,560 other animals are jumping in on your back. You're trying to get out quickly, 190 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:44,280 you've got crocodiles coming in from all sides, it's just chaos. 191 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:49,840 The herd is now too great - 192 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:52,840 and there's no space for the backlog to enter the water. 193 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,040 As the huge volume of wildebeest crush each other, 194 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:02,880 a breakaway group is forced to find another crossing point 195 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,680 in a deeper part of the river downstream. 196 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,760 This is a really fast water that they're going through. It is. 197 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:15,120 Will he get through that? Ohh. Oh, my God. 198 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,400 A torrent of wildebeest are unleashed, 199 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:26,560 as the remaining herd surge forwards and pour into the Mara. 200 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,640 That's a youngster. It looks like it's been separated from its mother. 201 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,600 I don't know if that thing's gonna survive, actually. 202 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,200 It's getting pushed further and further away. 203 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,360 For this young calf the journey is over - 204 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,240 as it's swept away by the force of the river - and drowned. 205 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:24,240 A real struggle for life right in front of us. 206 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,520 Do you know, when you think about it, this river is life. 207 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:29,560 Cos this is water, and water is life. 208 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:31,920 And, at the same time, it's death as well. 209 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,800 Because you have to cross it and because it's full of predators. 210 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:38,200 So it's this weird mixture of life and death 211 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:40,080 happening at the same time. 212 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,880 It all kind of meets, in time and space, right here. 213 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,440 Weakened, the herd head into the new pastures 214 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:50,560 they've just risked their life for. 215 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,360 I leave Grant behind and follow them. 216 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:05,280 The wildebeest head west and north, spreading out into the reserve. 217 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,720 They're reaching the most northerly point of the migration... 218 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:16,800 ..where over 500 elephants roam the edges of the national park. 219 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:26,160 Outnumbered, the elephants, who also migrate, need to search further 220 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:29,520 for food and stray into bordering farmlands. 221 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:34,520 COWBELLS RING It's here where trouble beckons, 222 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:36,880 as they trample and raid the croplands. 223 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:40,440 I've come to meet Daniel, 224 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,160 a local farmer who's at war with the elephants. 225 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:46,120 BOTH SPEAK LOCAL LANGUAGE 226 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:47,880 I'm Ben. 227 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:49,960 So what's going on? What are you up to? 228 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,000 Ah. HE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE 229 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,040 Elephant dung. 230 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,640 This season's harvest has been decimated by the elephants, 231 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,400 and Daniel now has to borrow money from his family 232 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:54,440 so he can send his kids to school. 