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20 years ago my good friend
Douglas Adams

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spent a year tracking down
endangered animals,

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together with the
zoologist Mark Carwardine.

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Now it's my turn.

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Mark and I are heading off to find
out exactly what happened

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to those species that he'd seen
dangling on the edge of extinction

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two decades ago.

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It promises to be exhausting,
exhilarating and exasperating.

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But I wouldn't miss
it for the world.

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We're in Africa, for an adventure
that almost had to be abandoned

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before it started.

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Our travels had begun and
almost ended several months
earlier in the Amazon.

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CRASH

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Stepping off a boat, I missed
my footing and the result

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was a badly broken arm and a
not inconsiderable amount of pain.

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Oh!

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The angle's gone weird.

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So, how's your arm now, Stephen?

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Oh, well it's fine, don't ask
me to lift any hippos but it's...

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I can move it completely round.

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There's a fair old scar as
you can probably see there.

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That's a heck of a scar.
Yeah. It was a seven hour operation.

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They say that after
visiting the Amazon

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something inside
is never quite the same,

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but I hadn't counted
on it being the acquisition

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of a stainless steel plate
and ten half-inch-screws.

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Still, the arm's back
together and we're off again.

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This time in search or perhaps
the rarest animal in Africa,

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the Northern White Rhino.

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So, what do you know
about rhinos then?

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I've seen the film Jumanji
with Robin Williams

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and I know that there's a
black rhino and a white rhino.

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That's sort of it, really.

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Well, that's a good start,
a good basis. Thank you!

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Onwards and upwards from there.

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It turns out that while there
are indeed black rhinos and
white rhinos,

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the white rhinos have divided
into two distinct sub-species
with very differing fortunes.

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The Southern White Rhino is the
most common rhino in the world.

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We however prefer a challenge,
so have set our sights on its close
relation, the Northern White.

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This misguided beast has
chosen to take its chances in the
crossfire of the Congo's civil war,

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leaving it critically endangered.

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Which gives some credibility to
the saying, "It's grim up north".

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No Northern White Rhino has
been seen in the wild since 2006.

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Mark has heard of a project to bring
the endangered northern white rhinos

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out of the Congo to the safety of
the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.

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We've joined Kes Hillman Smith,

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a rhino expert instrumental
to the project,

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and are heading to specially
built protective enclosures

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when Mark spots the more common
Southern White out on the savannah.

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Oh, hey-hey!

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That's wonderful. And with a
calf as well, that's fantastic.

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Oh, god. They could almost
be statues. Well spotted.

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Hello.

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God, that's lucky.

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To the un-tutored eye,

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and to be honest, even to the
reasonably tutored eye,

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these common Southern White
are indistinguishable

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from the beleaguered Northern
White that we have come to see.

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Could you look at that and know
immediately it's Southern White?

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Not immediately, no.

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The Northern Whites do tend to
hold their heads a bit higher,

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they have a smaller head
and a slightly lighter build.

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This is one of the conservation
world's greatest success stories.

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This was down to, what, 20
animals at the turn of last
century, 100 years or so ago.

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And maybe a couple of dozen
animals, and it's been...

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because it's been such an intensive
conservation effort and so much
money has been ploughed into it,

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the population is now over 17,400
from that small miniscule number that
were discovered a 100 years ago.

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So it's the
one rhino that's doing pretty well.

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The hope is that there is still
a chance for the Northerners

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to recover as these
Southerners have succeeded in doing.

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And it's such a responsibility
when you think that if we
were to allow the last...

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The third largest land mammal
to go extinct in our lifetimes.

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Yeah, that would be a shame,
wouldn't it?

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Batian Craig is the manager
of wildlife and security
at Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

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He's keen to prise us from
the safety of our vehicle

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for an even closer encounter

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with a famously formidable
Southern White Rhino.

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One last thing, we will try and keep
the vehicle quite close, but don't...

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If you just suddenly bolt,

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it's going to leave somebody
in the you-know-what.

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Just listen to Dixon,
there will be a vehicle close,

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and if Dixon needs
to get you out of there,

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he'll bring you out of there slowly,
OK?

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How fantastic.

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Oh, my goodness.

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He knows we're here, obviously.

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Wow. This is really good.

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My goodness me.

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I need to take a
photograph, I think.

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This is insanity,
I've been brought up all my life

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to believe that rhinos are amongst
the most dangerous and bad tempered
animals on the face of the earth

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and here we are, closer to it than I
would usually get to an Alsatian.

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Yeah, this is about as we can get.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. That's pretty close.

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Hey, Stephen, look at...

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That is fantastic,
it's unbelievable.

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Surely you can't get this close to
a rhino. That is incredible.

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You can see, you know why it's
called a white rhino.

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Oh, it's the mouth.

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Yeah, and white is not
white as you can see.

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Rhinos basically take on
the colour of the soil.

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A lot of them are
battleship grey, this one is
actually sort of brownie colour.

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It's been maybe rolling around
or wallowing in mud.

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And the white is a mistranslation
of the Afrikaans word "wijd",

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which means wide and if you
look at the mouth,

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I mean, my God, look at this.

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Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

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It's OK. Just move back a little bit.

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Max, max, max.

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This is unbelievable.

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This is a wild animal.

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He's quite used to humans,
but nonetheless...

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Whoa.

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Was that close enough?
That was far too close.

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Surely that's not right.

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He likes his two friends.

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I think we've been had.
I think this is a very tame rhino.

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Gosh, you're right...

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The joke's definitely on us!

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That is a tame rhino, you're right.

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Oh, my.

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This is, it turns out, two tonnes
of the tamest rhino in Africa.

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Bottle-fed, hand-reared
and known as Max.

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That was a complete con. Total con.

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We were tip-toeing in there, the
most frightened people in Africa,

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and all the time
this is tamer than a Labrador.

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You are very bad man!

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THEY LAUGH

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You so scared!

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I was SO scared.

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You...terrible...

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It was very good.

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We've been right royally had there,
I think,

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but it's still a good chance
to see a rhino closer up

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than we're ever likely otherwise
to get the opportunity to do.

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And you were talking to me,
before I got in a funk and hid
behind Dixon the guard,

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you were talking about
the width of the mouth.

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You see, he's got a very wide mouth,

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a very straight mouth
as opposed to a black rhino

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which has a sort of prehensile lip

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and the reason is these guys are
grazing out in the open,

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more like lawn-mowers and the
black rhinos are browsing...

