- 1 day ago
Hyena cub Neville is always last in the dinner queue, until he finds a dead antelope. Zebra foal Theo is threatened by a leopard. Teenage rhinoceros Vumbi seeks a mate.....
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00:03Imagine a place where the world's most endangered creatures can roam free.
00:10He's warming up his legs.
00:12Oh, there he goes.
00:14A vast wilderness, brimming with the intimate dramas of its inhabitants.
00:22As they take their first steps, learn to get along, and confront their rivals.
00:30In the shadow of Mount Kenya, Olpegeta is one of the few untamed places left on Earth.
00:37On Olpegeta, the wild really, really is the wild.
00:43It's home to 13,000 animals.
00:46Let's get ready to rumble.
00:50Watched over by a dedicated team of rangers.
00:53Just like you take care of your kids. These are our kids.
00:55Who every day must decide if they should intervene in a wild animal's life.
01:00I'm going to see who will win on this.
01:03Or let nature take its course.
01:05It's a tough call, it's a tough call living here.
01:07As these extraordinary creatures strive to survive in the wild.
01:12He's up, there he goes. Nice!
01:34As dawn breaks in Olpegeta, all across the savannah, mothers coax their young ones awake.
01:44All, it seems, except for black rhino Makora, who's giving her son Vumby a lion.
01:53Vumby is a typical mama's boy.
01:59Most rhinos lead a solitary life.
02:01At three and a half, Vumby is the equivalent of a teenager.
02:05And should have left his mother by now to strike out on his own.
02:10He's really enjoying everything.
02:12Just like any other teenage boy.
02:15You sleep whenever you want.
02:18There is always food for you in the fridge.
02:22Everything is there provided for you.
02:24Who would want to walk away from that?
02:25I know I wouldn't.
02:32Vumby may be enjoying the good life with his mom Makora.
02:38But rangers Elimlim and Abraham know it's not just him that isn't ready to be alone.
02:45Makora means ninote.
02:47Yeah, ninote.
02:49So Makora is ninote girl.
02:51Yeah.
02:53You can see now there, yeah.
02:57They are resting.
03:03The mom has lost two of her previous calves.
03:09He's become like the favorite.
03:11The mother always clinging to him.
03:13Naturally very protective.
03:15Just like in humans.
03:16Yeah.
03:17When you have one surviving kid, you feel like you always want to cling to them.
03:22You have eyes on them at any given time.
03:26Here.
03:30With black rhinos critically endangered, the rangers are keen for Makora to mate again.
03:37And so, it seems, are the bull rhinos.
03:44The other males are seeing her and they are noticing her and they obviously want to mate with her.
03:51But now Vumby is kind of blocking that.
04:01Vumby is cramping her style.
04:04Coming between his mom and her suitors is not only stopping Makora from having another calf,
04:10it's also extremely dangerous for Vumby.
04:14For a female black rhinos to mate, before she becomes submissive, they have to fight.
04:23You can imagine then Vumby is getting in their way.
04:29Vumby might end up having very traumatic wounds.
04:35The ring direction is going on this side.
04:38So we can walk this way.
04:45The male is coming towards us.
04:51It's very dangerous being charged by a rifle.
04:54There's almost zero chance of survival.
05:00The male is catching up with the scent.
05:05It's more interested in Kora than us.
05:09So the male is trying to prevent Makora from going far ahead.
05:15So this means they are probably going to mate any time soon.
05:18And so Vumby will have to keep off.
05:24As Makora tries to shield Vumby, a second bull appears and confronts the first.
05:47This can get ugly very fast.
05:54Vumby is hiding behind the mum.
06:02He might even end up killing Vumby.
06:09While the males lose themselves in competition, Makora sees her chance and escapes with Vumby.
06:21At this stage, Makora should be thinking about maybe having another calf or so.
06:29Because all these suitors are coming in and there's this calf getting in their way.
06:37And the fact that it's a male calf, it's also a bigger challenge.