233 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,520 If you were a farmer out here and your livelihood is threatened 234 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,400 on a daily basis by elephants, 235 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:04,480 you know, you're gonna be angry, you're gonna be cross. 236 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:06,600 you're gonna be worried. 237 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:08,760 It's the million-dollar question. 238 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:14,880 How can people, how can man and animal cohabit Africa? 239 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,720 Where there's huge pressures on everything here, from the resources 240 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,720 to just the land itself. 241 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:26,280 Trying to find solutions to the human-elephant conflict 242 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:30,280 at the park borders is Marc Goss from the Mara Elephant Project. 243 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:33,320 So you can see the Mara River. 244 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,720 By GPS collaring elephants, he's able to track their movements, 245 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,720 and when they stray into farmlands, deploy a rapid-response team that 246 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:43,760 drives the herds away. 247 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:48,560 We don't want to be more than an hour away from any elephant, 248 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:52,040 one of our collared elephants. And so we're got 15 collars on 249 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:54,760 different elephants across the rangeland. 250 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,120 We've had them on for four years now. 251 00:18:57,240 --> 00:18:59,840 Our oldest collars have just been replaced, 252 00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:03,440 and today we're recollaring one of our big elephants, Hugo. 253 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:07,200 I can't even imagine how you go about that. Have you got one with us? 254 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:09,800 Right here. So let's have a look at it. 255 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:14,160 Oh, wow. There was me thinking it was going to be 256 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:16,760 a bit like my dog's collar. Wow. 257 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:20,360 So that's, what, a couple of kilos? Two kilos or something? 258 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:22,360 Yeah, two kilos. About two kilos. 259 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:25,160 Here's the frequency for the VHF, it's on here. 260 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:27,960 On the top is the GPS unit, batteries on the bottom. 261 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:31,840 If you put that on my neck now, that would kind of slow me down a bit, 262 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:35,040 but an elephant's not even gonna feel that. No, not at all. 263 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:39,000 And the first thing they do when you put a collar on is they feel it. 264 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:41,880 So they put their trunk and feel what it feels like 265 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,960 to have a collar on, and we've seen... 266 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:48,040 I mean, it's an anthropomorphic idea, 267 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,000 but some of our collared elephants come together. 268 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:53,360 We'd like to think that they come together 269 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:55,280 to admire each other's jewellery. 270 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,640 Look at our collars. "Yours is very nice. 271 00:19:57,720 --> 00:19:59,640 "Yeah, I like the colouration." 