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The black rhinos are eating bushes,
leaves and things like that

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so it's a very different adaptation.

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But it's what all rhino's have in
common that causes the problem.

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A rhino horn is literally worth
more than its weight in gold.

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Even here in the fenced and
heavily guarded conservancy,

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Batian has thwarted three incidences

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of attempted rhino poaching
in recent months.

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Yeah, they're vulnerable to
lions and hyenas sometimes as well.

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Mainly people, and they've
got no defence against them
at all of course.

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No, not against a
high velocity rifle.

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Having achieved a close encounter
with a Southern White Rhino,

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we're keen to get to grips with
its critically endangered cousin.

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But when we arrive
at the bomas enclosure,

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specially built to house
the Congolese Rhinos,

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it's time for the second surprise
of the day.

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A last minute hitch has caused
the capture and relocation of the
rare Northern White to be cancelled.

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The bomas are being dismantled

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and the world's only wild
Northern White Rhinos have been left

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to take their chances in a troubled
and lawless part of the Congo.

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For Kes, it's a devastating blow.

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It seems rather symbolic that
the day we chose to visit

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is when they're actually
dismantling the boma.

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Yes. Yeah, it's very sad because
it could have been...

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It could have been the saving of the
sub-species. I hope...

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Do you think this was the last hope?
I don't want to believe that.

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You just don't want to admit it?
I don't want to believe that, no.

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I believe that there is
still some hope.

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I feel desperate that, you know,

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these rhinos that I've given
most of my life to trying to save,

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and knew as individuals and things,
seem to be nearly wiped out.

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I still hope that they're not quite,

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but I know how frustrating it
is for the Congolese guy

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who is in charge
of the research and monitoring

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who is struggling through the bush
at the moment trying to find tracks,

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trying to prove that there
are still some left.

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Kes believes there may now be
as few as four Northern White Rhinos

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somewhere in the vast
Garamba National Park

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in the north of the
Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Mark is now pinning his hopes
on joining the last ditch search
for the animals,

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but increasing talk or
rebel activity in the area

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is giving us all
something to worry about.

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Yeah, thanks very much
for advising me on this.

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I gather you've just been
near Garamba National Park.

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What was the situation like?

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A contact inside the Congo
has bad news.

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A spate of rebel activity has been
taking place inside Garamba

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and no-one seems clear
if the situation is likely
to get better or worse.

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It doesn't sound very good at all.

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For the first time, Mark is aware
that the Northern White Rhino

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could be in greater trouble
than any of us had thought.

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And his long-held dream
of re-visiting

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one of the rarest of rhinos
could be in danger of collapse.

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It sounds like everything
is kicking off in that region.

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Rebels taking over various
parts of it and so on.

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It sounds quite dangerous.

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If it was me just travelling
on my own I would go.

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It would be probably worth the risk,

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but I'm very worried
about taking Stephen,

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and the people I've been
talking to in the Congo

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have actually said that if we do go,
then everyone will know we're there,

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including the rebel
groups and their leaders,

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and, of course, Stephen
is going to be a natural target

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for a kidnapping or worse.

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So we've got to be very careful
before suggesting that we do go in.

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So, I'm going to spend
the next week or two

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just keeping tabs on the situation.

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Now, call me an old-fashioned
coward if you like,

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but I found myself questioning the
wisdom of going into a war-zone

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on the off-chance of finding four
animals that are virtually identical

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to one I have already seen
in a peaceful part of Kenya.

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We sit down to discuss our plans
like adults and,

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sensing rebellion in the ranks,

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Mark begins by letting
me know what I'm missing.

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These are some of the pictures that
I took when I went with Douglas 20
years ago in Garamba National Park.

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And this one, we got probably within
about half a mile in the vehicle

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and then we stalked on
foot and we managed to get
unbelievably close to it.

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I was lying down here.
So these are the same animal.

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This is when it suddenly got a
whiff of our scent and ran off.

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They're basically the same species,
the white rhinos, and there
are plenty of Southern White Rhinos.

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The Northern White Rhino is
just a white rhino with a
different accent, virtually.

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It wasn't a species, it was
a sub-species. And was it even that?

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Oh, it's definitely a sub-species.
They've done genetic studies.

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There's significant differences.

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I think when you start playing that
game you're playing God a little bit.

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You say, "OK, well this one
isn't distinct enough,

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"so we won't bother about that one,

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"but we'll protect
this one over here".

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The other problem with this is if
you let the Northern White Rhino go,

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00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:48,600
that was the flag-bearer
for Garamba National Park.

233
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,000
If Garamba doesn't have
Northern White Rhinos

234
00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,400
then there's going to be less of an
argument for protecting the park

235
00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:58,200
and then all the other wildlife
in that vast area is going
to suffer as well.

236
00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:03,600
For better or worse,
we're heading west

237
00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:07,280
in the direction of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.

238
00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,240
We've left Kenya
and crossed into Uganda.

239
00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,240
As we arrive in the capital,

240
00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:19,440
Mark is contacted by an old friend
working with some of
the other victims of poaching.

241
00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:22,000
She has invited us
to a unique occasion.

242
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,760
This involves heading out across
Africa's biggest lake

243
00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:27,440
and crossing the equator

244
00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:30,480
in search of the tiny island
where she is based.

245
00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:32,440
It's like going out to sea, isn't it?

246
00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:34,800
It really is. Extraordinary.
It's vast.

247
00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,160
It's not just rhino's that
suffer in times of unrest.

248
00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:42,000
None of the animals of Garamba
are untouched by the conflict.

249
00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:46,200
So we're going to Ngamba Island which
is about 15 miles away from here.

250
00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,840
It's a sort of Chimp
rescue centre, really.

251
00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:53,120
I've always wanted to
encounter chimpanzees,

252
00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:57,120
especially if it involves
delaying our entry into a war zone.

253
00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,080
But our resident naturalist,

254
00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:02,760
a man who has endless time
for every last creeping thing,

255
00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:05,800
makes a confession
I had not been expecting.

256
00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,440
I'm not that keen on chimps.
They can be deceitful,

257
00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:12,720
they tell lies,
they beat one another up,

258
00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:15,440
they bear grudges,
they bully one another.

259
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:19,120
I think it's because they're
too much like us, to be honest.

260
00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,720
Well, we'll see whether this
encounter will change your mind.

261
00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:29,240
Hello.
Nice to see you again. How are you?

262
00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:31,600
Very well. Good. This is Stephen.