06:43It's becoming impossible.
06:48With Vumby's life increasingly at risk from older males wanting to mate with his mother,
06:53the rangers need to find a way to persuade him.
06:56It's time to leave her side.
06:59I really wish I could explain the facts to him.
07:01That he is better off wandering by himself.
07:04Vumby sticking with the mum is risky, risky for him.
07:22In the wild, the first few years of life are always the most precarious.
07:28The chances of an animal surviving to adulthood are slim, no matter who you are.
07:34If you are a prey species, then the chances are almost minuscule.
07:38I mean, they're tiny.
07:40If you're an insect, then you've got a 1% chance of surviving.
07:43When you're a child, whether you're an elephant or whether you're a hippo,
07:47your chances of getting eaten here are very high.
07:55Surviving to adulthood is tough for any animal.
08:00But when you're the runt of the litter, your chances are even slimmer.
08:05Spotted hyena cog Neville is just a few months old.
08:12Hyena pups, you know, they like playing.
08:15They're always so playful, or like the kittens.
08:18But Neville, he's the punching bug for them.
08:27Hyena social structure works like a monarchy.
08:30They are led by a dominant female.
08:34There is the dominant female, and there is a weakest female.
08:41Neville is from the lowest ranking female.
08:45He's also a male.
08:46So that means he's very, very, very low in the rank, yeah.
08:50In that clan, yeah.
08:55Primarily scavengers, hyena are often seen as less than noble creatures.
09:03They are amazing.
09:05I love them.
09:05They are also intelligent.
09:06Very intelligent.
09:07You know, and hyenas actually are good wildlife, you know.
09:12And they mean a lot in our ecosystem.
09:16And as well, they have families too.
09:18And kids to raise, you know.
09:20So they are misunderstood.
09:22They are misunderstood.
09:31Neville is here.
09:33He's here trying to get the scrubs.
09:37Neville might be the smallest and weakest in the clan,
09:40but he does have something going for him.
09:43He's a bit sharp,
09:45because even being bullied, he always fights back.
09:48And that shows that he might be weak outside,
09:54but he's very strong inside.
09:56That's what I like about Neville.
09:58A very tough young boy.
10:02It's been 24 hours since the clan last ate,
10:05but a hunter has just returned with an antelope kill.
10:12According to the strict hierarchy,
10:15Shenz, the queen of the clan, eats first.
10:20She has that look in her eye.
10:24I am the queen.
10:26And truly, she is the queen.
10:28She is massive.
10:31And she is the mom to Gretchen and Gemma.
10:37By virtue of birth, Gretchen and Gemma outrank all other hyenas.
10:42Only after this royal family have had their fill,
10:45can the rest of the clan feed on what's left.
10:51They actually eat everything, apart from the hooves and maybe the horns.
10:59They crush even the bones to get the inner bone marrow.
11:08As the son of the lowest-ranking female, Neville has to wait for everyone else to finish.
11:16It's a hard life. It's a tough life.
11:24Finally, belly full, the queen sleeps.
11:27And Neville sees his chance for some scraps.
11:31You can do it, Neville.
11:33But the queen's daughters, Gretchen and Gemma, are very much awake.
11:40Hyena cubs are sometimes killed by members of their own clan.
11:44So attempting to get some food is a risky business for Neville.
11:48And he is often punished for his audacity.
12:34I'm just sad because...
12:37It's terrible, it's terrible.
12:44Oh, God.
12:49Neville's mother, Margo, is powerless to intervene.
13:00Because Margo is the lowest-ranking female.
13:04Gretchen and Gemma, they have the power.
13:09And she can't do anything about that.
13:17Surviving to maturity is going to be an uphill struggle for Neville.
13:27The hyena kingdom, it's only the fittest to survive.
13:34That's all I can say.
13:39You have to be a fighter.
13:41You have to fight.
13:43No matter what.
13:44No matter what.
