1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:08,280 All over the world, wildlife populations are plummeting at a rate 2 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:11,520 not seen since the extinction of the dinosaurs... 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,640 ..and it's being driven by human activity. 4 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:23,880 My name's Levison Wood. 5 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:27,280 There's a little baby there. 6 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,160 Quite dangerous situation. 7 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:33,520 I've walked the Nile and travelled to over a hundred countries. 8 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:39,760 Now, I'm exploring some of the world's last great wildernesses... 9 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:48,840 ..to track down the most iconic but endangered animals on the planet... 10 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:50,920 That's a lion track. 11 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:55,320 ..to get as close as possible to these majestic creatures, 12 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,160 in the last of their remaining natural habitats. 13 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:00,640 It's dusty. It's hot. 14 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:02,520 So this is all palm oil. 15 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:06,200 All of this, though, would have been primary rainforest. 16 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,640 I want to see for myself what is pushing these animals 17 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:11,520 to the brink of extinction. 18 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,520 These are baby sharks. Aren't they really endangered, though? 19 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:18,840 And understand what can be done to save them... 20 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:20,600 This thing is a monster. Huge! 21 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:22,040 ..before it's too late. 22 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,720 This time I'm visiting the Borneo rainforest, one of the most diverse 23 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,400 ecological systems on the planet. 24 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:40,240 It's like something off Jurassic Park. 25 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,800 It's home to some of the rarest animals in the world 26 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,440 who are facing unprecedented challenges. 27 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:48,800 Oh, my God, that's horrific. 28 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,240 The people that did this are no better than animals themselves. 29 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,120 But there's one in particular I want to meet. 30 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:58,800 Look, it's an orangutang, he's right there, sitting watching. 31 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:03,080 Wow! Look at that. Whoo. 32 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,680 I'm off in search of Orangutans. 33 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:21,760 I've never seen an orangutan in the wild, so hopefully 34 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,440 this is the place to do it. 35 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:26,800 The only great ape in Asia, 36 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:31,880 orangutans once thrived throughout the region, but now they're only 37 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,080 found here in Borneo and the island of Sumatra. 38 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:37,840 Good morning! Morning. 39 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:42,240 They're a fascinating creature that we can relate to a lot. 40 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:44,600 You know, they are very, very humanlike. 41 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:49,400 Orangutan is Malay for person of the forest, but deforestation 42 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,920 and poaching have halved their population in the last 60 years, 43 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:57,640 and now they're in serious danger of going extinct. 44 00:02:57,640 --> 00:03:00,400 So I'm going to go and find Dean. Hopefully he's around here. 45 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:05,360 He's, he's a local guide who knows a thing or two about orangutans. 46 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:06,520 Dean! Lev! 47 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:10,520 How are you doing? How are you? Yeah, good to meet you. 48 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:11,880 Yeah, good to meet you. 49 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,840 The population of Sandakan has doubled in the last decade 50 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:19,120 to over half a million. 51 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,120 Hello. Hello. 52 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,240 Hello, how are you guys? 53 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:27,200 The city is rapidly expanding into rural areas, increasing 54 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,360 the pressure on natural resources. 55 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:32,200 That's stingrays, taste good. 56 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:34,480 Stingrays? Stingrays. OK. 57 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:35,880 What is this one? 58 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,120 Is it Barracuda? Yeah. Barracuda. Barracuda, yeah. 59 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:41,200 So are these baby sharks? 60 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,640 It is our baby sharks. 61 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:45,400 They're taking the fins off there. 62 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,760 They're taking the fins off because it was believed 63 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,760 that the fins contains medicinal value. 64 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,720 Aren't they really endangered, though? They are very endangered. 65 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:56,600 But I mean, the local people here just try to make money, you know? 66 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,160 It's very sad, isn't it, though? Yeah. 67 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,160 We're aiming to travel through 68 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:05,760 the palm forest plantations and young secondary rainforest 69 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,520 to the village of Upak Ulu Segama, 70 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:10,200 then 80km upriver to 71 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:11,600 the Danum Valley, 72 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,160 an ancient primary rainforest, 73 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,240 twice as old as the Amazon 74 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,480 and the true home of the Bornean orangutan. 75 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,480 So one of these buses, then, yeah? 76 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:26,760 OK. 77 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:27,560 Yeah. 78 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:30,600 Hello. Hello. 79 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:35,880 We've bagged ourself a prime seat here. 80 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:37,000 The business class. 81 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,920 Borneo's primary rainforest has shrunk by over 30% 82 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:45,680 in the last 40 years. 83 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:49,240 And on leaving the city, we're immediately surrounded 84 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:50,680 by the reason. 85 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,640 It's all been replaced with palm oil plantations. 86 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:57,000 So this is all palm oil? 87 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,280 So all of this though would have been primary rainforest 88 00:05:00,280 --> 00:05:02,240 until, what? 89 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:03,240 Yeah. 90 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:05,000 What kind of products need palm oil? 91 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:13,120 Really? 92 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:16,360 Yeah. 93 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,280 So they've just rebranded, remarketed, 94 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:25,080 they've called it vegetable oil instead of palm oil. 95 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:26,400 But this is where it comes from. 96 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:28,600 Right. 97 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,600 It's literally just palm trees as far as the eye can see. 98 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:40,000 Palm oil comes from the fruit of the oil palm tree. 99 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:45,720 And in 2020, this region produced around five million tonnes of it, 100 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:48,960 10% of the entire planet's supply. 101 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:50,800 OK. Thank you very much. 102 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,720 Just been dropped off here, right overlooking 103 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,400 the, erm, these palm oil plantations. 104 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:02,200 I'm going to show you this. 105 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:04,560 It's really, really shocking. 106 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:09,480 Just 30 years ago, this was ancient primary rainforest teeming 107 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,760 with orangutans and countless other species. 108 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:16,560 Now it's virtually devoid of wildlife and biodiversity. 109 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:20,480 Hey. How are you doing? Good, man. 110 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:22,240 How are you doing? 111 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:23,200 Let's jump up. 112 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:32,200 There are over 50,000 oil palm smallholdings in this region alone. 113 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:34,680 Dean's managed to get me inside one. 114 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:39,760 Comfortable, Dean. Nice and windy now. 115 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:41,080 It's nice to get a breeze. 116 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:42,040 Yeah, man. 117 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:48,520 Stop here. Here we go. Stop here. 118 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:52,120 Now it's time for me to help with the harvest. 119 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:53,800 And how do you do it? Using this. 120 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:54,880 Can you show me? 121 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:58,480 OK. Yeah. 122 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,360 Oh, wow. 123 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:05,320 Wow. So you have to chop off the palms first? 124 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:06,480 Yes. Yes. 125 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,040 You don't want that landing on your head. 126 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:13,480 Yeah. 127 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:15,000 Very sharp. Yeah. 128 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:16,600 Look at these teeth on these. Yeah. 129 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:17,640 That is lethal. 130 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:21,920 Can I have a go? Yeah, sure. 131 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:28,960 This is bloody hard work. 132 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:36,880 You're learning all the time. 133 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,800 How many can you take down in, like one hour? 134 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,280 Hundreds? Yeah. No! 135 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:48,080 How do I get this one off? 136 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:49,800 Come on, my friend. Where's he gone? 137 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:50,880 This is so hard. 138 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:54,840 Oh! 139 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:56,680 I'm going to show you how heavy this is. 140 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:01,960 Oh, that must be, what, like five kilograms? Ow. 141 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,240 Could be. Oh, careful, careful. 142 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:05,680 Quite sharp. Yeah, it's sharp. 143 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:07,240 It's like needles. 144 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:09,520 Look at that. I'm bleeding. 145 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:11,160 So it's a really dangerous job? 146 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:12,200 Very, yeah. 147 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:22,640 Do the orangutans ever come here? 148 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,560 These plantations might look green and lush, but because they're single 149 00:08:34,560 --> 00:08:37,640 species, it's impossible for orangutans to live 150 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,560 here as they need to eat a variety of different fruits, plants 151 00:08:41,560 --> 00:08:43,160 and insects to survive. 152 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,680 Well, we'll let you go and finish off your loading. Thank you so much. 153 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:51,640 My pleasure. Yeah. 154 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,760 It's clear the farmers themselves aren't the problem. 155 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:58,520 In this region alone, 156 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:02,600 tens of thousands have no choice but to toil away on the plantations 157 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,120 trying to provide for their families. 158 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:13,920 Our reliance on palm oil products is a huge driver of deforestation. 159 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:22,320 I'm just hoping that the further inland that I get into the secondary 160 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:26,280 and then the primary jungle, then hopefully there'll still be some 161 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:29,800 evidence of, of the habitat and therefore the orangutans. 162 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:33,040 But, you know, it doesn't look particularly hopeful when you see 163 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:34,200 scenes like this. 164 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,840 Deforestation creates another problem. 165 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,400 Many adult orangutans are killed, 166 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:47,200 leaving behind orphaned babies who can't survive on their own. 167 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:48,480 Nice to meet you. Hello. 168 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:52,200 Thank you. I'm Lev. What's your name? 169 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:53,160 Nabila. 170 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,280 The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre 171 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,600 has been saving orphaned apes for over 50 years. 172 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:06,720 They're very susceptible to human diseases. 173 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:10,400 So full PPE is the order of the day. 174 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,120 Have got these very sexy boots on, mate. 175 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:14,720 THEY LAUGH 176 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,560 After the chaos of the city and the barren plantations, 177 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:23,840 I'm suddenly surrounded by adorable orangutans. 178 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,720 The centre aims to rehabilitate these vulnerable creatures 179 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,800 and release them back into the wild. 180 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,760 Hello, Gibree. Nice to meet you. 181 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:36,560 How are you? He's quite shy. 182 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:40,560 It's just like a human baby. Yeah. 183 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:44,640 Orangutans share 97% of their DNA with us. 184 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:48,160 And just like human babies, they need to be cared for to make 185 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,400 sure they grow into healthy adults. 186 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:57,240 Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen? 187 00:10:57,240 --> 00:10:59,600 OK. 188 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:01,880 Sure, so where do I, where do I put...? 189 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:02,760 Just on the forehead? 190 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:04,960 Like that? Yeah. 191 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:07,560 36.6. 192 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:08,800 Is that OK? 193 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,400 In the training area. OK. 194 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:19,720 The sanctuary currently has eight orangutans under the age of five. 195 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:21,000 Aw. 196 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,080 It's a crucial stage when they must be taught the skills 197 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:27,800 they need to survive alone in the rainforest. 