272 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,040 Marc and I head off into the bush, 273 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:07,880 where the vet and his team have already found Hugo. 274 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,560 To recollar the bull elephant he'll have to be tranquilised, 275 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,640 but Marc's worried that Hugo has wandered into a dangerously rocky area. 276 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,880 And predicting where a 40-year-old elephant is going to go 277 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,640 after he's got a dart in his butt, it's difficult. 278 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:35,160 I notice, too, that this is where thousands of the migrating wildebeest 279 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,200 have stopped to feed. 280 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:42,920 The riskiest part of the whole procedure is tranquilising Hugo. 281 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,720 In charge is the park's vet, Dr Limo. 282 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,640 Then once you've darted, how long until it goes down? 283 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:53,080 Mmm, anything between 8 to 15 minutes. 284 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:57,240 That's when the work starts? That's when it starts. Is it a race against time? 285 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:02,240 Do you need to do it as quickly as possible? Sure. With this kind of weather we need to work quickly. 286 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:06,160 When you say, "This kind of weather," do they get hot? Yeah, they get hot, 287 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:08,560 so when they're down we need to work very fast. 288 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:10,880 But, of course, with a lot of care. 289 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:13,920 Yeah, yeah. Listen, I'm all hands. 290 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:15,680 So if I can be your assistant today, 291 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:17,760 I'm willing to do just about anything. 292 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,280 OK, welcome onboard. 293 00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:22,680 The dart has a fluorescent feather, 294 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,360 so it's easy for the team to see it and retrieve it when it falls out. 295 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:33,240 We get as close to Hugo as possible, so Dr Limo can take aim. 296 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:43,240 HUGO BELLOWS 297 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:48,880 (It was a good shot.) 298 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:59,120 Hugo has run off that way, so this is exactly what we wanted. 299 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,760 And it's now counting down, so we've got ten minutes or so, 300 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,040 he's gonna start getting very woozy, 301 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:08,720 and then it's gonna be a mad rush for us to change that collar. 302 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:11,800 What we're hoping is he doesn't head towards the rocks, 303 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:13,840 which is where he's kind of heading. 304 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:20,760 It's quite nerve-racking knowing that it could kill itself 305 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:23,120 if it lands the wrong way. 306 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:25,160 He's quite calm now. 307 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:28,120 Yeah, my heart's pounding. 308 00:22:39,690 --> 00:22:42,130 I'm on the northern edges of the Maasai Mara, 309 00:22:42,210 --> 00:22:44,410 with the Mara Elephant Project, 310 00:22:44,530 --> 00:22:49,290 where Dr Limo has just shot a tranquiliser dart into Hugo, 311 00:22:49,370 --> 00:22:51,290 the bull elephant. 312 00:22:51,410 --> 00:22:56,170 We're going to change his GPS collar, which tracks his location. 313 00:22:56,290 --> 00:22:59,890 So that if Hugo strays near bordering farmland, 314 00:23:00,010 --> 00:23:03,050 a team can be deployed to herd him away. 315 00:23:11,970 --> 00:23:14,410 Here he goes, he's down. 316 00:23:14,530 --> 00:23:16,770 Here we go, we've got Marc running up now. 317 00:23:16,890 --> 00:23:19,370 Do you want me to come out, Dr Limo? Yeah, sure. OK. 318 00:23:19,450 --> 00:23:21,410 I'm coming out as well. 319 00:23:22,450 --> 00:23:24,370 Steady! 320 00:23:26,730 --> 00:23:28,170 Steady! 321 00:23:31,290 --> 00:23:32,450 Keep going! 322 00:23:36,450 --> 00:23:38,530 OK, guys. OK. All right. 