14:04For every newborn in the wild, the chances of survival are slim.
14:10but there is one thing that can help improve the odds you see quite remarkable coping mechanisms
14:18are portrayed by majority of the young ones the fact that most spawn in the world have
14:26the strength to even run a few minutes after birth survival is highly threatened during the
14:38younger stages of life but it's also quite tied to how protective a mother is
15:01gravy zebra and new mom Carrie recently gave birth to baby Theo
15:10much to the delight of Bernard there's the old with his mom so beautiful Theo was born months after the
15:22usual breeding season ended his late arrival means it's not only the savannah's predators he
15:27needs protecting against being born out of season being the youngest member is like a new kid in
15:35school he is quite weak the other siblings are much older so everybody wants to bully him like any
15:46youngster Theo just wants to play but being smaller and weaker than the other foals no one wants to play
16:01with him zebras have one of the hardest kicks on the planet and trying to fit in when you're of
16:07a
16:07different stripe can be extremely dangerous mom Carrie eventually leads Theo away from the herd's blows
16:22his mother Carrie tend to be very protective of him he should be living a quite happy life
16:33unlike common zebra grevy are much rarer
16:41Grevy zebra were in their tens of thousands currently there are only two thousand remaining globally
16:50climate change and human activities have contributed immensely to this decline
17:02as we speak right now if we don't act we are going to lose this species these are very precious
17:13animals and when we have a new fall we have to ensure that it survives there are just 19 grevy
17:23in
17:23alpegata kept in a 1000 acre enclosure a secure zone which protects young foal Theo and the herd from the
17:31savannah's big cats so we had to intervene and provide the grevies with an area whose competition
17:38for food now with other wildlife is low and also in terms of predators it's much more secure
17:47than one Theo may be safe from predators but mom carries maternal instinct to keep him away from the
17:55kicks and bites of the herd might be doing his chances of survival more harm than good having only your
18:04mom was a friend it's quite a disadvantage because you need to interact with others to learn things which
18:10your mom won't to be able to teach you so Theo has a lot to cope with right now
18:3215 kilometers away young hyena cub neville also has a lot to cope with
18:41it's been two days since he had a proper meal and he's been relying on suckling his mother to keep
18:46hunger at bay at this moment never really needs a lot of milk from mom because the milk itself contains
18:58a lot of calcium and it's very high in protein but mom margo is so low down the pecking order
19:09when it
19:09comes to feeding she's struggling to produce milk her only option is to leave neville and look for food
19:25with his mom gone it's not long before neville draws the attention of the queen's daughters
19:51neville fights back as best he can but he needs to be careful every time he fights back they will
19:59see him as a
20:01threat to them as a threat to them and that could eventually lead to gretchen and jama killing neville
20:13as evening falls and with his mom still absent hunger drives neville to the only other source of milk
20:20of the den the queen of the clan shens
20:33neville going to the dominant female to get some milk is a foolish thing to do that's for sure
20:56the hyena mothers don't share like they don't circle other other cubs
21:04so i hope margo will eventually come back and feed him enough at least to to regain his energy that
21:35his mother macora
21:37over in the eastern territory there's no danger
21:40of black rhino calf vumbi being separated from his mother macora
21:46but their unusual bond is getting in the way of the ranger's plans for macora to have another calf
21:53it takes three years to have a calf and when that delays you are not likely to recover the population
22:02so macora needs to tell bumbi to further off
22:11he's still behaving like a toddler
22:14he has to mine up whether he likes it or not
22:18were you a mummy's boy growing up
22:21i would say personally yeah why not i think i was mommy's boy my other siblings were already away from
22:30home so i was with her all the time and it was hard yeah so i can relate with vumbi
22:41but today the rangers have a chance to help vumbi on his way the initiation now for vumbi now would
22:50be