263
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:36,160
Lilly Ajarova is in charge of the
Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary.

264
00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:37,880
Thank you. Wonderful to be here.

265
00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,560
Lilly insists on seeing
documentation

266
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:46,640
showing that
we have been inoculated
against every imaginable disease.

267
00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:52,000
The diseases we have can be very
contagious to them and what
they have can be contagious to us.

268
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:53,680
So we have to be very careful...

269
00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:56,280
Well, Lilly, I don't have measles,
I don't have TB,

270
00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,640
I don't have hepatitis,
but over the last day

271
00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:03,360
I've developed the mother and father
and brother and sister
and uncle and aunt of all colds.

272
00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:06,400
I've a really terrible cold.
Is that going to be a problem?

273
00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:08,640
Absolutely. I'm very sorry, Steve,

274
00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,200
that with the situation
we have here at the sanctuary,

275
00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:15,280
we'll not get you
any closer to the chimpanzee

276
00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:17,600
with your current health status.

277
00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:21,240
Which is, to say the least, a blow.

278
00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,960
I've been immunized against all
the most evil diseases on the planet

279
00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,640
and here I am, scuppered
by the common cold.

280
00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:31,800
I've promised to keep my distance
from all things chimp.

281
00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:34,360
Wow.

282
00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:38,960
A tiny part of the hundred
acre island is fenced off
for the conservationists.

283
00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:44,200
The other 98% is wild
and belongs to the chimps.

284
00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:48,200
So, only about half of these
are from the Congo, aren't they?

285
00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,800
More than, actually, half
of the number we have here

286
00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:53,840
are from Congo originally.

287
00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:58,520
In times of war, many
illegal activities prosper.

288
00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:00,720
Chimps are poached for food,

289
00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:04,360
and babies are sold into
the exotic pet trade.

290
00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:09,200
The problem is so rife that
chimpanzees are themselves
now endangered by extinction.

291
00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,320
These orphaned chimps
have been seized from pet traders

292
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:17,520
and brought to the security of
Ngamba Island to be rehabilitated.

293
00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:19,560
Do you know all their names?

294
00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:22,600
Yes, that is Thumba. Chumba.

295
00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,800
Thumba. And that is Mika,
who is the alpha.

296
00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:28,800
THE CHIMPS SQUAWK

297
00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:31,520
Look at those.
That one's getting frustrated.

298
00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,560
But you just threw
one right next to it.

299
00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:39,200
Maybe it doesn't like carrot. They'll
always go for the sweet food first.

300
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:40,400
He's got his hand up.

301
00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:44,280
They're like schoolchildren,
aren't they? Who know the answer.

302
00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:47,560
Me, Sir! Sir! Please, sir,
please, I know.

303
00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,600
Ready? Here we go, can you catch?

304
00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:55,640
Well caught!
Gosh, he'd be a good cricketer.

305
00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:59,960
I just can't get my head
around the fact there's an animal

306
00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:01,280
so similar to us.

307
00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:09,640
Our own ancestors must have
started off doing things like that.

308
00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:11,400
We just got a little bit further.

309
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:16,000
They haven't yet invented
mobile phones or broadband,
but they're pretty close.

310
00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:19,800
Clever thing.

311
00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:46,560
And, as the sun sets, a true natural
phenomenon - 8,000 fruit bats

312
00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:51,120
suddenly pass overhead on their
way to spend a night-time feeding.

313
00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:54,280
Oh, it's bliss, isn't it?

314
00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:57,600
Chimps calling in the distance,
fruit bats flying overhead.

315
00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:02,040
It's unbelievable.

316
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,160
A very important day gets
underway on Ngamba Island.

317
00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:34,640
Africa and Mac, two of the island's
youngest inhabitants,

318
00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,160
have spent a year being
rehabilitated and are now ready

319
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,640
to begin their re-introduction
to the great outdoors.

320
00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:48,360
What we are going to try and do this
evening is actually the next step.

321
00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:53,080
Trying to get the older ones
to join in with the younger ones

322
00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:56,960
and we will see
what the response is going to be.

323
00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,280
Africa's story is typical.

324
00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:04,440
Not worth taking for food, when
poachers attacked her tribe,

325
00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,200
she was sold
into the illegal pet trade.

326
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:11,040
Africa was... The mother
was killed for bush meat

327
00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:16,320
and then she was kept in a very
small wooden cage, like this size,

328
00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:18,440
and because the cage was too small,

329
00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:20,680
she was all the time
lying on one side

330
00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:24,680
and there was a small opening
on the roof of the cage.

331
00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:31,160
All she could do was stretch
the right arm to pick whatever
food she was being given.

332
00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,760
Africa and Mac have not seen
a forest or an adult chimp

333
00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,000
since they were seized at
just a few months old.

334
00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,960
Today is the most important
step in their rehabilitation.

335
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,280
Should I stay behind?

336
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,680
Yes. Shall I go...
Up to that platform? OK.

337
00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,120
See you later.

338
00:21:58,120 --> 00:21:59,960
Good luck, non-cold people.

339
00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:04,800
Can I hold one of them now?
Yeah, sure.

340
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,960
One last hold before these animals
turn their backs on people

341
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,680
and return to the world
of chimpanzees.

342
00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:13,240
You lucky beggar.

343
00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:17,160
I know, it's fantastic. Do you know
what's going to happen?

344
00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,800
Oh, my God.
That would have been awful.

345
00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:24,640
And, though I would dearly
have liked to have been
on the other side of the fence,

346
00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:26,960
watching Mark
is a close second best.

347
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:29,400
And the man who claimed
not to like chimps

348
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:31,600
appears to have had
a change of heart.

349
00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:44,040
For Lilly, letting go
is always nerve-wracking.

350
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:48,680
The adults may simply reject
the young or may even attack them.

351
00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:52,600
But if these young chimpanzees
are to re-enter the forest then,

352
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,600
for better or for worse,
there has to come a moment

353
00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,920
where they meet adult chimpanzees
for the first time.

354
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:19,800
And, almost immediately, something
quite extraordinary happens.

355
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:24,120
Oh, wow. What a reaction.

356
00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:26,040
Look at that!

357
00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,800
Oh, my God. That is so exciting. You
couldn't ask for anything better.

358
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,480
They're actually hugging them.
Well done, that's a real welcome.

359
00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,160
That's exceptional. Is it really?

360
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:40,360
It's exceptional.