323 00:23:38,610 --> 00:23:40,490 Oof. 324 00:23:44,170 --> 00:23:47,610 With the African midday heat reaching soaring temperatures, 325 00:23:47,690 --> 00:23:50,210 the race is now on to treat Hugo. 326 00:23:54,530 --> 00:23:57,690 It's all hands on deck to fit his new collar. 327 00:23:57,770 --> 00:23:59,730 MECHANICAL WHIR 328 00:24:01,650 --> 00:24:03,370 Just a bit. Just a bit. 329 00:24:03,450 --> 00:24:05,410 So I'm basically cooling him down. 330 00:24:06,930 --> 00:24:09,970 An elephant can't sweat so use their ears to flap, 331 00:24:10,090 --> 00:24:13,490 and that's how they reduce their body temperature. 332 00:24:13,570 --> 00:24:15,770 Obviously it's incapacitated now. 333 00:24:15,890 --> 00:24:18,650 So we just pour little bits of water on its ear 334 00:24:18,770 --> 00:24:21,250 that hopefully stop it from overheating. 335 00:24:21,330 --> 00:24:23,810 You can hear it's almost snoring. 336 00:24:23,930 --> 00:24:26,530 SNORTING There's a little stick in its trunk. 337 00:24:26,650 --> 00:24:29,530 It's what's holding the trunk open so it can breathe. 338 00:24:29,610 --> 00:24:31,570 That was the first thing they did. 339 00:24:32,650 --> 00:24:34,570 HUGO SNORTS 340 00:24:37,530 --> 00:24:41,730 Earlier this year, Hugo was treated for an infected wound. 341 00:24:41,850 --> 00:24:44,770 Now he's unconscious, it's an opportunity to give him 342 00:24:44,850 --> 00:24:47,490 a preventative shot of antibiotics. 343 00:24:47,610 --> 00:24:51,330 That's a big dose of antibiotics, Doctor. Wow. 344 00:24:51,410 --> 00:24:53,690 HE LAUGHS 345 00:24:53,810 --> 00:24:57,770 20, 20, 20 several sites. OK. The muscular area. 346 00:24:57,890 --> 00:25:00,130 And you're happy for me to do it? Oh, yeah. 347 00:25:00,250 --> 00:25:02,810 OK, first bit, how much, 20? Yeah, 20 here. 348 00:25:02,930 --> 00:25:06,210 How deep do I take it? The entire length? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 349 00:25:06,330 --> 00:25:10,050 OK, so 20. 20. That goes to 40. Yep. 350 00:25:10,170 --> 00:25:13,850 I never thought I'd give an elephant a shot of antibiotics. 351 00:25:14,690 --> 00:25:16,610 There you go. Rub that clean. 352 00:25:18,090 --> 00:25:20,010 Good boy. Good boy. 353 00:25:20,850 --> 00:25:22,970 Wow. That is something. 354 00:25:25,330 --> 00:25:27,770 Hugo's been down for ten minutes, 355 00:25:27,890 --> 00:25:31,570 so the team want to bring him round again in the next five. 356 00:25:31,690 --> 00:25:34,050 Everyone knows exactly what they're doing. 357 00:25:34,170 --> 00:25:36,530 Eye ointment, antibiotics, measurements, 358 00:25:36,650 --> 00:25:39,490 hairs from the tail, DNA, collar changing. 359 00:25:40,610 --> 00:25:42,690 It's done incredibly efficiently, 360 00:25:42,810 --> 00:25:46,410 and it's partly cos everyone knows that it's kind of a race now. 361 00:25:46,530 --> 00:25:49,450 The longer we keep him under, the more dangerous it is. 362 00:25:53,730 --> 00:25:56,210 Now Hugo has his newly fitted collar, 363 00:25:56,330 --> 00:25:59,330 Dr Limo injects him with the reversal drug. 364 00:25:59,450 --> 00:26:03,290 This is the most nerve-racking part of the whole procedure. 365 00:26:06,090 --> 00:26:07,890 OK. 366 00:26:07,970 --> 00:26:09,930 So now we just wait. 367 00:26:17,290 --> 00:26:20,770 (Sometimes they act.) (What, they pretend to be asleep?) (Yeah, sure.) 368 00:26:20,890 --> 00:26:23,130 (Really?) (So that when you operate on them... 369 00:26:24,650 --> 00:26:26,570 (..they can crash you.) 370 00:26:27,610 --> 00:26:30,530 (Is he gonna be very cross when he comes around?) (Oh, yeah.) 371 00:26:30,610 --> 00:26:32,570 HE CHUCKLES 372 00:26:44,490 --> 00:26:46,410 HUGO SNORTS 373 00:26:47,930 --> 00:26:49,850 (Hugo, come up.) 374 00:26:52,250 --> 00:26:53,650 Wow. 375 00:26:56,610 --> 00:26:58,690 (Straight up.) 376 00:26:58,770 --> 00:27:00,450 (Yeah.) 377 00:27:00,570 --> 00:27:03,530 (It must be a huge relief to see him standing up.) (Oh, yeah.) 378 00:27:06,890 --> 00:27:09,770 It takes a few minutes for Hugo to find his feet, 379 00:27:09,890 --> 00:27:13,010 before ambling off to join the rest of his herd. 380 00:27:14,050 --> 00:27:16,410 Thank you very much for letting me assist you. 381 00:27:16,530 --> 00:27:20,930 That was a very special moment. Welcome, welcome, welcome! 382 00:27:21,050 --> 00:27:22,930 Do I get to call myself a vet now? Yes. 383 00:27:23,010 --> 00:27:24,290 THEY BOTH LAUGH 384 00:27:31,290 --> 00:27:34,250 The day's success is short-lived. 385 00:27:34,330 --> 00:27:36,330 Back at the project's headquarters, 386 00:27:36,450 --> 00:27:39,410 the team get a disturbing call about another elephant. 