22:50the ear notting in olpegeta when rhinos reach between three and four years of age they have their ears
22:56notched notched notching in very simple terms is you put a cut on the ear so that it's easy to
23:03identify one rhino from the other
23:07vumbi is in the list
23:10it's a relatively painless procedure and the rangers are anticipating it will result in more than just identifying marks
23:17we are really hopeful that this is going to be the instigator for them now to part ways
23:23yeah because now they have to be separated for that activity to take place
23:31once he's been notched now he's going to realize that something has changed is no longer
23:36the small boy that he used to be running around clinging to the mom all the time yeah
23:47catching rhino is a major operation
23:50this is a very bush area so it could be lions around
23:56elephants around buffaloes around so there will be a team making sure that we are safe
24:08we have a fixed wing with a sporter then once they see it they report to the helicopter
24:17that's why we have the vet who is going to dash down the animal
24:26here they come
24:32how hard do you think it is to take a shot at a rhino
24:35i'm a chopper yeah very hard it takes a very well skilled veterinarian to do that
24:41because imagine the wind blowing it's easy to miss
24:51the river
24:52vumbi is successfully darted but now has to be separated from his mom
24:57once vumbi is about to go down the chopper will come really low to chase off mcora
25:04the mother all they are
25:10black millennials are always pissed off
25:13so you can imagine you're pissing over already pissed off
25:22As the tranquilizer takes hold, Vumbi's unable to keep up with his mum, and she's driven away.
25:46When you drop your kid, you just think he's becoming an adult, then all of a sudden, picked off, and
25:53you're pushed away.
25:56I wish there was a way to communicate with these animals at times.
26:09Let's get ready to rumble!
26:16Once Vumbi is down, the team only have a few minutes to complete the ear notching.
26:30Vumbi's notch number is 161. He's a male, 3.6 years. It's a good age for him to be notched.
26:40Now the helicopter has driven off Makora, the hope is Vumbi won't be able to pick up his mother's scent
26:46when he wakes.
26:51He's about to wake up any minute, as you can see the ears, they're moving around.
26:59And there he goes.
27:02He's up!
27:05Nice!
27:07I'm so relieved and happy that he's woken up.
27:15I'm really hopeful that now he's going to move on and accept what's happening and now go into his own
27:25life.
27:26Living home for the first time is the most, perhaps, dangerous time of that animal's life.
27:33It's never safe. It's a wild place.
27:37The next few days are really going to be tough on him, but we'll give him the best experience.
27:43To learn how to adapt and living a solitary life which black rhinos are meant to live.
28:02For youngsters to survive in the wild, a mother's protection is undoubtedly vital.
28:09But because grevy zebra are so endangered, foal Theo and his herd live in a secure zone.
28:18Although today, reports have come in, there's been a breach in the enclosure's fence.
28:25You can see here, a footprints. Leopard is here.
28:30So it came from the fence.
28:33So what we want to do now is to set a trap somewhere next to the road.
28:39They call it the highway for the leopard.
28:44With a leopard on the loose, Bernard is keen to check on Theo.
28:49Theo is kind of an easy meal, an easy snack for a leopard.
28:55Because at such a tender age and a small body size,
29:00it's easy for a leopard to just snatch him and climb up a tree.
29:05And I don't want to say that, so we have to make sure he's okay.
29:11Referred to as a dazzle when zebras herd together, their multitude of confusing stripes make it difficult for predators to
29:19single out individual targets.
29:22But Theo is being kept apart from the herd by mum Carrie.
29:27There he is, close to the mother, where he feels comfortable rather than standing with the other team members of
29:35the herd.
29:37He looks good and healthy.
29:38It's only that he's not in company of the other bigger of us in the herd, staying with the mum
29:44all the time.
29:47With Theo isolated and vulnerable, the Olpegeta capture team is mobilised.
29:56We had to find ways to ensure that we would get that leopard out as fast as possible.
30:09Once you bite that meat, the dog will be locked behind you. We get you.
30:18With the trap set, all the rangers can do now is hope they catch the leopard before the leopard finds
30:24what he's looking for.