198 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,080 All these babies. All in this wheelbarrow. 199 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,200 Look at them all. 200 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,920 We'll see you at the training area, guys. 201 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:36,000 How do you train them? 202 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:43,240 Well, this one looks like she's very good at climbing. 203 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:44,520 Look! HE LAUGHS 204 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:47,960 So what's this one called? 205 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:50,160 So what's Nami's story, then? 206 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:55,840 Just by the roadside? 207 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:58,480 Wow. OK. 208 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:01,200 The centre has rehabilitated over a thousand 209 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:02,800 orangutans like Nami. 210 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,840 This small pocket of protected rainforest is the perfect place 211 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:11,080 for apes like her to adapt to life in the jungle. 212 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,880 At what age can you release them back into the wild? 213 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:22,880 Would you like some of this, my friend? 214 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:28,120 Oh, hey. 215 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:31,800 Oh, we'll put it back then. 216 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,280 They are amazing animals. 217 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:41,000 Just like humans, you know? 218 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:42,440 Hello. 219 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:44,640 Hey, we're talking about you. 220 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:49,720 Come on then, boys and girls. 221 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:52,080 HE LAUGHS 222 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:53,600 This is such good fun. 223 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:56,520 In you get, then. 224 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,480 Nice to meet you. 225 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:03,040 I've loved spending time with these mischievous baby apes, 226 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:05,480 but it's not the real world. 227 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:09,000 I need to see their reality and how they live in what's left 228 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,360 of their natural habitat. 229 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,680 It's made me really buzzing to actually get out into the jungle 230 00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:17,960 and see these magnificent creatures in the wild. 231 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:31,600 Hey, guys. Nice to meet you. 232 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:32,720 What's your name? Akim. 233 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:34,520 Akim. Lev. 234 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:36,880 I'm in Borneo with local guy Dean, 235 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:41,120 who's introduced me to the elders of the ancient Sugpan tribe. 236 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:46,920 They've agreed to take us upstream into the primary rainforest... 237 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:50,640 ..where I've got the best chance of a close encounter 238 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:52,240 with a wild orangutan. 239 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,520 But first, they're offering to take us to a secret cave. 240 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:00,080 Mind your head. 241 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:05,400 This is secondary forest, which means 242 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:07,760 that this had been cleared. 243 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,560 It had been logged at some point, but then it's been abandoned. 244 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:12,920 It's been left to regrow, rewild. 245 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,760 And as you can see, just in the space of a few decades, 246 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:18,920 it's back to being a proper forest again. 247 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:21,280 And you can hear the sounds of the jungle. 248 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:23,480 You can hear the crickets, the frogs, birds. 249 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,000 It's an Asian black hornbill. 250 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:35,560 It's funny, like whenever the Asian black hornbills are making a call, 251 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:37,400 it sounds like they're vomiting. 252 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:38,760 Really? Waa-hach. 253 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:40,600 BIRDS CALL 254 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,400 There's some movement up there. 255 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:50,520 Pig-tailed macaque. 256 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:53,960 Peaky Blinders of the forest. 257 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,000 The dark blob, you can see from here? Yeah. 258 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:02,960 That is actually a black eagle. 259 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,400 These birds of prey only inhabit rainforests with 260 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:08,960 high levels of cover. 261 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:13,200 So their presence here is a good sign of a healthy, rewilding jungle. 262 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:21,200 Given time, it's possible to regain lost natural habitat and give 263 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:24,480 populations of endangered species like the orangutan 264 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:25,880 a chance to recover. 265 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:33,480 It's hard to describe the humidity here. 266 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:34,440 It's so hot. 267 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,200 Within ten seconds, you're just drenched. 268 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:44,400 After four hours trekking, we finally reach our mystery cave. 269 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:49,760 Wow. Look. Look at this place. 270 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:53,560 Look at the size of it. 271 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:55,800 Huge. 272 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:03,600 We're following you. 273 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:19,920 What are these? 274 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:21,120 INDISTINCT REPLY 275 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:23,760 This is a coffin. 276 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:26,480 This is a coffin. Wow. OK. 277 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,120 All the details of coffin. It's beautiful, isn't it? 278 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:30,400 Yeah. 279 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,160 This one's got crocodiles on either end. 280 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:35,400 This one's got a cow underneath. 281 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:38,480 HE EXPLAINS 282 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,160 They believe that this belongs to a warrior. Right. 283 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:42,680 Yeah. 284 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:46,160 Look at this. I just found something here, which is quite amazing. 285 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,800 There's a carving of a, of a person. 286 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:50,480 Clearly a warrior. 287 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:52,880 Look what he's got there, in his hand. Somebody's head. 288 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:57,200 So this is one of the original Borneo head-hunters. 289 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,640 It's the stuff of myths and legends. 290 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:01,320 But here it's, it happened. 291 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:03,720 And there's the proof right there. 292 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:09,840 It's a real privilege to be shown such a sacred and historic part 293 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:12,040 of the Sugpan people's heritage. 294 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:16,200 Blown away by this. 295 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:20,600 Incredible that places like this still exist in the 21st century. 296 00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:24,160 It's a piece of history down there. Isn't it just? 297 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:29,560 The day doesn't end here, though. 298 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,400 We're invited back to the Sugpan village to unwind 299 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,920 with our new friends. 300 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:36,560 Hey, how are you? 301 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,840 We've been roped into a little bit of a party. 302 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:39,920 It's a Friday night. 303 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:45,040 It's a full moon, some nice dancing, and the elders are all gathered 304 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:48,920 and they've given us lots of rice wine, and it's actually very tasty. 305 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:50,480 Cheers! 306 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:51,760 Cheers, chief. 307 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:57,720 Rice wine is good. 308 00:17:57,720 --> 00:17:59,920 It is very good. You're right. Yeah. 309 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:04,080 What is this? This is called butod. 310 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:06,440 Sago worms. Sago worms. 311 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:08,720 And what are you, what are you doing with these things? 312 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:10,080 We want you to eat one of them. 313 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:11,960 You want me to eat one of them? 314 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:13,560 They're alive? 315 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:15,520 Yes! 316 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:17,160 Is this your favourite? 317 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:18,960 No. THEY LAUGH 318 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,320 No. Where's yours, Dean? 319 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:23,800 Hold on. Is there any more for my friend Dean? 320 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:25,360 If I'm doing it, you're doing it. 321 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:28,760 Mm... 322 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:35,240 Squishy. It's quite squishy. 323 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:36,760 It tastes like watermelon. 324 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,120 The taste is actually not bad. No, it's not, not bad. 325 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:41,480 No, it's just because it's still moving. 326 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:43,480 That's the unpleasant bit. 327 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:45,120 Well, cheers. 328 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:59,280 Fortified with wine and worms, we begin our long journey 329 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,720 up the Danum River to the ancient primary rainforest. 330 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:08,320 No shade, so... 331 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:11,880 ..it's going to be a hot one, I think. 332 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,160 It'll take us two days to reach our destination. 333 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:22,200 You can see some of the, erm, the dangers of this river already. 334 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,760 It's not that deep and a lot of debris in the river. 335 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,600 We'll also have to be self-sufficient, eating whatever 336 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,040 we can find or catch along the way. 337 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:35,160 Oh! 338 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:37,200 Nice catch. 339 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:46,600 After three hours, we make our first stop off to collect some bamboo. 340 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:47,960 How many do we need? 341 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:56,400 A versatile plant, we'll need this for cooking later. 342 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:01,600 Back on the river, 343 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:05,000 it's a chance to take in the beauty of the jungle and look out 344 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:06,240 for some wildlife. 345 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:09,000 Keep our eyes peeled. 346 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,280 There might be some crocodiles in this river. Yeah. 347 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:15,200 See what we can see. 348 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:27,840 My God. God. 349 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:32,120 A dead orangutan. 350 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,080 Oh, my God. That's horrific. 351 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:37,520 Oh, my God. 352 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:40,080 Oh, it stinks. 353 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:44,320 Can we get a little bit closer 354 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,200 and see if there's any obvious sign of injury? 355 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:50,160 Oh, my God. 356 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,440 It's clearly been in the river for some time. 357 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:53,440 Yeah. 358 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:55,960 This is definitely an adult. 359 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:58,400 Large, dominant male. 360 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:06,320 Alpha male orangutans identified by their flange cheek pads are 361 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,120 sought out by females for mating. 362 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:13,800 They're a vital part of maintaining the population, making this find 363 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,280 an even bigger tragedy. 364 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:18,560 I think it's got, maybe got shot. 365 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:19,840 Oh. 366 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:26,280 Maybe they tried to act aggressively, 367 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,880 attacking maybe plantation workers 368 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:32,440 and then the plantation owner just shot it. 369 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:36,840 Poaching is the second biggest reason orangutans are in decline. 370 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,320 If they're not killed for their meat, it's usually 371 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,920 because they're seen as a threat to crops like oil palms. 372 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:44,400 It's just terrible. 373 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:46,760 Absolutely horrific. 374 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:48,440 I wanted to educate people on how important 375 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:52,120 it is to save the environment, save the orangutans. 376 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:55,840 But seeing something like this happen, actually, 377 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:57,800 it feels really angry. 378 00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:58,760 Sad. 379 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:03,360 It's one of the most awful things I've seen. 380 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:08,600 The people that did this are no better than animals themselves. 381 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:24,200 It's an offence to harm critically endangered species and anyone found 382 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:27,920 guilty could face up to five years in a Malaysian prison. 383 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:29,800 OK. You're welcome. 384 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,560 Despite this, thousands of orangutans are killed 385 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,360 on plantations every year. 386 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,160 We've done our part. Yeah, well. 387 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:42,880 We'll send them the pictures, We'll send them the location, 388 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,280 and then they'll just have to do their investigation. 389 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:46,720 Indeed. Yeah. 390 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:52,160 It's sad that the journey has now been tainted by seeing that, 391 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,320 but it makes it all the more important to try and find some 392 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:56,920 hope, you know? 393 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:18,680 It's quite hard going. 