387 00:27:40,530 --> 00:27:42,450 SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE 388 00:27:43,290 --> 00:27:47,090 I'm not really sure what's going on, to be honest. Marc's just taken a call, 389 00:27:47,210 --> 00:27:51,290 and it sounds like there's a dead elephant. Well, I'm not sure why, 390 00:27:51,410 --> 00:27:54,050 whether that's it's just died of natural causes, 391 00:27:54,130 --> 00:27:56,090 or it's more sinister. 392 00:28:01,890 --> 00:28:04,770 The report says the elephant has been killed by a spear 393 00:28:04,850 --> 00:28:06,810 in the bordering farmlands. 394 00:28:09,650 --> 00:28:12,290 I know it's going to be brutal 395 00:28:12,410 --> 00:28:15,810 but I think it's important for me to see things like this, 396 00:28:15,930 --> 00:28:20,210 I think it's important to share it with other people. It's not... 397 00:28:20,330 --> 00:28:22,810 It's not always pretty out here, you know? 398 00:28:22,930 --> 00:28:26,570 Nature's red in tooth and claw, but so is mankind. 399 00:28:42,010 --> 00:28:43,650 Whoa. 400 00:28:43,770 --> 00:28:47,090 So this is the carcass. And it looks like the rangers have 401 00:28:47,210 --> 00:28:50,570 opened the stomach just to see if they could find the spear. 402 00:28:50,690 --> 00:28:53,730 So they found a hole where the spear went in. Yeah. 403 00:28:53,850 --> 00:28:58,130 And they've taken the tusks, so the elephant doesn't have a face. 404 00:28:58,250 --> 00:29:00,570 And that's not because poachers took it. OK. 405 00:29:00,730 --> 00:29:05,330 The Kenya Wildlife Service have retrieved the tusks and taken them to Nairobi. 406 00:29:05,450 --> 00:29:09,730 Retrieved tusks are kept by the authorities in Kenya's capital city 407 00:29:09,850 --> 00:29:12,570 so that they don't end up on the illegal black market. 408 00:29:13,570 --> 00:29:16,050 This is an elephant that went into a farm, 409 00:29:16,170 --> 00:29:18,850 we're in an area where there's a lot of farming, 410 00:29:18,970 --> 00:29:21,290 so I would say it would be a conflict. 411 00:29:21,410 --> 00:29:24,090 We'll probably record this as conflict 412 00:29:24,170 --> 00:29:25,850 instead of an attempted poaching. 413 00:29:25,970 --> 00:29:28,050 It's still an illegal death of an elephant. 414 00:29:29,770 --> 00:29:32,370 The work that you're doing by putting the collars on 415 00:29:32,490 --> 00:29:36,930 would've predicted, or at least alerted you to an elephant like this 416 00:29:37,050 --> 00:29:41,570 that may have strayed close to a human... Right. ..habitation. Um... 417 00:29:41,690 --> 00:29:46,650 And maybe prevented something like this? The other thing is, 418 00:29:46,770 --> 00:29:50,290 is what would the numbers be like if we weren't here? Mm-hm. 419 00:29:50,370 --> 00:29:52,570 The number of deaths. 420 00:29:52,690 --> 00:29:56,250 But how does it affect you? I'm kind of shocked when you see 421 00:29:56,370 --> 00:29:59,930 a creature so majestic dead like this. 422 00:30:01,370 --> 00:30:04,090 Yeah, it makes you feel ill to the stomach, you know? 423 00:30:05,570 --> 00:30:08,050 No life in it, without a face, it's terrible. 424 00:30:10,730 --> 00:30:12,650 You know, it has to stop. 425 00:30:17,410 --> 00:30:21,290 What I've discovered over the years, and specifically over this year, 426 00:30:21,410 --> 00:30:24,690 is the importance of us actually using our technology 427 00:30:24,810 --> 00:30:29,850 and using our know-how to be able to protect these magnificent creatures 428 00:30:29,930 --> 00:30:31,890 from us and from themselves. 429 00:30:47,170 --> 00:30:51,690 The wildebeest have grazed across the northern Maasai Mara for three weeks, 430 00:30:51,810 --> 00:30:56,210 and now, in search of new pasture, they head back down towards 431 00:30:56,290 --> 00:30:57,970 the river in their droves. 432 00:31:06,130 --> 00:31:10,410 Today, they've chosen a notoriously tough location to cross, 433 00:31:10,490 --> 00:31:12,450 with multiple entry points. 434 00:31:13,210 --> 00:31:15,130 Steep banks... 435 00:31:19,010 --> 00:31:20,930 ..and deep waters. 436 00:31:23,890 --> 00:31:27,210 Joining them are some of the 250,000 zebra 437 00:31:27,290 --> 00:31:30,010 who also make the Great Migration. 438 00:31:35,690 --> 00:31:38,010 Are they coming this way, or are they...? 439 00:31:38,090 --> 00:31:39,810 They're heading up the hill. 440 00:31:39,930 --> 00:31:43,610 Oh, it's a big herd. Look at all the dust. Look at all that dust. 441 00:31:45,970 --> 00:31:50,090 Grant and I arrive just as the force of the Mara makes itself known. 442 00:32:03,290 --> 00:32:05,370 Look, that's a crocodile. Yeah. 443 00:32:05,450 --> 00:32:07,410 Oh, no. There it goes. 444 00:32:10,610 --> 00:32:14,330 It's got it, it's got it. It's taken him down. The crocodile's got him. 445 00:32:14,410 --> 00:32:16,450 Oh, no, it's struggling. 