361
00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:47,200
Oh, how fantastic.

362
00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:49,000
That is extraordinary.

363
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,520
It's like they've known
one another for years.

364
00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,840
You couldn't have hoped
for anything better, could you?

365
00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:58,200
No. That's it, that's it.

366
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,440
That's perfect. Yeah.

367
00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:26,760
I've got an admission to make -
I think I like chimps.

368
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:30,240
What an extraordinary
experience playing with Africa

369
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,920
and being in the enclosure
with all those amazing animals.

370
00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:36,160
I've surprised myself.

371
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,000
For years and years and years
I've felt the same way.

372
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,680
I just think chimps are
too similar to humans,

373
00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:43,560
and now I'm completely hooked.

374
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:57,080
We are travelling onwards towards
the Congo, home of the critically
endangered Northern White Rhino.

375
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,400
20 years ago, when Mark
did this trip with Douglas Adams,

376
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,320
they went to see what Douglas
referred to as "our cousins,"

377
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,640
while crossing the border
into the Congo.

378
00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:12,120
Two decades later, we are planning
to call in once again,

379
00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:13,960
but this time, we understand,

380
00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:18,480
our cousins have unwittingly
been recruited into the war
with poachers.

381
00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:25,080
We are now so close to the
Democratic Republic of Congo

382
00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:30,240
that when the plane banks to
find the grass airstrip,
we pass briefly over the border.

383
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:36,600
No rhino down there,
so as you'd notice.

384
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:49,920
And then I see where Mark
has brought me.

385
00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:56,040
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

386
00:25:56,040 --> 00:26:00,120
Our noble leader,
however, has plans to penetrate it.

387
00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,760
Imagine what this would
be like if I was unfit.

388
00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:14,760
Well, you've been in training
for months, haven't you? Absolutely.

389
00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:24,040
We are on the way to what is
reputed to be the greatest
animal encounter on the planet.

390
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,160
And the most gut-wrenching
trek to get there.

391
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:34,440
We've got to go all the
way up over the top of this
hill, they call it - mountain.

392
00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:38,120
We've got a long way to go yet.
Mustn't complain.

393
00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:41,040
I'm going to, though. Oh, yes.

394
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,040
Go on without me, it's fine.

395
00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:45,800
I'll lie here and die.

396
00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:50,920
It's OK, thank you.

397
00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:58,840
The spirit, believe me, is willing

398
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:02,240
even though the flesh
is a bin liner full of yoghurt.

399
00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:04,800
Oh, heavens!

400
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,000
Oh, good Lord.
Have we got to go in there?

401
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:16,240
Look at it.

402
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:18,960
Oh, my...

403
00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:20,880
That's the easy bit done.

404
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:26,000
Good Lord. Wonder why they
call it the Impenetrable Forest?

405
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:27,520
Yes, there must be a reason.

406
00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:30,840
Spectacular, though, isn't it?

407
00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:33,240
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

408
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:46,200
Penetrating, OK.

409
00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:50,120
Everything is starting to get taller
than me for the first time. Yeah.

410
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:13,640
Suddenly we're upon them.

411
00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:18,520
Just fantastic.

412
00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:20,040
I can't tell you.

413
00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,200
Though every creature is miraculous,

414
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,920
there's something very, very close
about a gorilla.

415
00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,960
This is what brings people from all
over the world to have their moment

416
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:36,000
with the gorillas of the
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

417
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:40,080
There are just 700 wild
mountain gorillas on the planet -

418
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:45,560
half of them are here and half
are 30 miles away at Virunga,
and that's it.

419
00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:49,920
Each day, a very limited number of
people can pay to be brought here

420
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:53,120
for a strict one hour
in the company of gorillas.

421
00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:57,440
Each person pays 375 US
for the privilege

422
00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:01,400
and that money is being used
to stop poaching.

423
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:07,520
And it seems there's no shortage of
people prepared to pay that sort of
money for this sort of experience.

424
00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:10,080
That's fantastic.

425
00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:15,280
Just enormous.

426
00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:17,840
So that's why he's
called the silverback.

427
00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:19,320
THEY LAUGH

428
00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:25,320
Do you know about the silverbacks?

429
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,440
They're the dominant males,
the alpha males.

430
00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:31,840
There's one in each family.
Yeah, usually just one.

431
00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:37,200
He's the boss and what happens is,
as he gets to 10 or 12 years old,

432
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:42,320
his hairs on his back will start
to go silver and it's a sort of
badge of maturity.

433
00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:44,760
Is he the father of
all the children?
In this case, yes.

434
00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:48,040
Just occasionally his son
will stay with the group,

435
00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,920
grow up and stay with the group
and then sire some of the children.

436
00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:55,080
But in this case it's
just him, so he's got...

437
00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:59,400
It's a fairly typical size group.
There's an adult female over there

438
00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:01,800
and I saw another one

439
00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:07,480
just behind him and there's a third
adult female somewhere.

440
00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:13,880
Oh, there she is. That's her. And
then the others are all youngsters.

441
00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:16,720
LOW RUMBLING

442
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:20,560
Listen, did you hear that?
It's a bit like a belch.

443
00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:21,920
Yeah. Did you hear that?

444
00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,600
It's called a BV,
a belch vocalisation.

445
00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:28,560
When researchers
were first spending time with

446
00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:32,400
gorillas they thought they were just
burping, but what they're doing is,

447
00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:36,400
as they're spread
out a little bit here, they
belch just to keep in contact.

448
00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:41,720
It's like a very quiet subtle
communication to say, "I'm over here,
I'm over here".

449
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:43,160
That's brilliant.

450
00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:46,200
It's a great name, a BV -
belch vocalisation.

451
00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:51,080
Is there an FV as well?
Because they do do quite a
lot of that, I have to say.

452
00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:53,400
I thought that was you.

453
00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:58,920
Fantastic.

454
00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:01,280
The baby's so sweet.

455
00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:03,320
That's incredible.

456
00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:05,120
The mum is so relaxed again.

457
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,720
Not bothered about the baby just
wondering. It's six feet away.

458
00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:13,560
I think he's about one year old.
Absolutely tiny.

459
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:22,400
It was worth every sobbing,
gasping, aching step of horror,

460
00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,200
sweat and wheezing

461
00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:26,840
and, frankly, humiliation
to get here.

462
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:30,840
It's unbelievable.
It's a wonderful, wonderful thing.

463
00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:33,280
He's got a pot belly, that one.