394 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:23,000 I'm on the Danum River with my guide, Dean, searching 395 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,200 for wild orangutans. 396 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:31,000 We're still reeling from our discovery of a dead alpha male 397 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:32,720 orangutan in the river. 398 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:36,480 And now the further upstream we go, the more challenging 399 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:37,760 the conditions get. 400 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:41,080 Much lower water here. 401 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:45,640 So we've got to push the boat upriver, but at the same time 402 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:47,600 watching out for crocodiles. 403 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:54,000 The sights and sounds of the jungle are giving me hope that things 404 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,960 will take a turn for the better. 405 00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:58,680 ANIMAL WHISTLES 406 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:07,120 Three hours later, we reached the edge of the primary rainforest, 407 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:09,360 the true home of the orangutan. 408 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,480 They don't call it a rainforest for nothing. 409 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:18,880 As you can see, it's a little bit damp, but it's actually lovely. 410 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:22,400 You know, the water's like having a nice warm bath. 411 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:26,760 Whoo! 412 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,760 It's 4:00 and this is where we're going to make camp 413 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:38,720 for the night. 414 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:44,600 After centuries hunting on this river, the Sugpan have no 415 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:48,640 problem catching plenty of fish for dinner. 416 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:53,040 And I've been asked to help with the cooking. 417 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,480 These are the bamboo shoots that we cut down earlier. 418 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,920 And now we need to chop this off. 419 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:03,160 So it's like a sort of a hollow tube so that they can cook. 420 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:07,760 It's not as neat as yours. 421 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:12,920 Split down the middle. 422 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:16,720 Is that BLEEP? I think it's OK. 423 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:19,080 No, it's BLEEP. BLEEP. 424 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:20,640 LAUGHTER Right, be done with it. 425 00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:25,800 Fortunately, there's still a place for me in the kitchen. 426 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,760 We've got sweet potatoes, we've got garlic, onion and freshly caught 427 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:33,000 catfish, all brewed up in a bamboo pot. 428 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:36,720 Does it have a name, your dish? 429 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,600 "Nasi masak bamboo." 430 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:42,960 That means fish and soup. 431 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:44,120 Fish and bamboo. 432 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:45,520 LAUGHTER 433 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:47,240 Ha! I can speak Malay. 434 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:50,320 OK. 435 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:52,920 Everything. 436 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:54,120 Now... 437 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:55,080 ..to the fire. 438 00:25:57,520 --> 00:25:59,120 There we go. Look at that. 439 00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:00,080 Amazing. 440 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:05,360 Yes? It's really, really good. 441 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:14,000 I was hoping for a nice post-dinner snooze, but we've been ordered back 442 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:15,400 to the water. 443 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:19,440 We've just been told that it's time for night fishing. 444 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:21,280 If we want to eat anything for breakfast, 445 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:23,880 this is what we're going to do. 446 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:26,800 The good thing about this is the net is really big holes. 447 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,560 So they only catch the full-size ones. 448 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:31,840 So they let the baby ones swim through. 449 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:34,440 And it's sustainable fishing. 450 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,720 Size of that one. 451 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:38,240 Very big fish. Very big fish. 452 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:39,960 Oh, good. 453 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:43,320 We've got the net up front, but you can also just... 454 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,840 ..try and grab them. 455 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:49,400 A ninja... 456 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:50,440 Ah! 457 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:52,560 Whee! 458 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:54,400 Literally catch them with your hands. Oi! 459 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:56,360 That one's too small anyway. 460 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:01,000 I'm more concerned about the crocodiles, to be honest, 461 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:02,480 because this is prime hunting time. 462 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:04,400 I think that's probably enough, isn't it, boys? 463 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,600 Yeah. No, we've got to find our way back. 464 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:08,560 Very nice. 465 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:17,200 Next day, we're back on the river to finish our journey 466 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,640 into the primary rainforest. 467 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,160 There's about 45km to go. 468 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:25,120 Plenty of time for more wildlife spotting. 469 00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:26,880 BIRDSONG 470 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:30,120 It's just gone 6am and as you can probably hear, the jungle 471 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:34,440 is very much alive with the sounds of wildlife, birds. 472 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:36,800 And this is the perfect time 473 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:39,360 to hopefully SEE some of the wildlife. 474 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:46,520 Get out again. 475 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:51,280 I mean, this is literally, you know, three, four inches deep 476 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:53,080 at this stage, so... 477 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:54,680 OK, let's get out and... 478 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:57,040 ..pull it. 479 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:04,760 That's an orangutan, right there, sitting watching. 480 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:09,720 Wow! Look at that. Whoo. 481 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:11,360 Let's get a bit closer. Can we go over there? 482 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:17,800 Absolutely amazing. 483 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:22,120 Five minutes out of camp and just spotted 484 00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:23,880 the orangutan right there. 485 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:27,000 Sat there on, like, the highest branch of the tree. 486 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:31,840 Clearly just woke up, a bit dozy. 487 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:39,640 Morning ablutions. Yep. 488 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:53,920 So we think it's actually an adult female. 489 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:21,040 Seeing them in their natural habitat 490 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:24,200 and looking at her being so relaxed. 491 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:29,600 She knows that she is in a very safe habitat. 492 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:35,160 It's incredible to finally see an adult orangutan in the wild, 493 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:40,240 swinging so effortlessly from branch to branch with her massive 494 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:41,480 two-metre arm span. 495 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:48,160 But it's a fleeting visit, and in moments, she's gone. 496 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:50,440 It's a great start to the day, wasn't it? 497 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:51,200 Incredible. Amazing. 498 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:56,040 All right. Let's get back to the boat. Get back to the boat. 499 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:57,680 Got a long journey. Yeah. 500 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:04,360 It's a relief to see an orangutan alive and well so soon 501 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:06,120 after yesterday's tragic discovery. 502 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:11,480 I hope we'll get even closer encounters deeper into the forest. 503 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:19,160 THUNDER CRACKS 504 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:31,000 After eight hours trekking through thunderstorms and rapids, 505 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,320 we finally reach our destination. 506 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:37,560 This'll do, Dennis, thank you. 507 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:45,480 The Danum Valley is the largest lowland rainforest 508 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:46,880 in Malaysian Borneo. 509 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,200 Well, it's a bit wobbly, this one. THEY LAUGH 510 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:56,040 You are actually inside one of the oldest rainforests 511 00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:58,760 in the world, 130 million years old. 512 00:30:58,760 --> 00:30:59,960 Wow. 513 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:04,760 And this area here is just filled with, like, big trees, 514 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:07,800 virgin rainforest, wildlife. 515 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:10,160 It's such a beautiful place, isn't it? 516 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:13,440 It's like something off Jurassic Park. 517 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:17,200 There were dinosaurs roaming around this valley once upon a time. 518 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:24,160 It's home to over a thousand species of animals, including the highest 519 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:27,440 reported concentration of orangutans in Borneo. 520 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:34,040 It is estimated there are about 500 individuals of orangutans. 521 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:37,720 But finding them won't be easy. 522 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:48,320 The valley covers over 400 square km and with temperatures of 35 degrees 523 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:51,200 and up to 96% humidity, 524 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:56,560 trekking through the forest is a sweaty and intense experience. 525 00:31:58,080 --> 00:31:59,640 Incredibly humid. 526 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:02,520 You gotta stay hydrated because if you don't, get a bit 527 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:07,320 too tired, very easy to slip over on a root or a branch. 528 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:11,800 And if you get injured out here, you're screwed because it's not 529 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,680 like you can fly a helicopter and land it out here. 530 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:18,440 So, whoo, don't slip over, Dean. 531 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:20,800 SPLASHING 532 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:27,520 I think I've heard some movement, I tried to find 533 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:29,200 where the movement comes from. 534 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:35,920 Long-tailed macaque. 535 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:37,560 One's got a baby. Right. 536 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:44,200 The presence of other primates is an encouraging sign 537 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:46,040 orangutans could be nearby. 538 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:53,080 But in the jungle, there's always something out for blood. 539 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:59,120 Well, just looking down and I can see a big red patch on my trousers. 540 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:00,640 So that only means one thing. 541 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,160 And there we go. 542 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:05,120 Clearly been had by a leech. 543 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:07,040 Oh, bugger. 544 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:10,720 You can't even feel them at the time because they put this anticoagulant 545 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,480 and analgesic so you can't feel the fact they're biting you. 546 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,120 There it is. It's dropped off. Look how fat he is. 547 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:19,640 He's full of my blood. 548 00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:26,560 You enjoyed your supper? 549 00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:28,280 Definitely has, hasn't he? 550 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:30,480 He definitely has. That's a lot of blood. 551 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,200 Well, I hope you enjoyed it. THEY LAUGH 552 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:37,160 Yeah. Joys of the jungle. 553 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:38,280 Yeah, man. 554 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:51,440 As the hours pass by, there's still no sign of orangutans. 555 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:59,720 But Dean's been tracking these creatures for over a decade, 556 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:03,120 and, finally, we get the break we've been looking for. 557 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:04,280 What have we found, Dean? 558 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:06,480 I saw a mother and baby orangutan. 559 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:11,320 It's right above us in the tree there. 560 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:13,000 Can't see the baby. Where's the baby? 561 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,800 Inches from where the mum is. 562 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:17,680 We go down to 6:00. 563 00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:21,360 Just follow the branch straight and the baby is there. All right. 564 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:22,920 Cool, eh? 565 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:24,800 Yeah, very cool. 566 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:26,360 How old do you think baby is? 567 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:30,080 I would say probably around three years old, maybe. 568 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:33,680 They're quite self-sufficient already. 569 00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:35,640 Quite self-sufficient already. 570 00:34:35,640 --> 00:34:36,680 That's so cool. 571 00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:41,200 Orangutans live up to 45 years in the wild. 572 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:48,160 This infant is already showing signs of independence, but it still needs 573 00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:50,120 the occasional helping hand. 574 00:34:51,640 --> 00:34:56,360 So we see this amazing thing where the baby is not heavy enough 575 00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:58,880 to carry its weight to another tree. 576 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:04,040 The mother become a bridge to get it to another tree. 577 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:06,480 Then the mother release the other branch. 578 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:12,000 It is amazing that, like, it's so rare to see this and get 579 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:15,040 a glimpse into the lives of the orangutans. 580 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:18,400 But to do it so close is an amazing privilege. 581 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:27,520 Normally orangutans only give birth to one baby every 8 to 10 years. 582 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:32,320 The longest time between births of any animal. 