446 00:32:16,570 --> 00:32:19,810 Look at it shaking him. It's got his mouth up above the water. 447 00:32:19,890 --> 00:32:21,850 Oh, my golly. 448 00:32:26,690 --> 00:32:29,090 Oh, it's mouth is... It's struggling for air. 449 00:32:29,210 --> 00:32:32,210 It's mouth is open, it's... Oh, no. Look. 450 00:32:33,250 --> 00:32:36,330 Oh, no, I can't bear to watch. Oh dear. Yeah. 451 00:32:37,330 --> 00:32:40,850 So it's drowning him now. It's basically holding him down. Yeah. 452 00:32:40,970 --> 00:32:43,210 I think that's gonna be... It's struggling 453 00:32:43,330 --> 00:32:46,490 but I think the crocodile's got it. Crocodile's absolutely got it. 454 00:32:46,610 --> 00:32:49,090 It's disappeared with it as well. Yeah. Wow. 455 00:32:54,210 --> 00:32:58,330 With the Mara's most stealthy predator swiping its first victim, 456 00:32:58,450 --> 00:33:01,090 terror breaks out amongst the migrating animals. 457 00:33:06,050 --> 00:33:09,890 Because there isn't just one crocodile prowling this deep strait. 458 00:33:36,890 --> 00:33:41,490 In the carnage, a loan zebra makes a mistake, and decides to swim back 459 00:33:41,610 --> 00:33:43,930 to try and reunite with the rest of its herd. 460 00:34:02,770 --> 00:34:04,850 Unable to chew their food, 461 00:34:04,970 --> 00:34:08,690 crocodiles use their razor-sharp teeth to tear off large chunks 462 00:34:08,770 --> 00:34:10,730 by rolling their prey. 463 00:34:16,450 --> 00:34:19,610 Once they've torn off pieces they swallow them whole. 464 00:34:27,930 --> 00:34:30,050 With this crossing over... 465 00:34:30,130 --> 00:34:32,330 just blood spills remain. 466 00:34:35,050 --> 00:34:38,370 In the panic, mothers and calves have become separated. 467 00:34:40,650 --> 00:34:43,570 How do they reunite? Look at them, there's so many of them. 468 00:34:43,650 --> 00:34:45,570 As you can see, it's absolute chaos. 469 00:34:45,690 --> 00:34:49,370 Everybody's calling to each other, lots of grunting and groaning. 470 00:34:49,530 --> 00:34:52,810 But what they're gonna do, as soon as they're out, they'll start calling to each other, 471 00:34:52,930 --> 00:34:55,170 they'll start trying to locate each other. 472 00:34:55,290 --> 00:34:58,090 And again, they're so tuned in to their mother's call. 473 00:34:58,210 --> 00:35:00,770 It's all about imprinting on the mother's call. 474 00:35:04,170 --> 00:35:06,330 With most mothers and calves reunited, 475 00:35:06,450 --> 00:35:08,970 the herd begins to migrate away from the river. 476 00:35:13,970 --> 00:35:18,090 But there's just one lone calf left on the bank, calling out in vain. 477 00:35:19,330 --> 00:35:21,130 It doesn't seem to have a mother. 478 00:35:21,250 --> 00:35:25,250 This is when a calf really does have to stand on its own. That's right. 479 00:35:25,370 --> 00:35:27,610 Will it just carry on, a calf like this? 480 00:35:27,690 --> 00:35:29,610 It might make it. It might make it. 481 00:35:29,730 --> 00:35:31,970 It's just at the point of weaning right now. 482 00:35:32,050 --> 00:35:33,770 So if it's just lost its mother 483 00:35:33,890 --> 00:35:37,490 and it rains and the nutrition is good enough and it can keep up, 484 00:35:37,570 --> 00:35:39,530 then it might make it. 485 00:35:47,890 --> 00:35:50,450 Before the herd leave the calf behind, 486 00:35:50,570 --> 00:35:54,130 a single female races from the top of the plain, 487 00:35:54,250 --> 00:35:56,810 heading straight for the calf on the river bank. 488 00:36:01,410 --> 00:36:02,450 MOOING 489 00:36:06,450 --> 00:36:08,850 They've both mooing at each other. Oh, my God! 490 00:36:08,930 --> 00:36:11,450 Oh, wow. That's hilarious. 491 00:36:11,570 --> 00:36:14,650 That is amazing. They found each other. That is amazing. Wow. 492 00:36:14,770 --> 00:36:17,450 Out of a cast of thousands and thousands... Yeah, 493 00:36:17,570 --> 00:36:20,930 ..they've both crossed the river and been reunited. Yeah. 494 00:36:21,090 --> 00:36:25,450 To us they all look identical, but to them they're unique, they're special. Wow. 495 00:36:25,530 --> 00:36:28,050 I might have to have a cry. 496 00:36:29,690 --> 00:36:31,610 Oh, wow. It's OK, Ben. 497 00:36:52,380 --> 00:36:55,900 It's the middle of October, and I'm in Kenya's Maasai Mara... 498 00:36:58,540 --> 00:37:01,060 ..where the river crossings have taken their toll 499 00:37:01,180 --> 00:37:03,220 on the herds of migrating wildebeest. 500 00:37:04,940 --> 00:37:09,100 With up to 10,000 animals dying at the hands of the river, 501 00:37:09,220 --> 00:37:13,020 there's one species that has a vital job in clearing up their remains. 502 00:37:15,860 --> 00:37:18,780 Vultures are the undertakers of the Serengeti. 