464
00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:35,320
Just like me.

465
00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:18,000
The gorillas can bring in well over
2 million a year.

466
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:22,000
That money is helping train
and arm anti-poaching patrols,

467
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:26,240
not just to protect gorillas, but to
protect animals right across Africa.

468
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:34,040
Mark wants to find out if arming
poaching patrols is paying off,

469
00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:41,000
so we have come to nearby Queen
Elizabeth National Park, right on
the Congolese border, to find out.

470
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,840
The wildlife here was once
ravaged by poaching.

471
00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:46,360
Now the animals have their own army.

472
00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:48,400
THEY SHOUT

473
00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:06,000
The park authorities claim that
in places like this, this sort of

474
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:10,400
training is key to the security
of wild animals.

475
00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:13,720
The park was once famous for
elephants, but when Mark and Douglas

476
00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:18,520
visited 20 years ago, poaching had
almost wiped them out completely.

477
00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:21,600
Mark believes that if
the armed patrols have

478
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:25,720
really made a difference,
the elephants will have recovered.

479
00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:31,320
We've just arrived in camp
and taken a break,
arranging to film elephants later.

480
00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:32,960
But that's the thing with elephants.

481
00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:34,960
They're hopeless
at keeping arrangements.

482
00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:51,840
This is what I love about Africa.
You just never know what's going to
happen next. We were all gathering.

483
00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:54,720
We've only been in the camp about
an hour, we've had a quick lunch.

484
00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:59,040
We're going to go off and try and
find elephants and they found us cos

485
00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:02,240
we're all getting our kit and just
leaving our tents and they appeared.

486
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:05,240
There's a little one just on the
other side of the river there.

487
00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:08,800
God, that's fantastic.
It's right by the camp.

488
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,840
And suddenly everybody's flying
around like headless chickens trying

489
00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:17,560
to get cameras and tripods
and microphones and kit
and kitting us up and everything.

490
00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:20,920
We weren't ready for it at all,
but it's just so exciting.

491
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:25,600
I love seeing everyone getting
excited and not quite knowing
what to do because we're not ready.

492
00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:28,280
Get Stephen, get Stephen.

493
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:30,480
We've got elephants
right by the camp.

494
00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:35,960
Oh, that's fantastic.
Now you're excited. Now you see.
Look. Oh, my God.

495
00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:38,040
They're elephants.

496
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:45,360
Just like they are in the movies.

497
00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:55,640
It's like a sort of
Escher puzzle of elephants.
Three little ones in the front.

498
00:34:55,640 --> 00:34:57,680
Yeah, they're gorgeous.

499
00:34:57,680 --> 00:34:59,920
And they're just sucking
water up their trunks.

500
00:34:59,920 --> 00:35:01,880
Yeah, just drinking,
come down to the river to drink.

501
00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:05,680
My word.
They're so densely packed together.

502
00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:09,120
Everyone's got their favourite spot
on the river there.

503
00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:10,880
They like to come down
to drink.

504
00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:13,640
Despite their enormous size,
they're very graceful.

505
00:35:13,640 --> 00:35:15,840
They're right opposite
where your tent is.

506
00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:20,400
Literally, your tent is literally
there and they're right the
other side of the river.

507
00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:24,200
They're unlikely to cross the river
for any particular reason, are they?

508
00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:25,920
Could do, sometimes.

509
00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:30,760
Yeah, cos the other way they can
use their trunks is like a snorkel.

510
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:34,840
They can walk along the
bottom of the river, trunk above
the surface and breathe. Amazing.

511
00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:44,320
While I go to gauge the chances of
my tent being trampled in the night,
Mark is planning ahead.

512
00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:49,440
Hello, Philip. It's Mark Carwardine
from Last Chance to see at the BBC.

513
00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:52,400
The news from the Congo is not good.

514
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:59,160
Following a series of violent
attacks, 200,000 refugees are said
to be heading for the border.

515
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:05,800
The area where the Northern White
Rhino were last seen is becoming
more dangerous by the day.

516
00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:33,760
We're still hoping to get
a sense of elephant numbers
across this vast park.

517
00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:37,640
You'd think spotting elephants
on a largely barren landscape
would hardly be difficult.

518
00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:44,040
But it's astonishing how the largest
animal walking the earth
has a knack of vanishing.

519
00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:50,680
Fortunately, Mark has arranged
for us to join an elephant survey
being conducted by Andy Plumtree

520
00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:54,800
and Polycarp Mwima of the
Wildlife Conservation Society.

521
00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:30,160
Once, there were just a handful
of elephants left in this park.

522
00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:32,640
Now it appears there are over 1,000.

523
00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:39,000
Seeing so many en masse
is both exhilarating
and a little frightening.

524
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:40,880
Hello.

525
00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:44,760
Slowly inching towards us. Yes.

526
00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:49,200
They tend to go for the
tallest in a vehicle, don't they?

527
00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:56,640
So, what are they actually doing
then? These elephants are moving
towards the Congolese border.

528
00:37:56,640 --> 00:38:01,040
Are they going to move
right into the country or just
stay down in the river area there?

529
00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:05,640
No, Polycarp here has been
radio tracking some of the
elephants in this park

530
00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:12,120
and what he's finding is that they
go up to the border and obviously
know it's not safe to go over

531
00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:16,480
so they hide out under
the trees during the day.

532
00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:20,520
Because they've been shot at in
the Congo probably during the day,
they've learnt that it's safe

533
00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:22,840
to hide in the forested areas.

534
00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:30,760
Strange to think that elephants
live so long, there must be
some members of the herd

535
00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,480
that remember the Amin era when it
was unsafe on this side
of the river.

536
00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:37,800
Yes, and they've probably
taken a bit of time to
learn that it's safe again.

537
00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:39,440
Quite.

538
00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:41,560
Exactly.
So these elephants have probably

539
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:47,600
seen other elephants being shot,
they've been shot at themselves,
they're fully aware of the dangers.

540
00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:50,760
We're now less than a mile from
the border with the troubled Congo.

541
00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:54,000
Though the armed patrols ensure
that elephants are now safe here

542
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:58,280
in Uganda, if they step over the
border, they are quickly targeted.

543
00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:00,320
The hole in the ear might
be a bullet wound.

544
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,600
Look at that. A hole in the ear.

545
00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:10,760
Poaching fuels the various
conflicts, is that it?

546
00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:13,560
Yeah, the ivory is sold to
buy the bullets, basically.