583 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:37,800 It makes orangutans even more vulnerable to extinction. 584 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:42,960 And so the loss of any fertile alpha male is a major blow 585 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:44,200 to their survival. 586 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:51,560 I'm determined to find one before my journey ends. 587 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,120 We're going to look for some insects. 588 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:15,680 I'm deep in the ancient rainforests of Borneo. 589 00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:19,440 My guide, Dean, wants to show me 590 00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:22,040 how the jungle transforms after dark. 591 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:25,960 I'm not sure I like the idea of rummaging around the jungle 592 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:27,760 looking for insects, Dean. 593 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:28,720 THEY LAUGH 594 00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:32,760 What is that? 595 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:34,200 Uh, that's a millipede. 596 00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:36,720 It's quite a big one. Do they sting? They don't. 597 00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:38,920 No? You actually can hold it onto your hand. 598 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:44,360 You can see just how calm it is walking on my hand. 599 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:46,920 Little waves going down the legs, isn't it? 600 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:49,320 That's beautiful. 601 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:51,320 It doesn't like me. 602 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:54,160 You put insect repellent on? Yeah. Ah, that probably is why. 603 00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:55,720 THEY LAUGH 604 00:36:57,840 --> 00:36:59,600 Ah. Wow. 605 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:01,240 Praying mantis. Praying mantis? 606 00:37:01,240 --> 00:37:02,200 Yep. 607 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:04,560 All right. 608 00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:07,280 I'm going to show you my disco torch. 609 00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:11,120 UV light. Ah, right. 610 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:14,800 Wow! Look at that. 611 00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:18,600 LAUGHTER Look at this. 612 00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:20,320 That is nuts. 613 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:23,320 That's an Asian forest scorpion. 614 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:25,160 Look at the size of him. 615 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:28,040 Ooh, now he's trying to hide under the leaves. 616 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:29,280 That's incredible. 617 00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:34,120 It's really gorgeous. 618 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:37,160 So fluorescent. 619 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:41,240 Yeah. Consider yourself hitting a jackpot. 620 00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:43,200 Able to see one of these. 621 00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:45,480 I'm gonna try and show you what happens if you touch 622 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:47,760 his tail like that. Ooh! 623 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:49,800 I don't want to disturb him. 624 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:53,080 He's obviously sort of, just in this pounce mode. 625 00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:56,400 And the good thing about this scorpion and the reason 626 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,560 I'm getting so close is that actually, 627 00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:02,160 they're not that poisonous. 628 00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:05,640 The bigger the claws, it means they've got less venom in the tail 629 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:11,080 just because it's the claws that they use for attacking prey. 630 00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:14,040 I think we'll let him go and play. 631 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:17,560 But what a privilege to see such an amazing animal. 632 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:23,240 Come on, Dean. All right, let's go. 633 00:38:23,240 --> 00:38:25,600 I think that's quite enough rummaging around in the, 634 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:26,840 in the dark at night. 635 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:28,200 DEAN LAUGHS 636 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:40,760 At dawn, we continue deep into the primary rainforest in search 637 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,040 of a large alpha male orangutan. 638 00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:46,480 Slippery rocks. Be careful. 639 00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:52,360 This pool is beautiful. 640 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:57,240 Fresh? Yeah. 641 00:38:57,240 --> 00:38:58,200 Needed that. 642 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:06,920 We've been trekking for four hours with no sign of life. 643 00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:13,800 Then Dean gets a call from another tracker who's spotted 644 00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:15,640 what I'm here to discover. 645 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:21,240 This is the thing that I'm most excited about. 646 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:22,480 They have the distinctive, 647 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:24,840 it's called a flange on their face, which shows 648 00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:27,360 that they're the alpha male and they're incredibly rare. 649 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:30,240 In one particular habitat, there's usually only one. 650 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,280 Just meeting up with some of the Rangers here. 651 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:39,760 Where is he? Well done, buddy. 652 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:41,840 Almost to the top of that tree. 653 00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:45,120 Can't see him. Only can see slight, slight movement. 654 00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:47,560 Amazing, for an animal so big, 655 00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:50,720 they're still incredibly well camouflaged, aren't they? Yeah. 656 00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:54,560 Well, it's a bit of a waiting game now, till we can see him. Yeah. 657 00:39:57,800 --> 00:40:01,440 SOUNDS OF BIRDS AND ANIMALS 658 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:07,360 If it's a flange male, then we're hitting a jackpot 659 00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:09,280 because they cover a huge area. 660 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:12,880 It can be up to five square kilometres, so it can be anywhere. 661 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:19,320 If it really is a dominant flange male, we won't want this encounter 662 00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:21,040 to get too close. 663 00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:24,120 They're about seven times stronger than a human, 664 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:26,840 with a bite force twice as powerful as a leopard. 665 00:40:28,240 --> 00:40:31,640 Can they be quite aggressive? Would they bite? Would they attack? 666 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:33,360 Well, if they attack, they would bite. 667 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:34,760 What could they do to a human? 668 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:37,640 Then might just going to break all bones, like breaking a stick. 669 00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:39,840 Throw you around like a rag doll? Yeah. 670 00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:44,280 I'm gonna have another view. 671 00:40:48,120 --> 00:40:50,360 I think you can see a bit of his face. 672 00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:00,160 No way. 673 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:07,840 That's incredible. We finally found one. Oh, yeah. 674 00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:13,480 Its size and facial features confirm 675 00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:16,840 that this is a rare alpha male orangutan. 676 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:23,240 Yeah, that's what we came here to see. Oh, man. 677 00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:29,640 It's remarkable to see an animal that size 678 00:41:29,640 --> 00:41:32,560 right at the top of that tree just chilling out. 679 00:41:37,360 --> 00:41:42,560 It's unclear why some males develop flanges and others don't. 680 00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:46,080 They also grow much larger than the others, and they're far 681 00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:48,320 more likely to mate with females. 682 00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:55,880 And big fellow, literally doesn't have to do anything. 683 00:41:55,880 --> 00:41:58,440 He just sits there? He just have to wait there and female will come. 684 00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:04,960 The wider the flange is, females are more attracted. 685 00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:05,920 Yeah. 686 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:11,000 But their status as the most reproductive orangutans 687 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:13,200 in the jungle is only fleeting. 688 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:22,400 As it gets older, then if he knows that there is another dominant male 689 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:25,440 there, trying to take his territory... Yeah. ..and he knows 690 00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:28,800 that he can't beat that male... It'll shrink? It'll shrink? 691 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:31,560 No way. Yeah. Just withers away? Just withers away. 692 00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:33,840 Yeah. He knows that he's not the big boss any more. 693 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:40,200 For now, this big boss looks pretty content with his position 694 00:42:40,200 --> 00:42:42,520 at the top of the tree. 695 00:42:42,520 --> 00:42:43,840 Taking its time. 696 00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:48,000 Don't have to worry about what's going to happen. 697 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:49,560 No traffic jam. 698 00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:50,960 No. 699 00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:53,520 No emails. No emails. No phone calls. 700 00:42:54,640 --> 00:42:57,000 Must be thinking, "OK, where should I go next?" Yeah. 701 00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:00,880 "Which tree can provide me like enough protein or enough 702 00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:03,600 "nutrient for my body, which tree to provide more, more moisture?" 703 00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:05,120 "Where's the ladies?" 704 00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:06,680 "Where are the ladies?" 705 00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:12,040 Simple life. Simple. 706 00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:14,840 When you're the big boss, everything's easy. 707 00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:20,680 Really makes this whole expedition worthwhile. 708 00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:25,520 Particularly after seeing the poor dead male orangutan in the river. 709 00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:28,600 Yeah. Goes to show that, here in the primary forest, 710 00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:30,880 where nature has just been left alone and animals 711 00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:33,200 are allowed to roam freely 712 00:43:33,200 --> 00:43:35,600 and have access to the food 713 00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:38,840 and the fruits they need, then nature prevails. 714 00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:43,600 There he goes. 715 00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:47,040 I think that's the last we're going to see of him. 716 00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:56,320 We're heading home, knowing we've seen something special. 717 00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:02,280 But before we leave the forest, 718 00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:04,560 we break our journey by staying 719 00:44:04,560 --> 00:44:06,760 at an isolated research centre. 720 00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:10,000 It's such a magical place. 721 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:13,880 It's hard not to be enthused 722 00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:20,320 and inspired by the people that are here working to try to conserve 723 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:23,240 the wildlife of the forests that they live in. 724 00:44:23,240 --> 00:44:26,800 You know, seeing that poor dead orangutan in the river 725 00:44:26,800 --> 00:44:32,560 was heartbreaking because it shows the daily reality of some 726 00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:36,480 of the threats to these animals, the threats to the ecosystem 727 00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:37,600 and the... 728 00:44:37,600 --> 00:44:39,640 ..the forest itself. 729 00:44:39,640 --> 00:44:42,480 Because if we lose the forest, we lose the animals. 730 00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:43,640 It's that simple. 731 00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:52,880 Real change can happen, but it needs a global solution 732 00:44:52,880 --> 00:44:54,440 to a regional problem. 733 00:44:56,600 --> 00:45:01,360 We have to wean ourselves off our palm oil addiction and find 734 00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:06,120 innovative ways to help farmers keep making a living without destroying 735 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:07,600 the orangutans' home. 736 00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:11,280 Erm, we need to find a solution. 737 00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:15,600 We need to find a way to be able to behave more sustainably 738 00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:18,760 and to coexist with nature. 739 00:45:20,440 --> 00:45:22,800 It's not an impossible task. 740 00:45:22,800 --> 00:45:26,200 The rewilding of a former plantation into a sanctuary 741 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:27,920 for wildlife proves that. 742 00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:37,200 It's really important that people do have some hope. 743 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:41,000 So, you know, that's what I want to do, is try and show people 744 00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:43,600 just how incredible these animals are. 745 00:45:50,720 --> 00:45:52,920 TRUMPETING 746 00:45:54,720 --> 00:45:58,000 I mean, look at this place. It's absolutely stunning. It's wild. 747 00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:01,920 I'm in Namibia searching for the elusive desert lion. 748 00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:03,720 WHISPERS: Finally. 749 00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:09,160 Staring right into the eyes of a fully-grown adult lioness. 750 00:46:09,160 --> 00:46:12,160 She's coming straight towards me. 751 00:46:12,160 --> 00:46:14,960 She's coming. She's coming. 752 00:46:14,960 --> 00:46:16,600 CLATTERING 753 00:46:53,340 --> 00:46:57,880 I'm flying over one of the most remarkable landscapes in the world. 754 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:02,120 The Namib, the oldest desert on earth. 755 00:47:03,880 --> 00:47:06,840 It doesn't look like this landscape could host any form of life, 756 00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:09,120 but it does. 757 00:47:09,120 --> 00:47:12,640 Vast, hostile and extremely dry, 758 00:47:12,640 --> 00:47:16,880 this wild frontier is the unlikely home of the desert lion. 759 00:47:18,360 --> 00:47:23,080 These extreme predators are uniquely adapted to survive 760 00:47:23,080 --> 00:47:25,360 where water and food are scarce. 761 00:47:26,520 --> 00:47:29,880 They can only be found in Namibia... 762 00:47:29,880 --> 00:47:33,040 And I'm on a mission to track them down. 763 00:47:33,040 --> 00:47:36,200 The lioness is coming straight towards me. 764 00:47:36,200 --> 00:47:38,480 She's coming, she's coming, she's coming, she's coming. 765 00:47:38,480 --> 00:47:39,800 Guys, move! 766 00:47:43,560 --> 00:47:45,680 All over the world, 767 00:47:45,680 --> 00:47:48,760 wildlife populations are plummeting at a rate 768 00:47:48,760 --> 00:47:51,960 not seen since the extinction of the dinosaurs. 769 00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:57,360 And it's being driven by human activity. 770 00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:04,400 My name's Levison Wood. 771 00:48:06,040 --> 00:48:07,720 There's a little baby there. 772 00:48:07,720 --> 00:48:09,600 Quite a dangerous situation. 773 00:48:09,600 --> 00:48:14,000 I've walked the Nile and travelled to over 100 countries. 774 00:48:15,960 --> 00:48:20,240 Now I'm exploring some of the world's last great wildernesses... 775 00:48:24,200 --> 00:48:29,280 ..to track down the most iconic but endangered animals on the planet... 776 00:48:29,280 --> 00:48:31,400 That's a lion track. 777 00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:35,480 ..to get as close as possible to these majestic creatures 778 00:48:35,480 --> 00:48:38,640 in the last of their remaining natural habitats. 779 00:48:38,640 --> 00:48:41,120 It's dusty, it's hot. 780 00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:43,000 So this is all palm oil. 781 00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:46,680 All of this, though, would have been primary rainforest. 