503 00:37:21,220 --> 00:37:23,100 VULTURES SCREECH 504 00:37:23,220 --> 00:37:25,820 But their numbers are critically declining, 505 00:37:25,900 --> 00:37:27,820 and it's a global epidemic. 506 00:37:32,300 --> 00:37:36,060 I've come to see Munir and Simon from The Peregrine Fund, 507 00:37:36,180 --> 00:37:39,020 who are trying to get to the bottom of what's going on. 508 00:37:43,020 --> 00:37:46,340 We've had populations in India and Pakistan and Nepal decline 509 00:37:46,460 --> 00:37:50,740 by as much as 99% over the last decade and a half. 510 00:37:50,860 --> 00:37:54,540 And it turns out that poisoning is one of the most major contributors 511 00:37:54,660 --> 00:37:57,580 towards their decline. And is this local communities 512 00:37:57,700 --> 00:38:01,220 who are putting poison down to keep predators away? Pretty much. 513 00:38:01,340 --> 00:38:04,060 A lot of pastoral communities all over East Africa, 514 00:38:04,180 --> 00:38:05,980 they lose a cow to a lion or a hyena, 515 00:38:06,100 --> 00:38:10,380 and there's no compensation, so obviously they'll get upset 516 00:38:10,500 --> 00:38:13,100 and so they'll take the law into their own hands. 517 00:38:13,260 --> 00:38:17,700 Almost invariably, the vultures will come down and feed on a poisoned carcass. Yep. 518 00:38:17,820 --> 00:38:20,300 And virtually every single one of them will die. 519 00:38:22,220 --> 00:38:25,380 As part of Simon and Munir's research, 520 00:38:25,500 --> 00:38:28,380 we need to find a carcass with vultures at work 521 00:38:28,460 --> 00:38:30,420 so that we can trap one. 522 00:38:33,020 --> 00:38:36,060 This is looking promising. So what I'm going to do 523 00:38:36,180 --> 00:38:38,740 is we're gonna herd them to one direction... Yeah. 524 00:38:38,860 --> 00:38:42,100 ..so that Simon can get out and set the trap. 525 00:38:51,060 --> 00:38:55,260 Simon attaches a simple lasso to the ribcage of a wildebeest carcass. 526 00:38:58,140 --> 00:39:00,220 The vultures flock back immediately. 527 00:39:02,220 --> 00:39:04,580 And it's not long before one gets caught. 528 00:39:06,180 --> 00:39:09,540 Go, go. Come, sir. Go, Ben. Go, go. 529 00:39:12,500 --> 00:39:14,420 Just chuck it right over him. 530 00:39:16,620 --> 00:39:18,540 OK, good. Good lad, there we go. 531 00:39:20,100 --> 00:39:22,700 Good lad. 532 00:39:22,780 --> 00:39:24,700 They're really strong. OK. 533 00:39:24,780 --> 00:39:26,740 It'll try and struggle. 534 00:39:28,860 --> 00:39:31,820 Keep your hand where it is, Ben. Yep. I won't let go. 535 00:39:31,940 --> 00:39:34,020 Even if he takes your finger off. OK. 536 00:39:34,140 --> 00:39:36,380 Would he take my finger off? He might. 537 00:39:36,460 --> 00:39:37,660 HE LAUGHS 538 00:39:37,780 --> 00:39:40,020 Quite a way to lose a finger, wouldn't it? 539 00:39:42,300 --> 00:39:45,460 We're going to attach a GPS backpack to the vulture, 540 00:39:45,580 --> 00:39:47,540 so that they can track its movements. 541 00:39:51,260 --> 00:39:55,180 So, remind me why it's important to track vultures like this one. 542 00:39:56,500 --> 00:40:00,700 It's important to understand what their foraging range is, how far they go. 543 00:40:00,820 --> 00:40:03,380 Which are the hot spots where they get poisoned. 544 00:40:03,460 --> 00:40:05,260 What we can do in those areas 545 00:40:05,380 --> 00:40:08,140 to change attitudes of local people there, 546 00:40:08,260 --> 00:40:10,500 to get them to appreciate vultures more. 547 00:40:11,260 --> 00:40:13,900 And then to identify those areas that are safe spots 548 00:40:13,980 --> 00:40:15,580 for vultures as well 549 00:40:15,700 --> 00:40:19,420 so that we can spend more time and resources protecting these areas. 550 00:40:20,900 --> 00:40:23,980 Why do you think vultures have such a bad reputation? 551 00:40:25,420 --> 00:40:29,220 Well, you know, when somebody looks at a vulture for the first time, 552 00:40:29,340 --> 00:40:31,660 it's looks like they're sinister creatures 553 00:40:31,780 --> 00:40:34,100 that's feeding off people's flesh and blood. 554 00:40:34,220 --> 00:40:37,060 When Charles Darwin went on the Beagle for his journey, 555 00:40:37,180 --> 00:40:43,180 he described the turkey vulture as, "A disgusting, ugly bird." Mm-hm. 556 00:40:43,300 --> 00:40:46,540 "Born to revel in putridity." Those were his words. 557 00:40:46,660 --> 00:40:49,860 But they perform the most important role in the savannas. 558 00:40:50,020 --> 00:40:55,140 You can imagine when the tourists watching the wildebeest migrate at the crossing points overhere, 559 00:40:55,260 --> 00:40:57,660 in the future, if these vultures go extinct, 560 00:40:57,780 --> 00:41:00,260 they're gonna have to wear gas masks or something 561 00:41:00,380 --> 00:41:02,780 because the stench will just be overwhelming. 