30:31Where are we?
30:37Let's find a guy...
30:41Save me.
30:43I've promised for you.
31:16It's been 48 hours since black rhino calf Vumbi was caught and separated from his mum.
31:27The rangers are keen to see how he's coping with the solitary life.
31:34But first, they have to find him.
31:49It's a good thing that Wumbi is now by himself, but the greatest challenge that we are very
31:55worried about now is if he might stray into another black man who strayed through it.
32:01On the way to becoming solitary creatures, some adolescent rhino will seek out a companion
32:06to help them through the difficult teenage years.
32:09And it's hoped Vumbi has found someone for the job.
32:15In most cases at that age, you are not strong enough to defend your own territory.
32:19So you're looking for an animal to, you know, accommodate you, to take you on board.
32:26Either an animal older than you or probably, you know, an animal of your age that is also
32:33facing the same challenges.
32:36The rangers have spotted two rhinos moving through the bush.
32:47One of them is Vumbi, and the other is his mother, Makora.
33:05I think this goes the wrong way to show that these are still wild animals, and they do
33:10things at their own time.
33:12If they want to stay together a little longer, that's up to them, and we can't really intervene
33:17with that.
33:17Just like in humans, not everyone moves from their mom's house.
33:22Some take longer.
33:26We don't know how long now it's going to take for him to realize that he needs to be
33:30his own man and find his own path.
33:36Typical mama's boy.
33:41For many young animals in the wild, the bond with their mother is incredibly strong.
33:46But young hyena Neville's mother, Margo, is still away searching for food.
33:53She is not around to feed him, and that makes him to be very, very weak day by day.
34:04The rest of the clan has also gone scavenging, leaving only one other low-ranking male cub behind.
34:12Neville's brother, Sherlock.
34:20Being left alone in such massive wilderness by yourself, it's quite sad for them.
34:28Also, it's really, really dangerous for Sherlock and Neville to leave the den.
34:35There are predators out there.
34:38But Sherlock and Neville haven't eaten in three days and seem willing to take a risk.
34:45To me, it was quite unusual to see such young cubs going up on the den.
34:51That shows maybe they're hungry.
34:53They're trying to check if there's anything around them.
34:57They're just sniffing around and it seems there's something they are trying to follow.
35:06Born with an acute sense of smell, hyenas have been known to sniff out carrion up to two and a
35:12half miles away.
35:14I can actually see them heading towards the road.
35:18You could see the bonding and togetherness with them.
35:22As one was tracking, the other one was on the lookout always.
35:30Neville and Sherlock are now so far from their den, being spotted by a predator could prove fatal.
35:48Whoa.
35:53Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
35:55It's actually a Thompson gazelle killed by maybe a cheetah.
36:02Because cheetahs just eat the internal body parts and leave the rest of the carcass.
36:28It's a massive kill for them.
36:31This is actually good.
36:34It's not good, it's great to them.
36:36You know?
36:37You know?
36:38For the first time in their lives, Neville and Sherlock are at the front of the dinner queue.
36:46Having a kill by themselves, you know, without the rest of the clan, this is heaven sent.
36:58Oh, thanks God.
36:59At least my two young boys will have a feast of themselves today.
37:06But if these two young boys aren't careful, filling their bellies could come at a cost.
37:11The carcass has sand, you know?
37:15The carcass has sand, you know?
37:15And the sand sprays all over the wilderness.
37:20Where the kill is, it's actually like 100 metres from where the den is.
37:30Just around there might be a cheetah or any other predator which is really bad for them.
37:38Because if it finds them there, it will kill them.
37:42So they are tearing it up.
37:47And, uh...
37:48Oh!
37:58They've just realised, like, hey, this is too dangerous for us out here.
38:03So they are trying to drag it together.
38:09Unwilling to give up their find, Neville and Sherlock attempt to drag the carcass to the safety of their den.