782 00:48:46,680 --> 00:48:50,160 I want to see for myself what is pushing these animals 783 00:48:50,160 --> 00:48:51,920 to the brink of extinction... 784 00:48:51,920 --> 00:48:53,240 These are baby sharks. 785 00:48:53,240 --> 00:48:55,200 Aren't they really endangered, though? 786 00:48:55,200 --> 00:48:58,880 ..and understand what can be done to save them... 787 00:48:58,880 --> 00:49:01,160 This thing is a monster, huge. 788 00:49:01,160 --> 00:49:02,520 ..before it's too late. 789 00:49:04,280 --> 00:49:05,880 Argh! 790 00:49:15,600 --> 00:49:19,920 I'm landing in Namibia on the southwest coast of Africa 791 00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:21,680 on a journey to find lions. 792 00:49:23,120 --> 00:49:26,520 Across Africa, lion populations have dwindled 793 00:49:26,520 --> 00:49:28,760 to less than 25,000 individuals. 794 00:49:30,520 --> 00:49:34,760 But in Namibia, the desert lions are battling extinction. 795 00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:40,760 In recent years, Namibia has faced the worst drought on record, 796 00:49:40,760 --> 00:49:45,000 and that has driven their population to less than 100 today. 797 00:49:46,040 --> 00:49:48,600 All right, we're coming in to land. 798 00:49:48,600 --> 00:49:50,120 Hold on tight. 799 00:49:53,720 --> 00:49:57,160 To help me on this quest, I've enlisted my old friend 800 00:49:57,160 --> 00:49:59,360 and Bushman guide, Kane. 801 00:50:00,920 --> 00:50:05,160 He's from Botswana and has been tracking game all his life. 802 00:50:08,240 --> 00:50:10,440 Hey, mate, woo. 803 00:50:11,920 --> 00:50:14,880 Good to see you again. Nice to see you, nice to see you. 804 00:50:14,880 --> 00:50:16,640 Good to see you, you're looking well. 805 00:50:16,640 --> 00:50:18,840 I'm still strong, fit. Yeah? 806 00:50:20,760 --> 00:50:21,920 Look at this. 807 00:50:29,200 --> 00:50:31,480 Right then, let's go find some lions, shall we? 808 00:50:31,480 --> 00:50:33,080 Let's go and find some lions. 809 00:50:35,280 --> 00:50:38,880 We're starting at the granite cliffs of Spitzkoppe, 810 00:50:38,880 --> 00:50:42,240 crossing the savannah to the banks of the Ugab River, 811 00:50:42,240 --> 00:50:45,080 looking for lion tracks in the desert sands. 812 00:50:47,960 --> 00:50:52,280 Our final destination is the seasonal oasis, the Hoanib, 813 00:50:52,280 --> 00:50:54,200 a rare sanctuary for wildlife. 814 00:50:59,960 --> 00:51:02,640 It's a very sort of wild landscape. 815 00:51:02,640 --> 00:51:05,160 It's windy, it's dusty, it's hot. 816 00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:09,600 We're trekking in winter. 817 00:51:09,600 --> 00:51:12,640 And whilst it's not the scorching heat of summer, 818 00:51:12,640 --> 00:51:15,320 the temperatures reach 25 degrees Celsius. 819 00:51:19,240 --> 00:51:21,040 Ready for the adventure? 820 00:51:21,040 --> 00:51:27,480 I'm really excited to go to a place where my ancestors used to live. 821 00:51:27,480 --> 00:51:30,160 That's what all those mountains are up there, Spitzkoppe? 822 00:51:30,160 --> 00:51:31,400 Spitzkoppe, yeah. 823 00:51:38,240 --> 00:51:40,200 It's been a few years since we've done this, mate. 824 00:51:40,200 --> 00:51:41,680 Yeah, yeah. 825 00:51:41,680 --> 00:51:43,120 I'm 40 now. 826 00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:47,760 Are you 40? Yeah, this year. 827 00:51:47,760 --> 00:51:49,240 I'm older than you, then. Really? 828 00:51:49,240 --> 00:51:50,640 Yeah. 829 00:51:50,640 --> 00:51:52,920 I'm 43. 43? 830 00:51:52,920 --> 00:51:54,360 The years are going, huh? 831 00:51:55,920 --> 00:51:59,480 Kane has brought me to the granite peaks of Spitzkoppe 832 00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:02,280 for an important personal reason. 833 00:52:12,080 --> 00:52:13,280 OK. 834 00:52:16,680 --> 00:52:20,640 Spitzkoppe was a sacred site for the ancient San, 835 00:52:20,640 --> 00:52:23,520 who were the indigenous people of Namibia. 836 00:52:55,800 --> 00:52:57,280 Woohoo! 837 00:52:57,280 --> 00:52:58,720 THEY LAUGH 838 00:53:00,160 --> 00:53:02,600 Done, we can go and have fun. 839 00:53:02,600 --> 00:53:05,200 Let's go and have fun. 840 00:53:05,200 --> 00:53:08,920 Before we leave Spitzkoppe, Kane wants to show me something 841 00:53:08,920 --> 00:53:10,680 that will help us on our journey. 842 00:53:17,040 --> 00:53:18,440 This is the place. Yeah. 843 00:53:18,440 --> 00:53:22,880 So these would have been done by your ancestors, the San? Yeah. 844 00:53:22,880 --> 00:53:24,120 Wow. 845 00:53:26,680 --> 00:53:28,560 What is that, do you think? 846 00:53:28,560 --> 00:53:32,240 Oh, wait, lion, lion, definitely, it's a lion. 847 00:53:32,240 --> 00:53:34,600 That's a lion eating a human? 848 00:53:34,600 --> 00:53:37,640 Yes. Well, that doesn't bode well, does it? 849 00:53:39,600 --> 00:53:42,160 There's a person there. There's more people here, look, yeah. 850 00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:44,280 More people. 851 00:53:44,280 --> 00:53:50,720 They will use signs like this that if we come to a certain hill, 852 00:53:50,720 --> 00:53:54,600 there is a rock painting there that will guide you from here, 853 00:53:54,600 --> 00:53:58,240 you go to the next hill. Right. Then, you know, it gives you... 854 00:53:58,240 --> 00:54:00,080 It's like a signpost. It is a signpost. 855 00:54:00,080 --> 00:54:02,920 For the nomads to be able to find their way. Yes. 856 00:54:02,920 --> 00:54:04,640 Yeah. 857 00:54:04,640 --> 00:54:09,080 Kane's ancestors painted this rock art thousands of years ago 858 00:54:09,080 --> 00:54:12,480 to help them hunt and find watering holes. 859 00:54:12,480 --> 00:54:14,200 Right, shall we? 860 00:54:18,320 --> 00:54:22,640 Using these ancient routes as a guide to help us find lions, 861 00:54:22,640 --> 00:54:25,000 we're heading north to Ugab River. 862 00:54:32,560 --> 00:54:34,440 Well, up here, it's like this... 863 00:54:34,440 --> 00:54:36,360 ..this sort of bushland, 864 00:54:36,360 --> 00:54:40,280 so you'd expect to see antelope and duiker and dik-dik 865 00:54:40,280 --> 00:54:42,360 and all sorts, even elephants. 866 00:54:42,360 --> 00:54:45,760 This would be perfect territory, but nothing yet. 867 00:54:48,440 --> 00:54:53,000 I can see there's these telephone wires heading in that direction. 868 00:54:53,000 --> 00:54:55,000 So there must be a road around here somewhere. 869 00:54:55,000 --> 00:54:58,080 Yeah. In fact, wait, there's a car coming along here, look. 870 00:54:58,080 --> 00:54:59,840 Stop him. 871 00:54:59,840 --> 00:55:02,800 Should we...? Let's see if we can hitch a lift. 872 00:55:02,800 --> 00:55:04,080 Hey. 873 00:55:04,080 --> 00:55:05,880 CAR HORN TOOTS 874 00:55:09,640 --> 00:55:12,360 Hey, hey, what are you guys doing here? 875 00:55:12,360 --> 00:55:14,360 Hi, how are you? 876 00:55:14,360 --> 00:55:16,320 What's your name? 877 00:55:16,320 --> 00:55:17,520 Basil. Basil? 878 00:55:17,520 --> 00:55:19,480 Yes. Nice to meet you, Basil. 879 00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:20,720 Hi. Where are you going? 880 00:55:20,720 --> 00:55:23,080 I'm going down to the Ugab. 881 00:55:23,080 --> 00:55:25,560 Ugab? Yeah? Can we jump in, can we get a lift? 882 00:55:25,560 --> 00:55:28,960 Sure, you're welcome. Thank you. Great. 883 00:55:28,960 --> 00:55:31,720 Ha, where are you guys from? 884 00:55:31,720 --> 00:55:35,160 Oh, I'm from...I'm from England. 885 00:55:35,160 --> 00:55:36,680 Where are you from, Basil? 886 00:55:36,680 --> 00:55:37,920 I was born in Namibia. 887 00:55:37,920 --> 00:55:40,160 Yeah. Made here, everything. 888 00:55:41,880 --> 00:55:43,440 We're on a journey. 889 00:55:43,440 --> 00:55:45,800 We're trying to find lions, 890 00:55:45,800 --> 00:55:48,520 but we haven't really seen much wildlife. 891 00:55:48,520 --> 00:55:52,960 No, the drought has been so bad, all the animals is gone. 892 00:55:52,960 --> 00:55:55,680 That's why there's no lions, because there's no food for them. 893 00:55:55,680 --> 00:55:56,920 Yeah. 894 00:55:58,200 --> 00:56:01,680 With every step we take, it's becoming clear our quest 895 00:56:01,680 --> 00:56:04,280 is facing huge challenges. 896 00:56:04,280 --> 00:56:08,960 Droughts in Namibia are becoming longer and more persistent. 897 00:56:08,960 --> 00:56:14,680 2009 was the worst on record, and over 90,000 animals died. 898 00:56:18,120 --> 00:56:20,480 We had some good rain this year. OK. 899 00:56:20,480 --> 00:56:25,320 So you can see all the grass is there, but no animals yet. 900 00:56:25,320 --> 00:56:27,520 They must still breed and come back. 901 00:56:39,600 --> 00:56:41,560 Oh, so this is where we get out? 902 00:56:41,560 --> 00:56:42,840 This is where you get out. 903 00:56:54,000 --> 00:56:57,360 Basil is dropping us off on the edge of the Ugab. 904 00:56:57,360 --> 00:57:02,040 When the rains come, the desert's grassland is renewed. 905 00:57:02,040 --> 00:57:07,560 Nutrient rich, it should entice the grazing animals and their predators. 906 00:57:07,560 --> 00:57:10,160 There's life here, you can see lots of tracks. 907 00:57:12,280 --> 00:57:14,560 There's a herd of something down there. 908 00:57:14,560 --> 00:57:16,520 Springboks, yeah. Springboks? Yeah. 909 00:57:16,520 --> 00:57:19,280 OK, it's quite a big herd, eh? Yeah. 910 00:57:19,280 --> 00:57:23,600 That's the first sort of game we've seen. 911 00:57:23,600 --> 00:57:25,280 Yeah, there's at least 100 there. 912 00:57:25,280 --> 00:57:27,640 We're getting much closer than I suspected here. 913 00:57:27,640 --> 00:57:29,120 Mm-hm. There they are. 914 00:57:29,120 --> 00:57:32,760 They saw us coming and becoming more reluctant, but at a certain 915 00:57:32,760 --> 00:57:34,480 distance, they will just take off. 916 00:57:34,480 --> 00:57:36,760 Yeah, there they go, they're on the move now. 917 00:57:36,760 --> 00:57:38,440 Yeah. 918 00:57:38,440 --> 00:57:42,840 These springbok are the first wildlife we encounter. 919 00:57:42,840 --> 00:57:46,080 It's an encouraging sighting because they are common prey animals 920 00:57:46,080 --> 00:57:47,760 for the lions. 921 00:57:47,760 --> 00:57:50,760 But they're not the only food source on this plain. 922 00:57:53,320 --> 00:57:54,680 What have you found there, mate? 923 00:57:54,680 --> 00:57:56,400 Desert... Desert melon. 924 00:57:56,400 --> 00:57:58,160 Desert melon? Yeah. 925 00:57:58,160 --> 00:58:00,760 Well, you can also call it tsamma. Tsamma melon. Tsamma. Yeah. 926 00:58:00,760 --> 00:58:02,560 Is it nice? 927 00:58:02,560 --> 00:58:05,080 You know, you don't have much choice. 928 00:58:07,160 --> 00:58:10,080 It's a limited menu out here, isn't it? 929 00:58:10,080 --> 00:58:11,560 Can tell you, it's very bitter. 930 00:58:11,560 --> 00:58:14,000 It's going to stay on our tongue for the whole day. 931 00:58:14,000 --> 00:58:17,960 Anything in the desert, you won't find sweet stuff. 932 00:58:17,960 --> 00:58:19,920 It's a proper... 933 00:58:19,920 --> 00:58:21,880 Want to try? Let's try. 934 00:58:21,880 --> 00:58:23,640 Go on, then. Yeah. Come on, eat. 935 00:58:26,880 --> 00:58:29,360 Oh, my goodness. 936 00:58:30,480 --> 00:58:31,760 Urgh. 937 00:58:34,400 --> 00:58:36,240 Oh, you absolute BLEEP. 938 00:58:37,640 --> 00:58:39,200 That is disgusting. 939 00:58:40,560 --> 00:58:42,920 Animals are eating, the springboks. 940 00:58:42,920 --> 00:58:44,760 They're getting the moisture from here. 941 00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:46,600 Yeah. Look, look at this. 942 00:58:47,840 --> 00:58:50,200 Mm, true. Yeah, they're getting that moisture. 943 00:58:50,200 --> 00:58:53,600 So we can survive at the very least, even if it does taste gross. Yeah. 944 00:58:55,440 --> 00:58:58,840 Desert melons grow on vines that sprout from the ground 945 00:58:58,840 --> 00:59:00,360 after it rains. 946 00:59:02,880 --> 00:59:07,280 For ancient hunter gatherers, they were a lifeline. 947 00:59:07,280 --> 00:59:10,160 Yeah, sometimes if you have no choice, you can even 948 00:59:10,160 --> 00:59:12,080 drink your urine, you know? 949 00:59:12,080 --> 00:59:15,200 So imagine the taste of a urine and what you're getting 950 00:59:15,200 --> 00:59:17,720 from the urine, better to eat this. 951 00:59:23,000 --> 00:59:25,560 I mean, look at this place, it's absolutely stunning. 952 00:59:25,560 --> 00:59:27,960 It's wild and it's very empty. 953 00:59:36,000 --> 00:59:39,080 By the afternoon, we reach the Ugab River. 954 00:59:41,720 --> 00:59:45,240 There's, like, a lot of shrubs, these acacia trees... 955 00:59:46,920 --> 00:59:50,680 ..these little flowers, but no, no water in sight. 956 00:59:50,680 --> 00:59:54,760 And obviously, you can see this baked dry riverbed, but clearly 957 00:59:54,760 --> 00:59:57,920 there's water under the ground somewhere. 958 00:59:57,920 --> 00:59:59,840 Even in the wet season, 959 00:59:59,840 --> 01:00:03,600 this river flows for only a few days after it rains. 960 01:00:03,600 --> 01:00:07,480 But pockets of water beneath the surface allow for vegetation 961 01:00:07,480 --> 01:00:09,080 to grow all year round. 962 01:00:10,720 --> 01:00:13,960 Tracks are very fresh and there's lots of them. 963 01:00:15,360 --> 01:00:17,920 It's a breeding herd, but there's also some bulls 964 01:00:17,920 --> 01:00:19,400 following the breeding herd. 965 01:00:20,720 --> 01:00:22,400 That's a big one. 966 01:00:22,400 --> 01:00:24,680 See how clean it is? 967 01:00:24,680 --> 01:00:26,000 See the ridges? 968 01:00:26,000 --> 01:00:27,640 Yeah, that means it's really fresh. 969 01:00:27,640 --> 01:00:29,440 Yeah, the wind... The sand hasn't blown... 970 01:00:29,440 --> 01:00:31,800 Yeah, it hasn't blown. No sand has fallen off. 971 01:00:31,800 --> 01:00:34,200 How, like in the last hour, two hours? 972 01:00:34,200 --> 01:00:36,560 The last hour or so. 973 01:00:36,560 --> 01:00:39,360 These large footprints belong to elephants. 974 01:00:43,840 --> 01:00:45,360 Look at this. Hmm? 975 01:00:45,360 --> 01:00:46,600 Fresh, yeah. 976 01:00:46,600 --> 01:00:48,080 Oh, they've torn that off. 977 01:00:48,080 --> 01:00:51,000 Yeah, it's still fresh if you peel it off. 978 01:00:51,000 --> 01:00:52,320 See how fresh it is? 979 01:00:52,320 --> 01:00:54,680 Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're just very close to them. 980 01:00:54,680 --> 01:00:56,880 OK, so they're around here somewhere. 981 01:00:59,000 --> 01:01:03,240 In this landscape, elephants are incredibly well camouflaged. 982 01:01:04,320 --> 01:01:05,880 So we move with caution. 983 01:01:12,640 --> 01:01:14,040 There he is, look, right there. 984 01:01:16,960 --> 01:01:19,240 Wow, wow, wow, wow! 985 01:01:24,000 --> 01:01:26,520 So we're just going up this valley, following these trails 986 01:01:26,520 --> 01:01:28,720 and suddenly there's an elephant right there. 987 01:01:30,080 --> 01:01:31,640 And it's not alone. 988 01:01:33,400 --> 01:01:34,800 We have to get back. 989 01:01:36,520 --> 01:01:37,880 There's more. OK, there's more. 990 01:01:39,440 --> 01:01:41,720 OK, There's a lot. How many are there? One, two... 991 01:01:41,720 --> 01:01:44,000 There's a whole herd of elephants. 992 01:01:44,000 --> 01:01:46,040 Kane is suddenly wary. 993 01:01:46,040 --> 01:01:50,800 This is a breeding herd with young calves, and the matriarch 994 01:01:50,800 --> 01:01:53,400 can quickly become protective and aggressive. 995 01:01:56,280 --> 01:01:58,560 Probably about 15 elephants. 996 01:01:58,560 --> 01:02:00,400 And... 997 01:02:00,400 --> 01:02:02,760 Wow, they're getting very close. 998 01:02:04,680 --> 01:02:06,960 And they're getting a little bit aggressive. 999 01:02:06,960 --> 01:02:08,520 OK, this one's getting really close. 1000 01:02:09,840 --> 01:02:11,480 ELEPHANT ROARS 1001 01:02:27,680 --> 01:02:28,960 ELEPHANT ROARS 1002 01:02:35,320 --> 01:02:36,720 This is insane. 1003 01:02:38,000 --> 01:02:40,840 There's a huge herd here and the elephants are getting 1004 01:02:40,840 --> 01:02:42,320 really, really close. 1005 01:02:43,560 --> 01:02:46,440 Kane and I have reached Namib's Ugab River, 1006 01:02:46,440 --> 01:02:48,800 and we've been ambushed. 1007 01:02:48,800 --> 01:02:52,280 Kane is attempting to stand his ground with the matriarch. 1008 01:02:55,080 --> 01:02:56,720 Getting a little bit aggressive. 1009 01:02:56,720 --> 01:02:58,520 OK, this one's getting really close. 1010 01:03:01,640 --> 01:03:04,520 Thankfully, he's made peace with the herd. 1011 01:03:08,040 --> 01:03:10,560 Literally, like, three, four metres away. 1012 01:03:12,360 --> 01:03:14,280 That was close. Really close. 1013 01:03:25,200 --> 01:03:28,480 That was a big, big shot of adrenaline right there. 1014 01:03:28,480 --> 01:03:31,880 I mean, they can be really dangerous when they've got a baby. 1015 01:03:31,880 --> 01:03:34,160 And there was a little baby there. 1016 01:03:34,160 --> 01:03:35,960 Quite a dangerous situation. 1017 01:03:40,680 --> 01:03:42,240 THEY LAUGH 1018 01:03:56,600 --> 01:03:58,360 That's a big bull, isn't it? 1019 01:03:58,360 --> 01:04:01,000 Why is the bull with this herd then? 1020 01:04:01,000 --> 01:04:05,240 You see, if you look on his gland, there's a temporal gland. 1021 01:04:08,120 --> 01:04:11,200 And look between his legs. He's in musth. Right. 1022 01:04:11,200 --> 01:04:14,440 So he might be mating with one of the females. 1023 01:04:14,440 --> 01:04:18,440 You see how he's pushed the young bulls away, so he's... 1024 01:04:18,440 --> 01:04:20,840 There might be one female on heat. 1025 01:04:20,840 --> 01:04:22,240 It might be this one. OK. 1026 01:04:22,240 --> 01:04:24,520 She's following, look. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 1027 01:04:24,520 --> 01:04:27,200 He's getting frisky. Yeah. 1028 01:04:27,200 --> 01:04:29,960 That's not going to move away from her. 1029 01:04:29,960 --> 01:04:33,120 Yeah, until the mating's over. 1030 01:04:33,120 --> 01:04:35,480 Once the bull has finished mating, 1031 01:04:35,480 --> 01:04:38,440 he will either join a bachelor herd or go it alone. 1032 01:04:40,200 --> 01:04:43,480 Never seen elephants in an environment like this before. 1033 01:04:45,880 --> 01:04:50,480 The Namib once supported over 3,000 of these magnificent creatures. 1034 01:04:51,960 --> 01:04:55,840 But poaching and droughts have devastated this number, 1035 01:04:55,840 --> 01:04:58,920 and there are now only around 150 today. 1036 01:05:00,320 --> 01:05:03,640 Seeing this breeding herd is a huge privilege. 1037 01:05:03,640 --> 01:05:07,560 They have survived the drought and that offers some hope. 1038 01:05:10,720 --> 01:05:12,480 That's pretty special. 1039 01:05:12,480 --> 01:05:14,200 Phew. 1040 01:05:14,200 --> 01:05:16,480 Yeah, amazing, isn't it? 1041 01:05:16,480 --> 01:05:17,800 They're such amazing animals. 1042 01:05:19,760 --> 01:05:23,800 As we leave the Ugab River and bid these elephants farewell, 1043 01:05:23,800 --> 01:05:26,920 we continue our journey north to Palmwag. 1044 01:05:56,920 --> 01:06:00,680 Kane is convinced that this is the perfect place for lions, 1045 01:06:00,680 --> 01:06:03,000 but we're yet to find any tracks. 1046 01:06:05,680 --> 01:06:07,400 A needle in a haystack, isn't it? 1047 01:06:07,400 --> 01:06:09,160 Hmm. 1048 01:06:09,160 --> 01:06:12,160 Undeterred, he wants to try an old Bushman trick. 