547
00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:19,320
And there are guerrillas -
human guerrillas - just the other
side of the border here.

548
00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:23,680
Yeah, that's about 20 kilometres
away across the border.

549
00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:25,520
It's all happening very close by.

550
00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:28,320
ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

551
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:36,440
With constant sorties of escalating
violence in the Congo

552
00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:41,280
and now the revelation that armed
groups have gathered
so close over the border,

553
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:42,800
Mark has made a decision.

554
00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:47,720
We're not going to go
to Garamba National Park.

555
00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:52,240
It's something I've been
looking forward to for months.
We've been planning it for months.

556
00:39:52,240 --> 00:39:54,280
And I really thought we'd be
able to get there to go

557
00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:58,560
and look at least where Douglas Adams
and I saw the rhinos 20 years ago.

558
00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:00,040
I think it is the right decision.

559
00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:05,520
I feel incredibly guilty because of
course the rangers are still there
and the wildlife's still there,

560
00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:08,080
and I feel almost as if
we're letting them down.

561
00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:14,760
But then again, it's not worth
risking the lives of all the crew
to go there, so we're not going.

562
00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:16,920
And that's that, I guess.

563
00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:25,240
All that stands between us
and the Democratic Republic
of the Congo is a small river,

564
00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:29,280
and now it seems this is as close
as we're ever likely to get.

565
00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:43,720
I don't know about you,
but I'm incredibly frustrated.

566
00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:45,400
This is what we wanted to get to.

567
00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:48,240
This is the home
of the Northern White Rhino.

568
00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:52,680
It's what it's all about
and we can't go. It's like
a stone's throw away.

569
00:40:52,680 --> 00:40:57,440
And you can see how easy it
is for the animals simply to cross
from Uganda to the Congo.

570
00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:01,040
All the time. Not aware that it's
an international border of course.

571
00:41:01,040 --> 00:41:06,200
And that there is poaching
is rife over there, whereas here
it's pretty much under control.

572
00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:25,960
When the search for the last of
the Garamba Rhinos concludes,

573
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:31,480
we receive news that after three
months of looking, no trace of
the animals has been found.

574
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:36,640
Kes Hillman-Smith's dream of
capturing and moving the rhinos

575
00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:40,360
to safety was, it seems,
the last frustrated hope.

576
00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:49,520
The formalities will begin
to declare the Northern White
Rhino extinct in the wild.

577
00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:55,560
But it's not quite
the end of our story.

578
00:41:55,560 --> 00:41:59,160
The black rhino is now the
most threatened rhino in Africa,

579
00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:03,360
95% having been poached
in the last 40 years,

580
00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:08,320
but lessons have been learned from
the plight of the Northern White.

581
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:15,040
It is clear that any species
existing in one small pocket
of land is highly vulnerable.

582
00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:21,400
While crossing Kenya, we heard of
a project in Nairobi National Park
to move small groups of black rhino

583
00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:27,960
to begin new populations many
miles away while there's still time.

584
00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:30,520
Well, this is a first for me.
I'm really excited.

585
00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:33,680
I've never seen this done,
but, as far as I know, once they've

586
00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:38,680
darted the rhino, depending on how
the dart hits, it could take five or
six minutes for it to stagger about.

587
00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:40,560
So, will they wake up in the truck?

588
00:42:40,560 --> 00:42:48,160
Yes, I mean this is a first for me,
but I imagine they'll be staggering
about while you push one in.

589
00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:51,440
Yeah, right! No, you have to...

590
00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:58,480
You can't lift them in obviously,
you have to get them to walk in and
then they'll wake up on the journey.

591
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:04,000
The man behind this noble,
if hair-raising endeavour,
is Benson Okita Ouma.

592
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:09,400
So hopefully today if all goes
well, we'll be able
to capture maybe three.

593
00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:13,120
If we capture more, well and good,
but we aim to catch at least three.

594
00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:16,320
Let us put ourselves
before the Lord.

595
00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:22,080
Almighty Lord and Father, we come
before you this beautiful day.

596
00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:25,520
We ask you to bless the team ahead,

597
00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:29,080
bless us for this noble duty
we are going to do,

598
00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:34,960
bless our rhinos and may we see
the end of a successful operation.

599
00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:39,320
And may we also live
to see the rhino.

600
00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:43,040
The journey to the rhino
requires a fast driver,

601
00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:46,720
a sense of humour,

602
00:43:46,720 --> 00:43:47,880
and a good grip.

603
00:43:47,880 --> 00:43:51,560
Oh, holy mackerel!

604
00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:55,200
God, isn't it exciting!

605
00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:57,080
It's fantastic, isn't it?

606
00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:03,560
People pay an
awful lot of money for this kind
of thing at Alton Towers.

607
00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:04,200
Zebra.

608
00:44:04,200 --> 00:44:05,800
Zebra crossing.

609
00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:08,560
What in the name of 20 arses
is going on?

610
00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:11,720
We're reversing completely and
going all the way back up again.

611
00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:15,240
We were right the first time. Yeah.

612
00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:19,120
Can you see what's going on?
I can't quite.

613
00:44:19,120 --> 00:44:23,320
That was one of the most
terrifying drives I've ever had.

614
00:44:23,320 --> 00:44:25,840
You weren't wearing your seatbelt.

615
00:44:25,840 --> 00:44:28,440
No, I wasn't. I noticed that.

616
00:44:28,440 --> 00:44:33,520
I was not alone in my trousers
for most of it, either. Terrifying.

617
00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:36,400
Extraordinary. Well, we got here.
We did, we did.

618
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:45,320
At first glance "here" appears to
be in a rhino-less middle
of nowhere.

619
00:44:45,320 --> 00:44:51,200
On closer inspection, however,
it turns out actually to be
a rhino-less middle of nowhere.

620
00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:53,480
What's happening, Benson?

621
00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:55,720
We're waiting for him to
give us our instructions.

622
00:44:55,720 --> 00:45:00,160
The helicopter's up
and has he found a rhino?

623
00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:04,800
I think he did.
I think he did but...
There's a communication breakdown.

624
00:45:04,800 --> 00:45:09,840
Ah. We can hear him, but he can't
hear us. Oh, that's tricky.

625
00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:15,000
So, he told us to come at 5A, we're
now here, so we're waiting until
he gives us further instructions.

626
00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:17,760
Here's a message from him.

627
00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:19,680
It's from the pilot.