38:18The only problem is, it weighs more than they do.
38:29It seems Sherlock is a bit hesitant.
38:33But Neville is like, hey, you don't have any time.
38:40Right now it's, it's like a mission impossible, you know?
38:44They have to do it.
38:55Spotted hyena cubs Neville and Sherlock are determined to drag their scavenged kill back to the safety of their den.
39:03Sherlock has joined in and they are pulling it together.
39:07This is great.
39:09But vultures have started to circle, signalling the chance of an easy meal to the savannah's predators.
39:16If they spot one vulture heading towards that direction, and they see another vulture heading towards the same direction, they
39:26will start running to that direction.
39:29They will start running to that direction.
39:35Getting closer to the den, their effort has left Sherlock exhausted.
39:45Come on, Sherlock.
39:46You have to help your brother.
39:55Come on.
39:56Come on, Neville.
40:04Neville is just using his last strength to pull back the kill.
40:10I love his strength, you know?
40:12I love, I love that.
40:14He is too determined to like, not let go of such a big fist.
40:24Bulls, I am now happy, I am now relieved.
40:33You can see that the weakest has become the strongest at this time, and I think he needs an award.
40:39Do you have an award?
40:40He needs an award.
40:44Yeah.
40:45Yeah.
40:47With the carcass safely in the den, Sherlock joins Neville.
40:53It was like Manchester City winning the FA Cup, which is quite great for me.
41:10Over in the secure enclosure, a leopard has been on the loose, threatening the critically endangered Grevy Zebra and their
41:18youngest foal, Theo.
41:19You can see the bigger falls.
41:23Let me try and locate Theo.
41:27The spooked herd are sticking close together.
41:34But there's no sign of Theo.
41:38If Theo was lost, it would be very sad, heartbreaking.
41:42So we are worried.
41:44We cannot afford to lose Theo.
41:49Last night, in an attempt to catch the leopard, a trap was laid by the rangers.
42:19He feels intimidated, yeah.
42:22Do you get scared?
42:22No, no.
42:23We are used.
42:24These are walking the park.
42:28The rangers might have caught the leopard, but their success may have come too late.
42:35It would be a very big blow to lose Theo, our latest addition to the herd.
42:43But Bernard is not ready to give up just yet.
42:52Twenty miles west of the secure enclosure, the capture team are ready to release the leopard.
43:09The画
43:10The
43:10The
43:10The
43:31With the leopard safely away from the enclosure, Bernard has some good news.
43:37There's Dio with his mum. It's so nice to see him.
43:51He has managed to mingle and mix with the rest of the herd and mummy seems relieved.
44:01He seems very, very comfortable. A bus came.
44:07Integrating with the herd will undoubtedly help Theo's chances of survival, both now and in the future.
44:15The goal is to grow their numbers and eventually repopulate the main conservation area.
44:25I would love to see the young boy maybe one day with its own territory.
44:31I think that's part of the success stories that makes us feel like our jobs here are quite meaningful in
44:38the greater perspective.
44:53Two days ago, hyena cub Neville risked everything for the meal that almost certainly saved his life.
45:01His mother, Margo, has now returned to find him surprisingly well fed.
45:08Everyone could learn from Neville. Life is hard.
45:11You have to go out there and get whatever you have and drag it back to yourself and prove to
45:19everyone that I am somebody.
45:21I am part of you and I will always be part of you.
45:26Neville may have been born to be the lowest ranking male in his clan.
45:30But having survived the absence of his mother, he's also living proof that every dog or even hyena will have
45:38its day.
45:39He made it. Hooray Neville.
45:44Hooray Neville.
46:01Oh, there he goes. To get a speeding ticket.
46:07He has nowhere to go. He has no troop to join. He has to fight back.
46:14It's really heartbreaking. I can see a mother that has just had the worst day of her life.
46:26For more Secret Safari, head into the wilds of all four, the UK's biggest free streaming service to catch the
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