1049 01:06:17,560 --> 01:06:20,280 IMITATES A SPRINGBOK CRY 1050 01:06:27,080 --> 01:06:29,600 It's a really good way of seeing where the lions are 1051 01:06:29,600 --> 01:06:31,040 and getting them to come to us. 1052 01:06:36,160 --> 01:06:39,480 We wait, but Kane's call goes unanswered. 1053 01:06:45,160 --> 01:06:48,520 We press on and Kane leads us to a watering hole. 1054 01:07:00,560 --> 01:07:02,480 Look here, lion track. 1055 01:07:02,480 --> 01:07:04,880 Is that a lion track? Yeah. 1056 01:07:04,880 --> 01:07:06,400 Huh, there we go. 1057 01:07:06,400 --> 01:07:07,960 Finally. 1058 01:07:07,960 --> 01:07:10,240 We've finally found some lion tracks. 1059 01:07:10,240 --> 01:07:12,440 There's a very clear one here. 1060 01:07:14,240 --> 01:07:17,160 Yeah, that's really clear, isn't it? 1061 01:07:17,160 --> 01:07:20,960 There you go, there's the back heel and there's the pads. 1062 01:07:22,320 --> 01:07:26,040 You can see even the claws as they go in. 1063 01:07:26,040 --> 01:07:27,720 How old is this, do you think? 1064 01:07:29,680 --> 01:07:31,320 I will say yesterday. 1065 01:07:31,320 --> 01:07:33,040 Yesterday? Yes. 1066 01:07:33,040 --> 01:07:36,400 The lion came to drink and it's also heading back, 1067 01:07:36,400 --> 01:07:38,120 the same way. The same way. 1068 01:07:38,120 --> 01:07:42,040 One, it has cubs... Mm-hm. 1069 01:07:42,040 --> 01:07:44,640 ..that direction, going back to the cubs. Yeah. 1070 01:07:44,640 --> 01:07:47,880 Or two, it made a kill. 1071 01:07:47,880 --> 01:07:50,280 Right. It came to drink and then going back. 1072 01:07:52,440 --> 01:07:56,240 Female passed through here in the last 24 hours, which is great news. 1073 01:07:58,720 --> 01:08:01,080 Just need to catch up with her. Mm. 1074 01:08:01,080 --> 01:08:02,760 There she is. 1075 01:08:04,440 --> 01:08:06,640 We're close, we're getting closer. 1076 01:08:08,280 --> 01:08:12,200 After days of searching, we're finally on the chase. 1077 01:08:18,640 --> 01:08:19,840 I'm getting very excited. 1078 01:08:29,280 --> 01:08:33,720 We track all afternoon, and with just a few minutes of daylight left, 1079 01:08:33,720 --> 01:08:35,040 Kane spots something. 1080 01:08:38,600 --> 01:08:39,600 Yeah. 1081 01:09:23,960 --> 01:09:26,720 Before we have the chance to get closer, 1082 01:09:26,720 --> 01:09:28,400 they disappear into the valley. 1083 01:09:33,080 --> 01:09:34,040 Yeah. 1084 01:09:39,440 --> 01:09:40,520 Yeah. 1085 01:09:42,000 --> 01:09:43,640 He can certainly move. 1086 01:09:54,960 --> 01:09:58,520 Kane insists it's too dangerous to follow them at night 1087 01:09:58,520 --> 01:10:00,720 unless we want to become their supper. 1088 01:10:02,160 --> 01:10:03,360 Well, there we go. 1089 01:10:04,560 --> 01:10:07,760 The very elusive desert lions. 1090 01:10:07,760 --> 01:10:12,480 Namibia, there's not many left, but they are out there. 1091 01:10:12,480 --> 01:10:14,280 They're just really, really shy. 1092 01:10:34,960 --> 01:10:38,400 I'm in Namibia with my Bushman guide, Kane. 1093 01:10:38,400 --> 01:10:40,760 Let's go and see if they've seen some lions recently. 1094 01:10:40,760 --> 01:10:42,560 Yeah, we can ask. 1095 01:10:42,560 --> 01:10:45,720 We approach a settlement just a few miles from the pride 1096 01:10:45,720 --> 01:10:47,360 of lions we encountered. 1097 01:10:54,400 --> 01:10:58,640 There's no goats in there, so I'm guessing no people. 1098 01:10:59,960 --> 01:11:01,840 It looks like a ghost town. 1099 01:11:03,240 --> 01:11:04,600 Hello. 1100 01:11:06,080 --> 01:11:07,320 Hello. 1101 01:11:10,760 --> 01:11:12,560 Hello? Hello. 1102 01:11:14,960 --> 01:11:17,320 Hi, what's your names? I'm Lev. 1103 01:11:17,320 --> 01:11:19,680 I'm Sagi. Sagi, Nice to meet you. 1104 01:11:19,680 --> 01:11:21,960 Yolanda. Yolanda, Nice to meet you, Yolanda. 1105 01:11:21,960 --> 01:11:23,240 This is your village? 1106 01:11:23,240 --> 01:11:25,040 Yes. Yes, yes, it's our village. 1107 01:11:25,040 --> 01:11:27,760 Sagi invites us into his home. 1108 01:11:27,760 --> 01:11:30,400 I'm surprised to see people living here. 1109 01:11:30,400 --> 01:11:33,520 It looks like the village was abandoned years ago. 1110 01:11:36,240 --> 01:11:37,960 Where are the people in these villages? 1111 01:11:40,440 --> 01:11:41,960 They've all gone to the cities? 1112 01:11:50,440 --> 01:11:51,880 You're not going anywhere? 1113 01:11:56,040 --> 01:12:00,000 We're on a journey. We're looking for lions. 1114 01:12:00,000 --> 01:12:01,880 Is there any lions around here? 1115 01:12:05,120 --> 01:12:06,760 Yeah? 1116 01:12:06,760 --> 01:12:09,280 When the lion comes here and at night, 1117 01:12:09,280 --> 01:12:11,480 how do you scare the lion? How do you chase them? 1118 01:12:16,840 --> 01:12:17,840 Yeah. 1119 01:12:26,920 --> 01:12:28,240 They ate all your cattle? 1120 01:12:28,240 --> 01:12:29,600 Really? All of them? 1121 01:12:30,840 --> 01:12:32,240 The donkeys? 1122 01:12:32,240 --> 01:12:33,560 Yes. 1123 01:12:33,560 --> 01:12:37,160 How many of the cattle did they kill? How many goats and...? 1124 01:12:42,360 --> 01:12:44,560 So they killed all of them, 25 animals? 1125 01:12:46,360 --> 01:12:47,960 Mm-hm. 1126 01:12:47,960 --> 01:12:51,040 You're, like, in a prison surrounded by all these wildlife. 1127 01:13:14,240 --> 01:13:17,080 If you kill a lion, what happens, they go and arrest you? 1128 01:13:22,760 --> 01:13:25,720 You can go to jail for killing a lion in Namibia. 1129 01:13:27,280 --> 01:13:32,640 But people like Sagi and Yolanda are desperate and are willing to risk 1130 01:13:32,640 --> 01:13:36,640 breaking the law to protect their livestock. 1131 01:13:36,640 --> 01:13:39,640 Thank you for sharing your story. 1132 01:13:39,640 --> 01:13:44,080 Last year, ten lions were killed by farmers and pastoralists. 1133 01:13:46,800 --> 01:13:49,200 Unless a lasting solution can be found 1134 01:13:49,200 --> 01:13:51,200 to solve the lion-human conflict, 1135 01:13:51,200 --> 01:13:54,800 the desert lions of Namibia will become extinct 1136 01:13:54,800 --> 01:13:57,000 at the direct hands of humans. 1137 01:14:02,000 --> 01:14:03,160 Yeah. 1138 01:14:14,800 --> 01:14:16,400 Yeah. 1139 01:14:16,400 --> 01:14:18,760 I think that's the problem with the conservation... 1140 01:14:20,640 --> 01:14:22,600 ..across the continent, though, isn't it? 1141 01:14:22,600 --> 01:14:24,960 People need to see a direct benefit 1142 01:14:24,960 --> 01:14:28,320 to themselves, their communities, otherwise why should they... 1143 01:14:28,320 --> 01:14:32,040 ..why should they care, particularly if the animals are destroying 1144 01:14:32,040 --> 01:14:34,240 their livelihoods or killing their cows? 1145 01:14:43,000 --> 01:14:47,680 As we trek across the Namib, we see clues of another iconic African 1146 01:14:47,680 --> 01:14:49,360 animal, the black rhino. 1147 01:14:57,040 --> 01:14:59,720 Seeing these in the desert is an opportunity 1148 01:14:59,720 --> 01:15:01,040 I don't want to miss. 1149 01:15:03,080 --> 01:15:05,000 Military boots there. 1150 01:15:05,000 --> 01:15:08,320 Kane has arranged for us to go on patrol with Rangers 1151 01:15:08,320 --> 01:15:10,200 from Save The Rhino Trust. 1152 01:15:10,200 --> 01:15:11,800 Lev, nice to meet you, what's your name? 1153 01:15:11,800 --> 01:15:14,120 Martin. Martin. Martin, I'm Kane. 1154 01:15:14,120 --> 01:15:17,320 Williams. Nice to meet you, Williams. 1155 01:15:17,320 --> 01:15:20,400 The Rangers track and record rhino sightings. 1156 01:15:22,760 --> 01:15:25,280 If anyone can find one, it's these guys. 1157 01:15:28,920 --> 01:15:31,640 We're hot on the tail of a rhino. 1158 01:15:31,640 --> 01:15:34,360 Or at least we're following some tracks. 1159 01:15:35,840 --> 01:15:39,440 It's quite tricky because, you know, this is a huge area 1160 01:15:39,440 --> 01:15:42,000 for these guys to patrol. 1161 01:15:42,000 --> 01:15:45,080 They spend up to three weeks in the field at a time 1162 01:15:45,080 --> 01:15:48,160 tracking rhino and walk up to 30km a day. 1163 01:15:49,320 --> 01:15:52,400 And their experience pays off quickly. 1164 01:15:52,400 --> 01:15:55,160 This is what fresh, fresh tracks? 1165 01:15:55,160 --> 01:15:56,960 How fresh? Very fresh. 1166 01:16:00,400 --> 01:16:03,120 We're just driving along, we'd almost given up, 1167 01:16:03,120 --> 01:16:08,880 but there's a rhino right ahead, maybe 400m away. 1168 01:16:21,080 --> 01:16:24,880 We approach with caution because rhinos can be unpredictable 1169 01:16:24,880 --> 01:16:26,840 and potentially very aggressive. 1170 01:16:28,200 --> 01:16:30,600 Rhinos have got terrible eyesight. 1171 01:16:30,600 --> 01:16:34,920 But they've got good hearing and good smell. 1172 01:16:34,920 --> 01:16:38,120 So when you're tracking a rhino... 1173 01:16:38,120 --> 01:16:41,080 ..no sudden movements, you've got to be really steady, 1174 01:16:41,080 --> 01:16:42,640 really quiet. 1175 01:16:45,440 --> 01:16:48,120 There he is, can see him there. 1176 01:16:48,120 --> 01:16:49,680 He's got eyes on us. 1177 01:16:51,840 --> 01:16:56,160 This sub population of black rhinos have adapted to the unique 1178 01:16:56,160 --> 01:16:58,520 conditions of the desert. 1179 01:16:58,520 --> 01:17:01,360 These rhinos are solitary because of the scarcity 1180 01:17:01,360 --> 01:17:02,560 of food on offer. 1181 01:17:05,040 --> 01:17:07,000 Is it a male or a female? 1182 01:17:07,000 --> 01:17:08,640 It's a female. 1183 01:17:10,920 --> 01:17:12,800 They know all the rhinos by name. 1184 01:17:12,800 --> 01:17:14,880 It's amazing. 1185 01:17:14,880 --> 01:17:18,640 Every sighting is a valuable chance for the Trust to keep track 1186 01:17:18,640 --> 01:17:20,920 of their charges. 1187 01:17:20,920 --> 01:17:23,280 For now, they're succeeding. 1188 01:17:23,280 --> 01:17:26,240 And the rhino decline in Namibia has halted. 1189 01:17:30,320 --> 01:17:32,800 Yeah. 1190 01:17:38,760 --> 01:17:42,600 We've spotted Doslan just before her evening walkabout. 1191 01:17:42,600 --> 01:17:46,240 Remarkably, desert rhinos have adapted to survive 1192 01:17:46,240 --> 01:17:48,520 without water for up to three days. 1193 01:17:50,240 --> 01:17:52,920 To be so close on foot is just magical. 1194 01:17:55,080 --> 01:17:58,440 Here, in the middle of Namibia, the sunset... 1195 01:17:58,440 --> 01:18:00,200 ..face-to-face with a rhino. 1196 01:18:01,520 --> 01:18:03,440 Off she goes. 1197 01:18:03,440 --> 01:18:05,000 Beautiful, hey? 1198 01:18:14,440 --> 01:18:18,240 After our exhilarating rhino encounter, we're back in search 1199 01:18:18,240 --> 01:18:19,760 of desert lions. 1200 01:18:21,280 --> 01:18:25,840 And with only fleeting glimpses so far, we're hoping that local NGO, 1201 01:18:25,840 --> 01:18:28,840 the Desert Lion Trust, can help. 1202 01:18:28,840 --> 01:18:32,320 They monitor and track a third of the lion population 1203 01:18:32,320 --> 01:18:34,120 using GPS collaring. 1204 01:18:35,720 --> 01:18:37,760 Hey, hey, Felix. 1205 01:18:37,760 --> 01:18:40,120 It's, it's Lev here. 1206 01:18:40,120 --> 01:18:45,040 We were wondering if you'd had any information on where the lions are? 1207 01:18:45,040 --> 01:18:47,800 Yes, yes, I am actually having a visual on them. 1208 01:18:47,800 --> 01:18:49,720 They are on the move, they are moving east. 1209 01:18:49,720 --> 01:18:52,000 So where is your location, Felix? 1210 01:18:52,000 --> 01:18:53,600 I will tell it to you now. 1211 01:18:53,600 --> 01:18:55,600 OK. 1212 01:18:55,600 --> 01:18:58,160 They give us the coordinates of a small pride 1213 01:18:58,160 --> 01:19:00,360 who have settled in the Hoanib River. 1214 01:19:01,920 --> 01:19:03,760 Let's go. Go. 1215 01:19:03,760 --> 01:19:08,080 It's about 30km north from here, and that's where we're going. 1216 01:19:19,800 --> 01:19:23,560 We're on the final leg of our journey to track down Namibia's 1217 01:19:23,560 --> 01:19:25,920 iconic desert lions. 1218 01:19:25,920 --> 01:19:28,120 Doing a good job, Kane. Yeah. 1219 01:19:32,120 --> 01:19:36,560 We're heading to the Hoanib River, where we hope the pride awaits. 1220 01:19:37,920 --> 01:19:41,480 Our route is taking us through the ancestral lands 1221 01:19:41,480 --> 01:19:42,840 of the Himba people. 1222 01:19:45,560 --> 01:19:47,840 Hello. 1223 01:19:47,840 --> 01:19:49,640 Nice to meet you. 1224 01:19:51,560 --> 01:19:56,440 The Himba are an indigenous tribe of semi-nomadic cattle farmers 1225 01:19:56,440 --> 01:19:58,960 who settled in Namibia 500 years ago. 1226 01:20:00,240 --> 01:20:01,720 Nice to meet you. 1227 01:20:01,720 --> 01:20:03,560 What's your name? 1228 01:20:03,560 --> 01:20:05,440 Watachuta. 1229 01:20:05,440 --> 01:20:07,360 Wakatuga? Yeah. 1230 01:20:09,480 --> 01:20:12,280 Watachuta insists I come into her house. 1231 01:20:14,000 --> 01:20:15,680 So what do you use on your hair? 1232 01:20:21,160 --> 01:20:23,360 What have we let ourselves in for, Kane? 1233 01:20:24,560 --> 01:20:28,320 This isn't the tribal initiation that I was expecting. 1234 01:20:34,360 --> 01:20:36,640 The okra! 1235 01:20:36,640 --> 01:20:38,160 Very nice. 1236 01:20:38,160 --> 01:20:39,760 Himba? I'm now a Himba! 1237 01:20:45,520 --> 01:20:48,000 The Himba women's distinctive red locks 1238 01:20:48,000 --> 01:20:51,120 reflect their marital status, wealth and rank. 1239 01:20:53,400 --> 01:20:54,960 Sit down, yeah. 1240 01:20:56,280 --> 01:20:59,440 The men also have their own unique traditions. 1241 01:21:00,880 --> 01:21:02,840 What do you do with your teeth? 1242 01:21:08,400 --> 01:21:10,840 So you do it like that. 1243 01:21:10,840 --> 01:21:12,080 Argh! 1244 01:21:14,440 --> 01:21:17,600 What? So how old are you when you do this? 1245 01:21:19,880 --> 01:21:21,200 15? 1246 01:21:30,080 --> 01:21:32,280 It sounds very, very painful. 1247 01:21:36,320 --> 01:21:38,840 Is it still part of the culture, the Himba culture, 1248 01:21:38,840 --> 01:21:41,040 to go hunting with spears? 1249 01:21:44,400 --> 01:21:47,520 And do you still do that in this day and age? 1250 01:21:52,080 --> 01:21:56,400 Wildlife numbers are so depleted, the government has banned hunting 1251 01:21:56,400 --> 01:21:58,880 to preserve what's left. 1252 01:21:58,880 --> 01:22:03,120 Now the Himba must rely solely on their livestock for meat. 1253 01:22:04,720 --> 01:22:07,600 So is it just goats you have, or cows as well? 1254 01:22:20,520 --> 01:22:22,000 All because of this drought? 1255 01:22:33,640 --> 01:22:36,360 They can't hunt any more and they've lost over 1256 01:22:36,360 --> 01:22:38,560 95% of their cattle. 1257 01:22:39,720 --> 01:22:44,800 This desert ecosystem exists on a knife edge with extreme drought 1258 01:22:44,800 --> 01:22:48,040 causing great hardship for people and wildlife. 1259 01:22:49,880 --> 01:22:52,400 Despite their struggles against the climate, 1260 01:22:52,400 --> 01:22:56,120 the Himba have generously slaughtered a goat. 1261 01:22:56,120 --> 01:22:58,480 They've taken the liver out and put it onto one side 1262 01:22:58,480 --> 01:23:01,280 and that's just cooking over the coals now. 1263 01:23:01,280 --> 01:23:04,640 And I think that's what we're getting for our supper. 1264 01:23:08,760 --> 01:23:09,960 It's ready now? 1265 01:23:09,960 --> 01:23:11,240 Can we try? 1266 01:23:17,600 --> 01:23:19,000 Very good. 1267 01:23:20,600 --> 01:23:22,880 It's a brilliant evening with the Himba, 1268 01:23:22,880 --> 01:23:24,960 who are wonderful hosts. 1269 01:23:24,960 --> 01:23:28,840 Tomorrow we're heading to the Hoanib River, where we hope to 1270 01:23:28,840 --> 01:23:33,200 track down a pride of desert lions to observe at close quarters. 1271 01:23:43,480 --> 01:23:47,800 20km west of the Himba village, we reach the dry river. 1272 01:23:47,800 --> 01:23:49,240 Stunning place, isn't it? 1273 01:23:49,240 --> 01:23:50,680 Yeah, beautiful. 1274 01:23:50,680 --> 01:23:53,480 And it looks like we've walked into Eden. 1275 01:24:12,920 --> 01:24:16,320 Up ahead, Kane spots movement on the river bank. 1276 01:24:24,120 --> 01:24:26,160 Yeah. 1277 01:24:26,160 --> 01:24:29,840 So we just spotted a female lion. 1278 01:24:29,840 --> 01:24:31,760 Lioness just over there 1279 01:24:31,760 --> 01:24:34,360 on the far side of the river bank. 1280 01:24:34,360 --> 01:24:38,760 She's sitting on a vantage point overlooking the dry wadi, 1281 01:24:38,760 --> 01:24:41,880 and she's obviously just seen us because she just looked up 1282 01:24:41,880 --> 01:24:44,200 very quickly, so she knows we're here. 1283 01:24:45,360 --> 01:24:47,720 We're maybe 100m away. 1284 01:24:51,800 --> 01:24:53,480 You think there's more, yeah? 1285 01:24:54,800 --> 01:24:58,320 Finally, we have the chance to closely observe 1286 01:24:58,320 --> 01:25:00,680 desert lion behaviour. 1287 01:25:00,680 --> 01:25:03,080 This is what we've been searching for. 1288 01:25:05,000 --> 01:25:06,920 Just relax. Yeah. 1289 01:25:17,840 --> 01:25:19,520 Looking straight at me. 1290 01:25:22,040 --> 01:25:23,480 Hey, there, lion... 1291 01:25:25,400 --> 01:25:26,680 Awesome. 1292 01:25:48,720 --> 01:25:52,200 In their search for food, they travel much further 1293 01:25:52,200 --> 01:25:58,200 than any other lions, with home ranges of up to 20,000 square km, 1294 01:25:58,200 --> 01:26:01,360 compared to just 80 for a lion on the Serengeti. 1295 01:26:04,480 --> 01:26:08,320 There's not much drinking water, so they get almost 1296 01:26:08,320 --> 01:26:12,080 all of their moisture that they need from the dew, the mist 1297 01:26:12,080 --> 01:26:14,920 and also the blood of the animals that they eat. 1298 01:26:14,920 --> 01:26:18,080 So they're not so reliant on watering holes. 1299 01:26:18,080 --> 01:26:22,080 But also, you know, there's such a scarcity of prey 1300 01:26:22,080 --> 01:26:25,320 for them to eat that, you know, they might only catch something 1301 01:26:25,320 --> 01:26:27,160 once every ten days. 1302 01:26:32,400 --> 01:26:36,920 This female here is sitting on this cliff overlooking the valley 1303 01:26:36,920 --> 01:26:39,840 so she can see anything that comes down. 1304 01:26:39,840 --> 01:26:42,760 So that's why we can't get any closer, because we might 1305 01:26:42,760 --> 01:26:44,360 become prey ourselves. 1306 01:26:47,240 --> 01:26:49,640 There's another one, there's two. 1307 01:26:51,440 --> 01:26:54,160 There's another male lion in the bushes. 1308 01:26:57,720 --> 01:26:59,920 Well done, mate, we found them. 1309 01:27:06,360 --> 01:27:10,600 This harsh environment forces desert lions to grow up quickly. 1310 01:27:12,000 --> 01:27:15,600 It's common for females to break away from their mothers to hunt 1311 01:27:15,600 --> 01:27:18,760 independently when they're as young as 18 months old. 1312 01:27:18,760 --> 01:27:21,800 Two years earlier than lions from the African plains. 1313 01:27:28,000 --> 01:27:31,680 As night falls, we observe their nocturnal behaviour. 1314 01:27:41,960 --> 01:27:45,280 She's coming, she's coming, she's coming straight towards me. 1315 01:27:45,280 --> 01:27:47,560 Straight towards us. 1316 01:27:47,560 --> 01:27:48,800 Wow! 1317 01:27:51,240 --> 01:27:52,480 BLEEP 1318 01:27:54,320 --> 01:27:57,600 The lioness is coming straight towards me. 1319 01:27:57,600 --> 01:27:59,280 Straight towards me. 1320 01:27:59,280 --> 01:28:01,880 This is incredible. 1321 01:28:03,160 --> 01:28:08,040 And she is literally crouched down, staring straight at me. 1322 01:28:09,320 --> 01:28:11,720 I mean, that is quite incredible. 