628
00:45:24,480 --> 00:45:26,400
Amazing having to do it by text.

629
00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:28,520
Yes, it's rather wonderful,
isn't it?

630
00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:35,200
OK, they're telling me that they're
still looking for a candidate.
So I told them we are at 5A here.

631
00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:39,000
So, all we can do is wait for
the helicopter to find a rhino

632
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:42,680
to begin a new population
of the species in the north.

633
00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:50,280
The job of finding a likely
candidate in the 30,000-acre park
belongs to Dr Gakuya,

634
00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:54,480
Kenya Wildlife Service's
chief vet and rhino darter.

635
00:45:54,480 --> 00:46:01,640
We regain our composure with a
nagging feeling that a further
fast journey

636
00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:05,400
is decidedly on the cards,
and await a text from Dr Gakuya.

637
00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:52,440
PHONE BEEPS

638
00:46:52,440 --> 00:46:54,000
We're on the move.

639
00:46:57,160 --> 00:47:01,200
As predicted, another fast
journey begins.

640
00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:04,320
But to keep things interesting,
this time it's hellish fast.

641
00:47:04,320 --> 00:47:06,480
STEPHEN YELLS

642
00:47:09,440 --> 00:47:14,400
I wonder if they've actually darted
it already, we're racing so fast.
They say the helicopter's found it.

643
00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:17,000
I guess they don't mess about.

644
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:22,080
They don't want to frighten them
by hovering over them for too
long, so maybe it's already done.

645
00:47:22,080 --> 00:47:25,560
I think it's loosening
the screws on my arm.

646
00:47:25,560 --> 00:47:28,280
I think my bone's disconnected.

647
00:47:31,880 --> 00:47:33,120
Oh! That's it.

648
00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:38,680
There's the helicopter over there.
Oh, really?

649
00:47:38,680 --> 00:47:42,360
It was hovering low
as if in pursuit.

650
00:47:42,360 --> 00:47:47,480
And, unexpectedly, we arrive in time
to see something extraordinary.

651
00:48:10,280 --> 00:48:11,520
That's incredible.

652
00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:15,600
Oh, my God.

653
00:48:15,600 --> 00:48:18,880
I don't know how you can keep
your eyes on both. Oops.
Here we go. Watch out.

654
00:48:33,560 --> 00:48:37,440
Uh-oh. Here we go.
Straight into the grassland.

655
00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:40,840
'To ensure the rhino
comes to no harm,

656
00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:45,960
'it's important that
it's left unconscious
for as little time as possible.'

657
00:48:56,320 --> 00:48:59,320
This is extraordinary.

658
00:48:59,320 --> 00:49:04,440
This quivering beast, this
enormous powerful animal,

659
00:49:04,440 --> 00:49:07,320
is felled like that and all kinds
of things going on all at once.

660
00:49:07,320 --> 00:49:10,240
Everyone knows what they're doing.
I'm desperate not to get in the way.

661
00:49:10,240 --> 00:49:15,880
It's a bit frightening, really,
but it's obviously a group
of people who know exactly...

662
00:49:15,880 --> 00:49:20,160
You know, they've done this before
and so on.

663
00:49:20,160 --> 00:49:26,320
To see this close up, those great
feet... If it wakes up too early
then we are all dead.

664
00:49:26,320 --> 00:49:32,480
'A seemingly endless stream of
injections ensures the animal
remains obligingly unconscious

665
00:49:32,480 --> 00:49:37,040
'while measurements are taken
and preparations take place
for the relocation.'

666
00:49:37,040 --> 00:49:42,920
It's the first time I've been
this close to a wild rhino.

667
00:49:42,920 --> 00:49:48,880
Unbelievable experience. I don't
quite know what to do, where to look,
it's just a hive of activity.

668
00:49:48,880 --> 00:49:53,080
I think what they're doing now
is they're drilling a hole
into the horn.

669
00:49:53,080 --> 00:49:57,600
You can hear the drill behind me
and they're going to put
the transmitter inside the horn,

670
00:49:57,600 --> 00:50:03,560
so that when it's released they'll be
able to track it and follow it
and make sure that it's OK.

671
00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:10,240
They're putting the resin in
to keep the radio tag in.

672
00:50:10,240 --> 00:50:13,080
Oh, of course.

673
00:50:13,080 --> 00:50:18,520
I don't know why it makes me want
to cry when I see this attention
being given to an animal like this.

674
00:50:18,520 --> 00:50:21,560
A great mighty beast that
doesn't give a cuss for us, but...

675
00:50:21,560 --> 00:50:28,040
All these people running around
and doing their absolute utmost
to make sure it doesn't come to

676
00:50:28,040 --> 00:50:32,840
any harm, and make sure it's done as
quickly as possible, it's fantastic.

677
00:50:32,840 --> 00:50:38,200
It sort of makes up
for the poachers, really.
The simply imponderable evil

678
00:50:38,200 --> 00:50:40,760
of people who kill animals
just to get money out of them.

679
00:50:40,760 --> 00:50:43,640
So now we have to be
a little careful here.

680
00:50:43,640 --> 00:50:51,400
As Mark warned, there's only one
way to get a one-tonne rhino into
a crate. You have to wake it up.

681
00:50:54,440 --> 00:50:56,320
God, it's heavy.

682
00:50:56,320 --> 00:51:02,400
'As black rhinos
are notoriously bad tempered
and dangerous at the best of times,

683
00:51:02,400 --> 00:51:06,160
'when the final injection to wake
the animal is administered,

684
00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:10,240
'a lot of people are required
to pull and push
like their lives depend on it.

685
00:51:10,240 --> 00:51:13,360
'Which they probably do.

686
00:51:16,240 --> 00:51:21,920
'While we wait for the drug
to take effect,
I elect for an overseeing role...

687
00:51:23,920 --> 00:51:30,040
'some little distance away from
this confused, prodded and famously
irritable one-tonne beast.'

688
00:51:30,040 --> 00:51:31,800
RHINO GRUNTS LOUDLY

689
00:51:32,440 --> 00:51:38,240
Well, what's happening now is that
the rhino has had his injection
to bring him round.

690
00:51:38,240 --> 00:51:40,400
THEY SHOUT

691
00:51:54,360 --> 00:51:55,880
Oh, God.

692
00:51:55,880 --> 00:51:58,040
God, that happened quickly.

693
00:51:59,520 --> 00:52:02,280
Suddenly the rhino was sitting down.