562 00:41:02,860 --> 00:41:04,820 People will stop coming here. 563 00:41:06,540 --> 00:41:09,300 The whole ecology of this Mara Serengeti will just be 564 00:41:09,420 --> 00:41:12,740 turned upside down with the loss of vultures that we're now having. 565 00:41:17,460 --> 00:41:21,140 OK, are you ready? On three. One, two, 566 00:41:21,220 --> 00:41:23,180 three. 567 00:41:26,900 --> 00:41:30,820 The GPS weighs only 2% of the vulture's body mass, 568 00:41:30,940 --> 00:41:33,260 so it doesn't affect its flying ability. 569 00:41:33,380 --> 00:41:36,700 It will stay on for the next year before it's self-released. 570 00:41:36,860 --> 00:41:40,740 I don't think I fully appreciated how important they are to the ecosystem, 571 00:41:40,860 --> 00:41:43,580 and that realisation of what would happen here 572 00:41:43,700 --> 00:41:46,340 if they weren't around is pretty bleak, really. 573 00:41:46,460 --> 00:41:49,580 This would be a toxic place. I'd have to wear a mask. 574 00:41:49,700 --> 00:41:53,180 It'd be full of disease. The body simply wouldn't break down, 575 00:41:53,260 --> 00:41:55,220 cos you see carcasses everywhere. 576 00:41:55,340 --> 00:41:59,940 And it's those vultures that are the janitors, they're the cleaners. 577 00:42:06,780 --> 00:42:12,060 The wildebeest have now travelled 400km of their 650km annual trip. 578 00:42:14,100 --> 00:42:17,100 And the migration's time in Kenya is now coming to an end. 579 00:42:19,700 --> 00:42:22,980 The herds are heading straight for the Tanzanian border, 580 00:42:23,100 --> 00:42:26,300 ready to cross back into the Serengeti National Park, 581 00:42:26,420 --> 00:42:29,060 where the rains have started to ripen the plains. 582 00:42:30,460 --> 00:42:32,740 It's just a mass of wildebeest, 583 00:42:32,860 --> 00:42:35,900 all of whom have survived this extraordinary journey. 584 00:42:35,980 --> 00:42:37,860 These are hardy souls, aren't they? 585 00:42:37,980 --> 00:42:40,340 They are. These are the ones who have made it, 586 00:42:40,460 --> 00:42:43,860 these are the winners, these are the guys who have managed to cross 587 00:42:43,940 --> 00:42:45,740 the Mara River and run the gauntlet 588 00:42:45,860 --> 00:42:48,620 through the crocodiles and managed to make it here. 589 00:42:48,740 --> 00:42:53,780 Our four collared females, Jane, Diane, Rachel, and Virginia 590 00:42:53,860 --> 00:42:56,220 have also made it. 591 00:42:56,340 --> 00:42:59,220 And, of course, hiding around the periphery of this 592 00:42:59,340 --> 00:43:02,220 are all those animals that were booted out, almost, 593 00:43:02,340 --> 00:43:05,420 by the mass arrival of wildebeest. That's right, yeah. 594 00:43:05,580 --> 00:43:11,060 It's almost like once the squatters leave... Yes, exactly. ..they can reclaim their habitat, their land. 595 00:43:11,180 --> 00:43:14,420 That's right, they come back into their home ranges again. 596 00:43:14,540 --> 00:43:17,020 And obviously that habitat has been modified. 597 00:43:17,140 --> 00:43:20,660 So these wildebeest haven't just had a negative impact on this landscape. 598 00:43:20,740 --> 00:43:22,220 No. In fact, it's the opposite. 599 00:43:22,340 --> 00:43:24,860 They've increased the productivity of the grasses, 600 00:43:24,980 --> 00:43:27,020 they've knocked down a lot of the biomass, 601 00:43:27,140 --> 00:43:29,940 they've created niches for other animals to live in. 602 00:43:30,060 --> 00:43:33,180 They've fed a few animals as well. They've fed a few as well. 603 00:43:36,980 --> 00:43:39,980 And how hard is this return journey going to be for them? 604 00:43:40,100 --> 00:43:43,780 They've got to get through all those woodlands, lots of predators. 605 00:43:43,900 --> 00:43:47,380 It's a tough journey and, undoubtedly, some of these animals 606 00:43:47,500 --> 00:43:50,060 that we're looking at here are not gonna make it. 607 00:43:55,140 --> 00:43:56,620 Next time. 608 00:43:56,740 --> 00:43:59,540 I'm back in Tanzania, where land predators 609 00:43:59,620 --> 00:44:01,660 await the migration's return - 610 00:44:01,740 --> 00:44:03,740 ready to make their attack. 611 00:44:03,900 --> 00:44:07,900 It's alive, but I'm sure that hyena's tearing off its testicles and going in, 612 00:44:08,020 --> 00:44:11,060 probably right through the stomach right here. 613 00:44:11,140 --> 00:44:13,020 Are you being serious? Yeah. 614 00:44:13,140 --> 00:44:15,740 And I discover a unique human journey 615 00:44:15,820 --> 00:44:18,460 that mirrors that of the wildebeest. 616 00:44:18,540 --> 00:44:21,580 Here's to the Maasai. Yeah. Oof! 617 00:44:41,700 --> 00:44:44,860 Subtitles by Ericsson