1323 01:28:11,720 --> 01:28:13,560 She was 100m away. 1324 01:28:13,560 --> 01:28:15,480 Now she's... 1325 01:28:15,480 --> 01:28:18,480 ..less than 50 and she's looking straight at me. 1326 01:28:18,480 --> 01:28:22,560 So I need to be ready to get in this car if she comes. 1327 01:28:22,560 --> 01:28:24,840 The other issue is there's two more lions... 1328 01:28:26,400 --> 01:28:28,160 ..and we've lost sight of them. 1329 01:28:29,640 --> 01:28:32,200 What they tend to do... She's coming, she's coming... Move! 1330 01:28:38,400 --> 01:28:42,240 The charging lioness forces us to retreat to the Rangers' vehicle. 1331 01:28:45,000 --> 01:28:47,920 Phew! There we go. 1332 01:28:52,720 --> 01:28:55,280 Essentially stalking the car, that was nuts. 1333 01:28:57,200 --> 01:29:00,640 As soon as it's getting dark, now she becomes more confident. 1334 01:29:00,640 --> 01:29:03,920 She knows our weakness, we don't have much eyesight. 1335 01:29:03,920 --> 01:29:05,880 Know we don't see very well at night. 1336 01:29:05,880 --> 01:29:09,720 And, you know, lions, hungry lions are very opportunistic. 1337 01:29:09,720 --> 01:29:11,640 Now they're feeling comfortable 1338 01:29:11,640 --> 01:29:13,120 to move, to hunt. 1339 01:29:15,800 --> 01:29:19,720 That was a very close call and, you know, when you're this close 1340 01:29:19,720 --> 01:29:23,000 to a lion, it really brings it home they're not something 1341 01:29:23,000 --> 01:29:26,040 to be messed with, you know, they are... 1342 01:29:26,040 --> 01:29:28,400 They're the boss out here. 1343 01:29:28,400 --> 01:29:31,040 There's the other one, there, just coming across the... 1344 01:29:31,040 --> 01:29:33,840 ..just coming across through the desert, there. 1345 01:29:33,840 --> 01:29:35,320 Let me see. 1346 01:29:40,320 --> 01:29:42,560 Are they fighting? Yeah. Or playing? 1347 01:29:46,520 --> 01:29:48,280 Oh, no, they're just playing. 1348 01:29:49,840 --> 01:29:52,640 They're there, all three together. 1349 01:29:52,640 --> 01:29:54,920 All three together now. 1350 01:29:54,920 --> 01:29:56,880 There we go, look at that. 1351 01:29:58,920 --> 01:30:01,480 So cute, look at them... 1352 01:30:02,520 --> 01:30:03,880 Just nuzzling. 1353 01:30:05,720 --> 01:30:08,760 Beautiful, beautiful. 1354 01:30:08,760 --> 01:30:11,240 Absolutely incredible. So magnificent. 1355 01:30:14,080 --> 01:30:17,600 Very playful and yet at the same time, very deadly. 1356 01:30:21,920 --> 01:30:24,640 And I think that is them. 1357 01:30:24,640 --> 01:30:26,280 Off they go into the desert. 1358 01:30:35,000 --> 01:30:38,800 Before we leave the Namib, Kane has arranged for us to visit 1359 01:30:38,800 --> 01:30:42,760 a nearby village where they are using innovative ways 1360 01:30:42,760 --> 01:30:44,960 to live with the desert lion. 1361 01:30:47,320 --> 01:30:49,600 All these kids have come out to say hello. 1362 01:30:49,600 --> 01:30:51,280 They want to play. 1363 01:30:51,280 --> 01:30:53,560 It's amazing to think they live right on the front line 1364 01:30:53,560 --> 01:30:55,960 of this human-wildlife conflict. 1365 01:30:55,960 --> 01:31:00,880 Harold shows me how this community protects their livestock from lions. 1366 01:31:08,560 --> 01:31:10,960 They see it as like a solid thing rather than something 1367 01:31:10,960 --> 01:31:12,920 they can get through. 1368 01:31:12,920 --> 01:31:15,120 And it's been effective? Yeah. It's working. 1369 01:31:26,720 --> 01:31:29,920 The village also has another unique protection measure. 1370 01:31:35,200 --> 01:31:39,600 The Desert Lion Trust have fitted trackers on a third of the lions 1371 01:31:39,600 --> 01:31:42,880 and have set up an early warning system to alert villagers 1372 01:31:42,880 --> 01:31:44,560 when lions are close by. 1373 01:31:46,560 --> 01:31:50,400 So it flashes, so once it flashes, it's just showing that white light. 1374 01:31:50,400 --> 01:31:52,800 Yeah. Very noisy. 1375 01:31:52,800 --> 01:31:56,680 When a lion is within 3km, an alarm goes off 1376 01:31:56,680 --> 01:31:59,800 and the villagers come outside, banging pots and pans 1377 01:31:59,800 --> 01:32:01,520 to scare the lions away. 1378 01:32:01,520 --> 01:32:03,040 BARKING 1379 01:32:03,040 --> 01:32:04,360 It makes sense, yeah. 1380 01:32:05,960 --> 01:32:07,480 Stay safe. Thank you. 1381 01:32:09,400 --> 01:32:14,120 It's the start of a new relationship between villagers and lions, 1382 01:32:14,120 --> 01:32:18,440 and it gives these magnificent creatures a fighting chance 1383 01:32:18,440 --> 01:32:19,920 of avoiding extinction. 1384 01:32:25,080 --> 01:32:31,720 SINGING 1385 01:32:36,960 --> 01:32:38,600 Bye-bye, kids, stay safe. 1386 01:32:38,600 --> 01:32:40,160 Yeah, bye-bye. 1387 01:32:40,160 --> 01:32:41,600 Bye-bye. 1388 01:32:43,560 --> 01:32:45,840 Next time, I'm in Greenland 1389 01:32:45,840 --> 01:32:48,040 in search of the elusive polar bear. 1390 01:32:50,160 --> 01:32:53,720 Just use the power of the boat to just force these icebergs apart. 1391 01:32:55,560 --> 01:32:58,040 And we've all heard the story of the Titanic. 1392 01:32:59,400 --> 01:33:01,200 Polar bear. 1393 01:33:01,200 --> 01:33:03,080 What? Polar bear. 1394 01:33:03,080 --> 01:33:04,600 Wow, Look at that. 1395 01:33:04,600 --> 01:33:06,800 Couldn't get any more perfect than that. 1396 01:33:41,400 --> 01:33:45,160 I'm flying over the Arctic ice cap here in Greenland. 1397 01:33:49,560 --> 01:33:52,720 I've never been anywhere like this in my entire life. 1398 01:33:57,400 --> 01:33:59,760 It might look like a formidable environment 1399 01:33:59,760 --> 01:34:03,520 but it's also a very, very fragile ecosystem. 1400 01:34:06,200 --> 01:34:10,440 It's warming up four times faster than anywhere else on earth. 1401 01:34:14,040 --> 01:34:19,920 And somewhere down there is one of the most iconic species on earth. 1402 01:34:21,080 --> 01:34:23,720 And I want to see what the effects of climate change 1403 01:34:23,720 --> 01:34:26,600 are having on this amazing apex predator... 1404 01:34:28,000 --> 01:34:29,000 ..the polar bear. 1405 01:34:36,200 --> 01:34:40,640 All over the world, wildlife populations are plummeting 1406 01:34:40,640 --> 01:34:44,200 at a rate not seen since the extinction of the dinosaurs. 1407 01:34:47,040 --> 01:34:49,440 And it's being driven by human activity. 1408 01:34:55,360 --> 01:34:57,200 My name's Levison Wood. 1409 01:34:58,680 --> 01:35:00,360 There's a little baby there. 1410 01:35:00,360 --> 01:35:02,240 Quite a dangerous situation. 1411 01:35:02,240 --> 01:35:05,920 I've walked the Nile and travelled to over 100 countries. 1412 01:35:08,600 --> 01:35:13,120 Now, I'm exploring some of the world's last great wildernesses... 1413 01:35:16,840 --> 01:35:21,920 ..to track down the most iconic but endangered animals on the planet. 1414 01:35:21,920 --> 01:35:22,880 That's a lion track. 1415 01:35:24,040 --> 01:35:28,120 To get as close as possible to these majestic creatures, 1416 01:35:28,120 --> 01:35:31,280 in the last of their remaining natural habitats. 1417 01:35:31,280 --> 01:35:33,760 It's dusty. It's hot. 1418 01:35:33,760 --> 01:35:35,640 So this is all palm oil. 1419 01:35:35,640 --> 01:35:39,240 All of this, though, would have been primary rainforest. 1420 01:35:39,240 --> 01:35:40,920 I want to see for myself 1421 01:35:40,920 --> 01:35:44,560 what is pushing these animals to the brink of extinction... 1422 01:35:44,560 --> 01:35:45,840 These are baby sharks. 1423 01:35:45,840 --> 01:35:47,640 Aren't they really endangered though? 1424 01:35:47,640 --> 01:35:50,440 ..and understand what can be done to save them... 1425 01:35:51,640 --> 01:35:54,120 This thing is a monster. Huge! 1426 01:35:54,120 --> 01:35:55,680 ..before it's too late. 1427 01:35:57,040 --> 01:35:58,680 HE GRUNTS 1428 01:36:07,960 --> 01:36:10,560 Right, it's time to go find some polar bears. 1429 01:36:12,320 --> 01:36:15,480 I've landed in Tasiilaq on Greenland's east coast. 1430 01:36:17,760 --> 01:36:19,480 It's absolutely freezing. 1431 01:36:19,480 --> 01:36:21,800 It must be minus 15. 1432 01:36:23,720 --> 01:36:26,760 The Arctic is expected to lose a third 1433 01:36:26,760 --> 01:36:31,160 of its estimated 25,000 polar bears by 2050, 1434 01:36:31,160 --> 01:36:35,080 due to rising temperatures and melting sea ice. 1435 01:36:35,080 --> 01:36:37,920 It's unknown exactly how many polar bears 1436 01:36:37,920 --> 01:36:40,320 inhabit this stretch of coastline 1437 01:36:40,320 --> 01:36:44,040 but these isolated, small populations could be extinct 1438 01:36:44,040 --> 01:36:45,800 by the end of the century. 1439 01:36:48,960 --> 01:36:51,600 They're notoriously difficult to find, 1440 01:36:51,600 --> 01:36:53,800 and I only have ten days here. 1441 01:36:55,600 --> 01:36:58,160 Tobias! Hey. Hello. 1442 01:36:58,160 --> 01:37:02,120 So I need the help of local Inuit guides and hunters 1443 01:37:02,120 --> 01:37:03,680 Tobias and Bent. 1444 01:37:03,680 --> 01:37:04,840 How far is it? 1445 01:37:05,960 --> 01:37:07,920 I hope we can do it in maybe one hour. 1446 01:37:07,920 --> 01:37:09,440 One hour? Really? OK. 1447 01:37:13,360 --> 01:37:14,320 Yeah. 1448 01:37:21,560 --> 01:37:24,960 We're heading to Tobias's village of Tinit, 1449 01:37:24,960 --> 01:37:28,280 from where we'll travel into Sermilik Fjord. 1450 01:37:28,280 --> 01:37:32,000 One of the largest fjord systems on the eastern coast, 1451 01:37:32,000 --> 01:37:35,960 its name translates to "the place of glaciers" 1452 01:37:35,960 --> 01:37:39,240 and it's part of a migration route for polar bears. 1453 01:37:43,080 --> 01:37:47,560 In a country without roads, we are reliant on skidoos to cross 1454 01:37:47,560 --> 01:37:49,200 frozen lakes and fjords. 1455 01:37:55,280 --> 01:37:57,600 So that's Tinit. Oh! 1456 01:37:58,760 --> 01:38:00,240 So how many people live there? 1457 01:38:01,400 --> 01:38:03,400 100. 100 people? 1458 01:38:03,400 --> 01:38:04,360 So it's quite small. 1459 01:38:05,640 --> 01:38:08,080 And that's... What's that down there? That's the sea, is it? 1460 01:38:08,080 --> 01:38:09,720 Yes. 1461 01:38:09,720 --> 01:38:12,920 Sermilik's glaciers connect to the largest ice sheet 1462 01:38:12,920 --> 01:38:15,000 in the northern hemisphere, 1463 01:38:15,000 --> 01:38:18,160 covering over 900,000 square kilometres 1464 01:38:18,160 --> 01:38:21,800 and roughly 80% of the surface of Greenland. 1465 01:38:21,800 --> 01:38:24,000 How has it changed in your lifetime? 1466 01:38:24,920 --> 01:38:28,040 The last ten, 20 years, 1467 01:38:28,040 --> 01:38:31,560 everything is melting pretty quickly. Really? 1468 01:38:31,560 --> 01:38:35,520 There's more ice coming off the ice cap. 1469 01:38:35,520 --> 01:38:41,040 Right. All this area, it was... There was glacier. 1470 01:38:41,040 --> 01:38:44,200 So this glacier was much higher. Yeah, it was much higher. 1471 01:38:44,200 --> 01:38:47,640 And that's happened in 20 years? Yes, within 20 years. Wow. 1472 01:39:10,840 --> 01:39:14,000 It's changing very, very fast. 1473 01:39:14,000 --> 01:39:19,720 And a few years ago, they could go out to the ice 1474 01:39:19,720 --> 01:39:22,200 and set the nets for seals. 1475 01:39:22,200 --> 01:39:24,560 They don't do that any more 1476 01:39:24,560 --> 01:39:27,560 because the ice is broken all the time. 1477 01:39:27,560 --> 01:39:30,640 How much do you rely on hunting for your way of life? 1478 01:39:31,680 --> 01:39:33,480 That's our life. 1479 01:39:42,480 --> 01:39:46,240 We arrive at Tobias's house just in time for dinner 1480 01:39:46,240 --> 01:39:48,080 with the rest of the expedition team... 1481 01:39:50,120 --> 01:39:54,600 ..Tobias's adopted son, Inos, and local hunter Mikkel. 1482 01:39:58,680 --> 01:40:00,480 Who did all the paintings? 1483 01:40:00,480 --> 01:40:02,280 MAN SPEAKS GREENLANDIC 1484 01:40:06,680 --> 01:40:09,880 On the menu is a locally caught Inuit favourite. 1485 01:40:09,880 --> 01:40:11,040 Oh, thank you. 1486 01:40:11,040 --> 01:40:12,480 Head of, er, catfish. 1487 01:40:13,960 --> 01:40:16,400 Oh, that is the head. I can see the teeth now. 1488 01:40:16,400 --> 01:40:17,360 Yeah. 1489 01:40:20,280 --> 01:40:25,840 So, day to day, how often will you go out hunting or fishing? 1490 01:40:25,840 --> 01:40:27,840 Do you fish every day or...? 1491 01:40:27,840 --> 01:40:31,280 All the time, when it's good weather. 1492 01:40:31,280 --> 01:40:32,920 Mm-hm. 1493 01:40:32,920 --> 01:40:39,520 Last year, he got a polar bear on the top of a mountain. 1494 01:40:40,760 --> 01:40:42,120 You came face-to-face? 1495 01:40:42,120 --> 01:40:46,080 Yeah, it was in a cave. Mm-hm. 1496 01:40:46,080 --> 01:40:49,800 It jumped at him. Really? What happened? 1497 01:41:23,600 --> 01:41:24,560 Look at that. 1498 01:41:26,000 --> 01:41:28,280 He's a big 'un. And how much do they weigh? 1499 01:41:28,280 --> 01:41:30,480 How much is a fully grown adult male? 1500 01:41:31,640 --> 01:41:34,080 HE SPEAKS GREENLANDIC 1501 01:41:34,080 --> 01:41:38,760 They can grow up to 600 to 700 kilos. 1502 01:41:38,760 --> 01:41:40,080 And they can swim quite far? 1503 01:41:40,080 --> 01:41:41,360 Yeah. 1504 01:41:41,360 --> 01:41:44,560 About 150km... 1505 01:41:44,560 --> 01:41:47,040 Seriously? ..in 24 hours. 1506 01:41:48,120 --> 01:41:49,080 Wow. 1507 01:41:50,600 --> 01:41:52,440 So what's the plan for the next few days? 1508 01:41:57,040 --> 01:41:58,840 We're going north. 1509 01:42:02,120 --> 01:42:05,160 We hope to find a polar bear. 1510 01:42:15,280 --> 01:42:16,960 I've arrived in early spring. 1511 01:42:18,440 --> 01:42:20,960 12 hours of daylight is thawing the ice, 1512 01:42:20,960 --> 01:42:24,040 and soon this landscape will transform. 1513 01:42:24,040 --> 01:42:27,920 It's an important time of year for bears, as this is prime hunting 1514 01:42:27,920 --> 01:42:30,600 season, and they can build up their fat reserves. 1515 01:42:31,760 --> 01:42:34,080 This is the village of Tinit. 1516 01:42:36,160 --> 01:42:38,440 I'll show you around. 1517 01:42:38,440 --> 01:42:42,120 There's the basketball court. 1518 01:42:42,120 --> 01:42:47,320 Covered in snow, of course, so not much basketball going on right now. 1519 01:42:47,320 --> 01:42:48,280 Morning. 1520 01:42:50,760 --> 01:42:55,560 Oh, and there's a drying rack, which I guess is for fish and skins. 1521 01:42:55,560 --> 01:42:58,560 And there's a particularly big skin over there. 1522 01:43:01,880 --> 01:43:06,360 And that, as you can probably guess, is a polar bear. 1523 01:43:06,360 --> 01:43:11,280 And the truth of the matter is that the Inuit people that live here 1524 01:43:11,280 --> 01:43:14,000 hunt pretty much whatever they can get their hands on, 1525 01:43:14,000 --> 01:43:15,920 including polar bears. 1526 01:43:15,920 --> 01:43:16,880 They eat them. 1527 01:43:18,160 --> 01:43:22,480 The government here allows locals, those who've got a hunting license, 1528 01:43:22,480 --> 01:43:24,680 to hunt polar bears. 1529 01:43:25,880 --> 01:43:29,200 Of course, I'm not here to hunt this majestic animal, 1530 01:43:29,200 --> 01:43:32,680 but I do need the wisdom and knowledge of the Inuit to track them 1531 01:43:32,680 --> 01:43:35,200 in this vast and challenging environment. 1532 01:43:38,920 --> 01:43:43,240 Tobias and Bent's ancestors arrived on the shores of Greenland 1533 01:43:43,240 --> 01:43:45,600 almost 1,000 years ago. 1534 01:43:45,600 --> 01:43:49,120 They survived the harsh conditions by living on the coast, 1535 01:43:49,120 --> 01:43:51,320 where they could fish and hunt mammals. 1536 01:43:52,320 --> 01:43:56,720 But now this centuries-old lifestyle is being disrupted. 1537 01:43:56,720 --> 01:44:00,520 Unusual rain patterns have caused the fjord to completely freeze 1538 01:44:00,520 --> 01:44:04,160 in March for the first time in living memory. 1539 01:44:04,160 --> 01:44:10,560 We could sail from here on the area and find polar bears easily by boat. 1540 01:44:12,200 --> 01:44:13,880 It's the first time ever... 1541 01:44:15,400 --> 01:44:21,360 ..in the wintertime, it's rained so much for so long time. 1542 01:44:21,360 --> 01:44:22,960 So it's the first time. 1543 01:44:39,080 --> 01:44:41,600 And what does that mean for us going on this journey? 1544 01:44:41,600 --> 01:44:45,040 I mean, is it gonna make it more difficult finding polar bears? 1545 01:44:45,040 --> 01:44:51,880 When the weather gets bad, the travelling of polar bear starts. 1546 01:44:51,880 --> 01:44:56,200 They begin to travel everywhere, walk everywhere. 1547 01:44:56,200 --> 01:44:57,520 Very difficult to find. 1548 01:45:00,160 --> 01:45:01,840 What are the chances? 1549 01:45:01,840 --> 01:45:02,880 50/50. 1550 01:45:07,880 --> 01:45:12,200 Tobias receives a tip off from an Inuit hunter who is tracking 1551 01:45:12,200 --> 01:45:14,160 a lone bear on the frozen fjord. 1552 01:45:16,520 --> 01:45:17,640 Are we ready? 1553 01:45:17,640 --> 01:45:18,600 Let's do it. 1554 01:45:23,880 --> 01:45:28,520 It's a 50-kilometre ride over mountainous terrain. 1555 01:45:28,520 --> 01:45:32,760 But, despite the harsh conditions, it's astonishingly beautiful. 1556 01:45:34,360 --> 01:45:38,320 After two hours of riding, we reach a remote hunter's cabin 1557 01:45:38,320 --> 01:45:40,280 where we'll spend the night. 1558 01:45:52,280 --> 01:45:54,720 Tobias immediately scans the fjord... 1559 01:45:57,400 --> 01:45:59,360 ..and spots something of interest. 1560 01:46:05,200 --> 01:46:08,600 They are a favourite food source for bears 1561 01:46:08,600 --> 01:46:10,960 and a staple for the Inuit, too, 1562 01:46:10,960 --> 01:46:13,400 in a country where barely anything grows. 1563 01:46:18,360 --> 01:46:22,880 With the sun setting, and temperature about to drop to -15, 1564 01:46:22,880 --> 01:46:25,280 Tobias marches onto the frozen fjord... 1565 01:46:26,720 --> 01:46:29,880 ..whilst Mikkel rides in the opposite direction. 1566 01:46:33,800 --> 01:46:35,280 Tobias spotted one seal. 1567 01:46:36,520 --> 01:46:40,240 Ice provides seals with protection from predators. 1568 01:46:40,240 --> 01:46:43,160 When they feel threatened, they dive underwater, 1569 01:46:43,160 --> 01:46:46,760 where they can hold their breath for up to 45 minutes. 1570 01:46:46,760 --> 01:46:51,120 I think the noise of us just walking down scared the seal away. 1571 01:46:53,800 --> 01:46:57,160 Tobias waits at the breathing hole for a seal to emerge. 1572 01:46:58,680 --> 01:47:02,960 Polar bears employ the same tactics, sometimes waiting for days. 1573 01:47:05,880 --> 01:47:07,280 What are you looking for? 1574 01:47:07,280 --> 01:47:08,240 Polar bears. 1575 01:47:10,600 --> 01:47:16,240 You see all the ice and you think polar bear is white. 1576 01:47:16,240 --> 01:47:17,960 It's not. 1577 01:47:17,960 --> 01:47:19,160 It's more yellow. 1578 01:47:21,200 --> 01:47:23,560 Underneath their translucent fur, 1579 01:47:23,560 --> 01:47:27,440 they have black skin to help them absorb the sun's warming rays. 1580 01:47:29,320 --> 01:47:32,000 It does feel very exposed, doesn't it, standing here? 1581 01:47:32,000 --> 01:47:33,880 Yeah. 1582 01:47:33,880 --> 01:47:37,640 And the polar bears could be lurking behind any of this pack ice. 1583 01:47:39,040 --> 01:47:42,480 And the thing is, when you're out here, there's nowhere to run. 1584 01:47:46,000 --> 01:47:47,760 He's on the move. I think he's giving up. 1585 01:47:49,160 --> 01:47:52,960 After two hours on the ice, we returned to the hunter's cabin 1586 01:47:52,960 --> 01:47:55,960 empty-handed and wait for Mikkel to return. 