694
00:52:02,280 --> 00:52:04,280
Crikey. Unbelievable.

695
00:52:04,280 --> 00:52:06,520
Are you all right?
Yeah, no fine. Just gave me a shock.

696
00:52:06,520 --> 00:52:10,440
I wasn't ready for that. I mean, they
said it would happen quickly but...

697
00:52:10,440 --> 00:52:14,320
A split second and it was
suddenly awake and then up and
you could feel the power of it.

698
00:52:14,320 --> 00:52:18,080
You can see what they
meant when they said,
"Don't let it go backwards."

699
00:52:18,080 --> 00:52:21,280
If it had gone backwards then,
we'd have all been in such...
Did you cut yourself?

700
00:52:21,280 --> 00:52:22,880
Yeah, yeah. It's fine.

701
00:52:22,880 --> 00:52:28,920
Did you hear those little sort of
roaring sighs it gave
as it was waking up?

702
00:52:28,920 --> 00:52:31,520
Just waking up, yeah.

703
00:52:31,520 --> 00:52:33,960
Look, it's bucking up.

704
00:52:36,200 --> 00:52:39,560
Now it's seriously fed up.

705
00:52:55,680 --> 00:53:00,600
It's smashing the front of the
crate so hard, it's actually
pushed it out at this side.

706
00:53:00,600 --> 00:53:02,800
There's about a three inch gap.

707
00:53:06,520 --> 00:53:09,280
That's taken a lot out of me...

708
00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:18,240
emotionally. It's just the team
has got to do, if it can, four
more in the next three hours.

709
00:53:18,240 --> 00:53:20,440
That is so exciting. I've never
seen anything like it in my life.

710
00:53:20,440 --> 00:53:27,720
The rest of the morning is spent
rounding up more rhino
for the trip of a lifetime.

711
00:53:27,720 --> 00:53:29,240
Here we go.

712
00:53:49,640 --> 00:53:51,760
With three black rhinos
safely crated,

713
00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:57,280
we begin the 100-mile journey north
to the protected conservancy
that will be their new home.

714
00:55:00,000 --> 00:55:02,160
RHINO GRUNTS

715
00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:08,280
We came in search of Northern
White Rhino and we were too late.

716
00:55:08,280 --> 00:55:11,880
But the lesson of the Northern
White Rhino has been learned

717
00:55:11,880 --> 00:55:17,440
and now, hopefully, these black
rhino will not be left
to dwindle into extinction.

718
00:55:21,680 --> 00:55:24,520
Rhino wardens start the day early.

719
00:55:24,520 --> 00:55:31,040
With little hope of catching sight
of a relocated black rhino, they
monitor the new animals by receiving

720
00:55:31,040 --> 00:55:35,760
signals from the transmitters
inserted into the rhino's horn.

721
00:55:35,760 --> 00:55:40,880
But, unexpectedly, the driver
suddenly makes a chance sighting
out in the open.

722
00:55:47,960 --> 00:55:49,480
Oh, he's coming round again.

723
00:56:05,840 --> 00:56:08,800
When they point at you and
start walking towards to you,

724
00:56:08,800 --> 00:56:10,360
a little feeling comes over you
that isn't altogether good.

725
00:56:10,360 --> 00:56:14,880
It does. It's still running,
but not quite sure.

726
00:56:14,880 --> 00:56:16,880
Oh, he's coming towards us again.

727
00:56:16,880 --> 00:56:19,520
Looking straight at us.
Hmm, not sure it likes us.

728
00:56:19,520 --> 00:56:22,480
God, isn't it wonderful
in that light?

729
00:56:22,480 --> 00:56:26,160
It's definitely worth getting up
early in the morning to see that.
Oh, yes. It's gorgeous.

730
00:56:26,160 --> 00:56:29,240
I've got mixed feelings
about it, I have to say.

731
00:56:29,240 --> 00:56:36,520
I mean, you know, on the one had it's
quite depressing because the only way
we're protecting rhinos effectively

732
00:56:36,520 --> 00:56:43,880
is by putting - this is a big
enclosure, it's 90,000 acres -
but it's fenced.

733
00:56:43,880 --> 00:56:49,440
The point is it's fenced and they're
given round-the-clock protection.
So it's very artificial in one way.

734
00:56:49,440 --> 00:56:53,240
It's not wild as you imagine wild
rhinos in somewhere like Garamba.

735
00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:10,760
Wow. Gosh.

736
00:57:10,760 --> 00:57:14,160
We said it was fenced, but that's
a heck of an enclosure, isn't it?

737
00:57:14,160 --> 00:57:17,680
You can see the fence going off
into the distance over there.
Oh, yes.

738
00:57:17,680 --> 00:57:21,200
And over here. God, it's huge.

739
00:57:21,200 --> 00:57:24,440
Enormous piece of land
and somewhere there's a rhino.

740
00:57:24,440 --> 00:57:27,400
'Rhinos in the conservancy may not
be sighted for weeks or even months,

741
00:57:27,400 --> 00:57:31,600
'but they are there, out in the
peaceful vastness of the place,

742
00:57:31,600 --> 00:57:35,720
'living and breeding as they have
done without intervention
for six million years.'

743
00:57:35,720 --> 00:57:38,560
Can you hear a signal?

744
00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:41,080
Yes. Oh, you can hear one, can you?

745
00:57:41,080 --> 00:57:43,200
Yes.

746
00:57:43,200 --> 00:57:44,920
Four kilometres from here.

747
00:57:44,920 --> 00:57:50,040
Not too far. It's marvellous to
think of the black rhino being
able to roam here, isn't it?

748
00:57:50,040 --> 00:57:53,320
It really is.
Wonderful place for them.

749
00:57:53,320 --> 00:57:57,120
In the end, it may be that we can't
call these animals truly wild.

750
00:57:57,120 --> 00:57:59,040
But they are wild-ish.

751
00:58:01,080 --> 00:58:07,840
And if we're at the point where we
have to chose between wild-ish and
extinction, I know which I'd choose.

752
00:58:15,800 --> 00:58:19,240
Madagascar is home to almost
100 different species of lemur.

753
00:58:19,240 --> 00:58:24,600
We're not looking for the biggest,
the smallest, or the one
that likes dancing.

754
00:58:24,600 --> 00:58:30,920
We're on the look out for the one
that, according to legend, brings
death to those that happen upon it.

755
00:58:36,040 --> 00:58:38,560
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

756
00:58:38,560 --> 00:58:41,080
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