1587 01:47:58,680 --> 01:47:59,640 You got one. 1588 01:48:01,920 --> 01:48:03,600 Well done. 1589 01:48:03,600 --> 01:48:05,520 We've got some dinner, then, tonight. 1590 01:48:05,520 --> 01:48:07,360 Yeah? 1591 01:48:07,360 --> 01:48:08,480 Well done. Yeah. 1592 01:48:08,480 --> 01:48:13,280 With no time to waste, Mikkel must prepare the seal before it freezes. 1593 01:48:13,280 --> 01:48:14,440 What's he doing now? 1594 01:48:14,440 --> 01:48:16,920 He's cutting the skin off. 1595 01:48:16,920 --> 01:48:21,800 Then the skin, with blubber, will be dog food. 1596 01:48:21,800 --> 01:48:23,160 Oh, OK. 1597 01:48:25,840 --> 01:48:27,520 What kind of seal is this? 1598 01:48:27,520 --> 01:48:30,360 That's a ringed seal. 1599 01:48:30,360 --> 01:48:33,440 And this is also what the polar bears feed on. Yes. 1600 01:48:33,440 --> 01:48:35,400 Mostly. 1601 01:48:35,400 --> 01:48:39,120 They are the smallest of the seal species, but their high-fat blubber 1602 01:48:39,120 --> 01:48:43,440 makes them highly desirable to not only bears but killer whales 1603 01:48:43,440 --> 01:48:44,600 and the Inuit, too. 1604 01:48:45,880 --> 01:48:47,000 And they're very common? 1605 01:48:47,000 --> 01:48:48,640 Yes. 1606 01:48:48,640 --> 01:48:50,680 So they're not in any danger or...? 1607 01:48:50,680 --> 01:48:52,360 No, no. Plenty of them. 1608 01:48:56,680 --> 01:48:58,120 Would you like to taste? 1609 01:48:59,800 --> 01:49:01,400 Well, since we're here. 1610 01:49:07,880 --> 01:49:08,960 Mmm. 1611 01:49:08,960 --> 01:49:10,760 Right. OK. 1612 01:49:14,720 --> 01:49:16,360 Mmm. Mmm. 1613 01:49:18,720 --> 01:49:19,960 How does it taste? 1614 01:49:19,960 --> 01:49:22,520 No, it tastes...it tastes like liver. 1615 01:49:22,520 --> 01:49:23,920 Mm-hm. Yeah. 1616 01:49:29,160 --> 01:49:32,800 As Tobias and Bent tuck into a dinner of stewed seal... 1617 01:49:34,320 --> 01:49:37,560 ..Mother Nature offers up a spectacular surprise. 1618 01:49:39,600 --> 01:49:44,640 Wow. Isn't that one of the most amazing things in the world? 1619 01:49:48,040 --> 01:49:52,280 That's the Northern Lights, and it's absolutely insane. 1620 01:50:00,080 --> 01:50:04,840 It's like the whole sky is dancing and singing all at once. 1621 01:50:04,840 --> 01:50:07,200 And it's just beautiful. 1622 01:50:07,200 --> 01:50:10,720 I mean, it looks like there's ghosts and spirits in the sky. 1623 01:50:13,800 --> 01:50:16,920 I am completely and utterly blown away. 1624 01:50:16,920 --> 01:50:17,880 Wow. 1625 01:50:39,480 --> 01:50:44,120 The real difficulty in finding anything out here is just the sheer 1626 01:50:44,120 --> 01:50:46,120 scale of it all. 1627 01:50:46,120 --> 01:50:50,200 I'm now halfway through my time in Greenland, and so far, 1628 01:50:50,200 --> 01:50:53,920 the polar bears I've come to see have been stubbornly elusive. 1629 01:50:55,160 --> 01:50:56,680 So what's the plan for us now? 1630 01:50:56,680 --> 01:50:58,400 Where will we go next? 1631 01:50:58,400 --> 01:51:02,280 We can go to high point... Yeah. ..today and look. 1632 01:51:05,440 --> 01:51:09,880 We're riding further into Sermilik Fjord after receiving reports 1633 01:51:09,880 --> 01:51:11,040 of bear activity. 1634 01:51:17,600 --> 01:51:21,480 At this speed, wind chill has caused the temperature to drop 1635 01:51:21,480 --> 01:51:23,240 to -30 degrees. 1636 01:51:26,840 --> 01:51:31,080 But Tobias' trained eye spots something below the ridgeline. 1637 01:51:32,360 --> 01:51:33,320 Yeah. 1638 01:51:36,760 --> 01:51:38,560 Over there. I can see. Yeah. 1639 01:51:38,560 --> 01:51:43,200 Over there, there's the new tracks from polar bear. 1640 01:51:43,200 --> 01:51:45,720 Which direction? Are they going up or are they coming this way? 1641 01:51:45,720 --> 01:51:48,000 It's going that direction. 1642 01:51:48,000 --> 01:51:49,000 Over the ridgeline? 1643 01:51:49,000 --> 01:51:49,960 Yes. 1644 01:51:58,520 --> 01:52:01,800 Hot on the trail, we ride straight up the mountain. 1645 01:52:08,520 --> 01:52:09,960 How big is it? This one? 1646 01:52:09,960 --> 01:52:11,640 Big one. Big one? 1647 01:52:11,640 --> 01:52:13,240 Yeah. They're huge, aren't they? 1648 01:52:15,360 --> 01:52:17,240 Male. Male? 1649 01:52:17,240 --> 01:52:18,720 How old are these, do we think? 1650 01:52:18,720 --> 01:52:22,480 They are from yesterday morning. 1651 01:52:22,480 --> 01:52:25,360 Finally found some fresh tracks. 1652 01:52:25,360 --> 01:52:27,720 It's going right up over this ridgeline. 1653 01:52:27,720 --> 01:52:29,600 Yeah, I'm excited. This is as close as we've got. 1654 01:52:29,600 --> 01:52:31,800 So, um, go and find him. Yeah. 1655 01:52:34,960 --> 01:52:38,520 After five days in the Arctic wilderness, we're getting closer 1656 01:52:38,520 --> 01:52:39,760 to a bear. 1657 01:52:39,760 --> 01:52:42,200 And Tobias believes it's a big one. 1658 01:52:53,160 --> 01:52:54,640 A steep slope like this, 1659 01:52:54,640 --> 01:52:57,440 he'll just sit on its backside and slide down. 1660 01:52:57,440 --> 01:52:59,840 You can see the marks that he's making here. 1661 01:52:59,840 --> 01:53:03,360 This is amazing. It's a proper polar bear search. 1662 01:53:03,360 --> 01:53:04,320 Let's do it. 1663 01:53:08,400 --> 01:53:12,920 Their agility allows them to move over these mountains with ease. 1664 01:53:46,360 --> 01:53:48,800 Put my hand there. You can see the scale of it. 1665 01:53:50,240 --> 01:53:52,520 This thing is a monster. 1666 01:53:52,520 --> 01:53:53,400 Huge. 1667 01:53:57,520 --> 01:54:00,520 The prints are leading us to the mouth of the fjord 1668 01:54:00,520 --> 01:54:04,080 through tight gullies, just wide enough for our skidoos. 1669 01:54:12,680 --> 01:54:14,160 We go back? Yeah. 1670 01:54:15,680 --> 01:54:19,280 Pure ice down there, so we have to go back. 1671 01:54:21,000 --> 01:54:24,280 The skidoos are not nearly as nimble as the polar bear, though, 1672 01:54:24,280 --> 01:54:25,920 who's given us the slip. 1673 01:54:55,120 --> 01:54:57,960 Well, it's the best plan we've got, isn't it? 1674 01:54:57,960 --> 01:54:59,760 Yeah, for now. 1675 01:54:59,760 --> 01:55:03,200 We'll see if we can find them a different way. 1676 01:55:13,760 --> 01:55:14,720 Careful. 1677 01:55:17,760 --> 01:55:18,720 Oh. 1678 01:55:21,960 --> 01:55:23,160 OK. BLEEP. 1679 01:55:23,160 --> 01:55:24,520 It's quite slippery. 1680 01:55:29,280 --> 01:55:31,040 He's gonna start the motor first. 1681 01:55:31,040 --> 01:55:32,000 OK. 1682 01:55:33,800 --> 01:55:36,680 What happens if it gets stuck in the middle of the sea? 1683 01:55:38,160 --> 01:55:41,600 Yeah. If the boat sinks, we're BLEEP, basically. 1684 01:55:41,600 --> 01:55:45,480 I reckon five minutes in that water, it's all over. 1685 01:55:47,520 --> 01:55:49,400 All right. Ready for a swim? 1686 01:55:51,120 --> 01:55:52,440 I'm not. No? 1687 01:55:52,440 --> 01:55:53,480 Looks cold. 1688 01:56:17,760 --> 01:56:20,120 What does that mean for the wildlife, for the animals? 1689 01:56:33,200 --> 01:56:35,320 More different fish. 1690 01:56:35,320 --> 01:56:37,800 So these are new species that are coming here? Yes. 1691 01:56:37,800 --> 01:56:40,080 I guess if there's more fish, then there's 1692 01:56:40,080 --> 01:56:42,000 more opportunity for fishing? Yes. 1693 01:56:42,000 --> 01:56:43,800 And that should bring more seals as well? 1694 01:56:43,800 --> 01:56:46,080 Yeah, it should. Yes. 1695 01:56:46,080 --> 01:56:47,520 So things are changing quite quickly? 1696 01:56:47,520 --> 01:56:48,480 Yeah. 1697 01:56:53,600 --> 01:56:57,360 Polar bear needs the ice to hunt the seals. 1698 01:56:57,360 --> 01:57:01,680 Last year there was no ice at this time, so it's changing 1699 01:57:01,680 --> 01:57:02,600 all the time. 1700 01:57:09,200 --> 01:57:13,440 If we don't want to starve, we have to adapt with the weather. Yeah. 1701 01:57:14,600 --> 01:57:16,040 I guess there's not much choice. 1702 01:57:16,040 --> 01:57:18,440 You've just gotta find a way to survive. 1703 01:57:21,120 --> 01:57:24,120 We've spent almost a week looking for polar bears, 1704 01:57:24,120 --> 01:57:26,080 but the trail has run ice cold. 1705 01:57:28,160 --> 01:57:31,000 We've only got a few days left before we have to leave, 1706 01:57:31,000 --> 01:57:33,480 and I'm getting worried we might never see one. 1707 01:57:45,720 --> 01:57:47,360 No polar bears last night. 1708 01:57:47,360 --> 01:57:48,520 So, uh... 1709 01:57:50,040 --> 01:57:51,200 ..today is a new day. 1710 01:57:51,200 --> 01:57:53,400 Let's go and see if we can find some. 1711 01:57:57,440 --> 01:57:59,000 Yeah, it looks pretty cold. 1712 01:58:00,960 --> 01:58:07,000 So I left my long johns, my thermals, out in the entrance to my tent 1713 01:58:07,000 --> 01:58:09,960 last night, and they're a little bit... 1714 01:58:09,960 --> 01:58:14,320 ..a bit wet, and, um, well, they've just frozen solid. 1715 01:58:23,160 --> 01:58:24,960 HE SINGS 1716 01:58:37,000 --> 01:58:40,440 For the next three days, we stick to the boat 1717 01:58:40,440 --> 01:58:43,840 hoping to spot a polar bear coming in from the sea ice. 1718 01:58:46,240 --> 01:58:50,280 But after 72 hours, everything looks the same. 1719 01:58:50,280 --> 01:58:53,000 It feels like we're driving around in circles. 1720 01:58:54,480 --> 01:58:58,720 And to add to our woes, there's no sign of a polar bear at all. 1721 01:59:05,840 --> 01:59:07,040 OO Bent! 1722 01:59:10,160 --> 01:59:14,480 We're heading to his favourite spot, where he recently encountered a male 1723 01:59:14,480 --> 01:59:16,800 polar bear hunting on an ice floe. 1724 01:59:19,800 --> 01:59:24,200 But these sorts of scenes are becoming increasingly rare. 1725 01:59:24,200 --> 01:59:28,800 As the Arctic waters warm up and more ice melts, polar bears 1726 01:59:28,800 --> 01:59:32,320 are having to swim ever greater distances to catch seals. 1727 01:59:34,800 --> 01:59:38,360 Suddenly, something on the shoreline has caught Bent's eye. 1728 01:59:40,760 --> 01:59:42,800 What's that? Some tracks? 1729 01:59:42,800 --> 01:59:46,000 Yeah, they're tracks from polar bear on... 1730 01:59:47,160 --> 01:59:48,280 ..on land here... 1731 01:59:48,280 --> 01:59:50,160 Yeah. ..at the edge. 1732 01:59:50,160 --> 01:59:52,440 Can you tell which direction they're going, Bent? 1733 01:59:52,440 --> 01:59:54,960 It looks like it's that way. 1734 01:59:54,960 --> 01:59:57,440 Let's see if we can track this bear down. 1735 01:59:59,240 --> 02:00:02,880 Changing weather has disrupted the polar bear's behaviour 1736 02:00:02,880 --> 02:00:07,920 and endangered their habitat, making finding them much more difficult. 1737 02:00:10,200 --> 02:00:11,920 The tracks are covered. 1738 02:00:13,080 --> 02:00:15,480 It could be two days. 1739 02:00:15,480 --> 02:00:17,040 As we run out of time, 1740 02:00:17,040 --> 02:00:19,840 it seems like my mission has been a failure. 1741 02:00:22,120 --> 02:00:24,040 Haven't seen any this time, have we? 1742 02:00:24,040 --> 02:00:28,480 No, we are kind of unlucky to see them. 1743 02:00:33,760 --> 02:00:35,520 Well, I think that's it. 1744 02:00:37,800 --> 02:00:38,640 No bears. 1745 02:00:39,920 --> 02:00:41,480 Needle in a haystack out there. 1746 02:00:43,120 --> 02:00:47,440 To spend ten days roaming around in search of them and not find any 1747 02:00:47,440 --> 02:00:50,280 is obviously disappointing. 1748 02:00:50,280 --> 02:00:53,040 We've tried and, uh... 1749 02:00:53,040 --> 02:00:55,640 ..there comes a point where you just have to call it a day. 1750 02:01:04,640 --> 02:01:05,840 HE SIGHS 1751 02:01:22,160 --> 02:01:23,480 Back in Greenland, 1752 02:01:23,480 --> 02:01:28,600 it's been three months and there's a lot less snow on the ground. 1753 02:01:28,600 --> 02:01:33,080 It's late June and the landscape has transformed. 1754 02:01:33,080 --> 02:01:36,320 The pack ice has now broken up and, uh, 1755 02:01:36,320 --> 02:01:38,680 boats are able to go out to sea. 1756 02:01:38,680 --> 02:01:44,000 So I'm gonna go and meet the team again, and we're gonna go and spend 1757 02:01:44,000 --> 02:01:46,360 the next week out looking for polar bears. 1758 02:01:46,360 --> 02:01:48,560 So fingers crossed second time lucky. 1759 02:01:53,480 --> 02:01:55,760 Welcome back. Hey, come here. 1760 02:01:55,760 --> 02:01:56,960 Good to see you again, man. 1761 02:01:58,280 --> 02:01:59,440 You all right? Yeah. 1762 02:01:59,440 --> 02:02:00,520 Yeah? Good. 1763 02:02:00,520 --> 02:02:03,640 Hey, mate. Good to see you, Tobias. 1764 02:02:03,640 --> 02:02:04,880 All right? 1765 02:02:04,880 --> 02:02:07,320 so we're gonna find some bears this time, do we think? 1766 02:02:07,320 --> 02:02:09,760 Yes, we hope. Yeah? We hope. 1767 02:02:09,760 --> 02:02:11,760 How far are we gonna be travelling? 1768 02:02:11,760 --> 02:02:15,000 It's going to be about 150km. 1769 02:02:15,000 --> 02:02:16,240 Just today? 1770 02:02:16,240 --> 02:02:19,080 Just today. OK. Which direction are we going? 1771 02:02:19,080 --> 02:02:20,920 South. South. 1772 02:02:20,920 --> 02:02:24,720 There's no other boats sailing around that area. 1773 02:02:24,720 --> 02:02:27,600 There should be better chance to see polar bears. 1774 02:02:29,080 --> 02:02:31,360 And now the hunting season is finished as well? Yes. 1775 02:02:31,360 --> 02:02:34,280 Yes, the quota is finished so... 1776 02:02:34,280 --> 02:02:36,920 So the bears are a bit more relaxed in your company. Yes. 1777 02:02:36,920 --> 02:02:40,000 So we only shoot them by camera. 1778 02:02:40,000 --> 02:02:41,760 Right. Good. OK. 1779 02:02:41,760 --> 02:02:44,560 Well, let's go and see if we can find some bears then, shall we? 1780 02:02:44,560 --> 02:02:46,280 We'll do that. OK. 1781 02:02:55,400 --> 02:02:58,600 So have you seen any polar bears since I've been away? 1782 02:02:58,600 --> 02:02:59,680 Yes. Yeah? 1783 02:02:59,680 --> 02:03:01,280 We have seen some. 1784 02:03:01,280 --> 02:03:03,280 Where? Right here. 1785 02:03:03,280 --> 02:03:05,160 Are you joking? I'm not joking. 1786 02:03:06,840 --> 02:03:08,320 So we just had bad luck then... 1787 02:03:08,320 --> 02:03:10,520 Yes. ..back in April? Yes. 1788 02:03:12,720 --> 02:03:16,680 For the next week, we're sailing south towards Umivik, 1789 02:03:16,680 --> 02:03:19,080 where some sea ice remains. 1790 02:03:19,080 --> 02:03:23,480 Tobias and Bent believe this is my only chance to find bears 1791 02:03:23,480 --> 02:03:25,320 before the summer, when they disperse. 1792 02:03:27,080 --> 02:03:30,520 But it isn't long before we encounter our first hurdle. 1793 02:03:33,320 --> 02:03:37,560 Just a few kilometres from Tasiilaq, we reach an impasse. 1794 02:03:40,240 --> 02:03:43,400 Tobias is having to, like, just use the power of the boat 1795 02:03:43,400 --> 02:03:46,360 and the engine to just force these icebergs apart. 1796 02:03:49,800 --> 02:03:53,280 And lots of icebergs to contend with. 1797 02:03:53,280 --> 02:03:57,160 So, you know, we've all heard the story of the Titanic! 1798 02:03:57,160 --> 02:04:00,920 Well, here we are on... What's this boat called? 1799 02:04:00,920 --> 02:04:04,320 Dopiatse. Dopiatse! You named it after yourself. 1800 02:04:04,320 --> 02:04:05,920 Good. 1801 02:04:07,720 --> 02:04:11,760 We progress slowly through the ice field. 1802 02:04:11,760 --> 02:04:15,360 Strong currents are forcing the pack ice to surround the boat. 1803 02:04:20,080 --> 02:04:23,920 We've kind of beached ourselves on top of this big lump of ice, 1804 02:04:23,920 --> 02:04:26,520 which is at least a foot thick. 1805 02:04:26,520 --> 02:04:30,920 And Tobias is revving the engine, but we've kind of like 1806 02:04:30,920 --> 02:04:34,120 landed on top of the ice and now we can't move. 1807 02:04:39,400 --> 02:04:42,920 This boat is only 20ft long and made of fibreglass. 1808 02:04:44,040 --> 02:04:46,840 If we're not careful, we could get stuck. 1809 02:04:49,840 --> 02:04:52,040 This does not feel safe at all. 1810 02:04:59,920 --> 02:05:02,120 Woo! We're finally clear. 1811 02:05:07,000 --> 02:05:10,600 After five hours crashing through the ice field, we reach 1812 02:05:10,600 --> 02:05:12,960 the village of Ikkatteq. 1813 02:05:12,960 --> 02:05:18,040 Once a permanent fishing village, it was abandoned in 1994, 1814 02:05:18,040 --> 02:05:20,920 as people sought comfort in larger settlements. 1815 02:05:23,320 --> 02:05:25,440 How's progress, guys? 1816 02:05:25,440 --> 02:05:29,760 At the moment, the ice is drifting inward. 1817 02:05:29,760 --> 02:05:30,880 That's not good. 1818 02:05:30,880 --> 02:05:32,560 So, but slowly. 1819 02:05:40,480 --> 02:05:44,880 But it doesn't seem to be today. 1820 02:05:44,880 --> 02:05:48,000 Not Today? Maybe tomorrow morning. Right. 1821 02:05:48,000 --> 02:05:50,320 So we're going to stay here. 1822 02:05:52,160 --> 02:05:54,600 Well, it looks like we're staying in this abandoned village 1823 02:05:54,600 --> 02:05:59,600 for the night because the ice is just too tightly packed 1824 02:05:59,600 --> 02:06:01,440 to be able to move very far. 1825 02:06:01,440 --> 02:06:06,120 So I think I'm just going to go and get in one of these buildings here. 1826 02:06:06,120 --> 02:06:09,120 Bent, is this a church? It looks like it. 1827 02:06:09,120 --> 02:06:11,640 It's the church and school. 1828 02:06:11,640 --> 02:06:13,000 Church and school? 1829 02:06:13,000 --> 02:06:14,920 Yes. Shall we have a look inside? 1830 02:06:14,920 --> 02:06:16,320 Yeah, we could do that. 1831 02:06:18,640 --> 02:06:20,840 It's very eerie and quiet here. 1832 02:06:23,600 --> 02:06:25,440 When was this last used? 1833 02:06:25,440 --> 02:06:27,720 Er, the '90s. 1834 02:06:27,720 --> 02:06:29,160 In the '90s. 1835 02:06:29,160 --> 02:06:32,000 HE PLAYS THE ORGAN 1836 02:06:32,000 --> 02:06:33,400 Still working. 1837 02:06:35,040 --> 02:06:36,640 There's no wine left, though. 1838 02:06:36,640 --> 02:06:38,240 No. That's all gone. Yeah. 1839 02:06:43,080 --> 02:06:46,080 Time to get some rest, it's 7:30. 1840 02:06:46,080 --> 02:06:48,960 It's not dark because it doesn't go dark at this time of year. 1841 02:06:48,960 --> 02:06:52,240 It stays light all day and all night. 1842 02:06:52,240 --> 02:06:54,720 So I may as well go to sleep now. 1843 02:07:04,640 --> 02:07:08,720 The next morning, the pack ice has cleared and we travel 1844 02:07:08,720 --> 02:07:12,200 the remaining 120km in just a few hours. 1845 02:07:14,760 --> 02:07:17,360 Bent, this is a really beautiful place, isn't it? 1846 02:07:17,360 --> 02:07:19,640 Yes, fantastic. 1847 02:07:19,640 --> 02:07:21,520 Magical, does it have a name? 1848 02:07:21,520 --> 02:07:24,160 HE SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY 1849 02:07:24,160 --> 02:07:27,640 Yeah, some Danish guy named it. 1850 02:07:27,640 --> 02:07:29,920 Look, there's some seals on the ice, look. 1851 02:07:29,920 --> 02:07:31,120 Yes. 1852 02:07:31,120 --> 02:07:34,360 One, two, three, big one over there, four. 1853 02:07:34,360 --> 02:07:36,680 The big one is a bearded seal. 1854 02:07:36,680 --> 02:07:37,960 Bearded seal. 1855 02:07:39,360 --> 02:07:41,400 What do these seals eat then, fish? 1856 02:07:41,400 --> 02:07:42,960 Shellfish. 1857 02:07:42,960 --> 02:07:44,400 OK. 1858 02:07:44,400 --> 02:07:46,080 Shrimps. 1859 02:07:46,080 --> 02:07:48,120 What are they doing when they're just lounging 1860 02:07:48,120 --> 02:07:51,720 on the ice like that, is it just bathing? 1861 02:07:51,720 --> 02:07:54,840 They are getting fat, eating and relaxing. 1862 02:07:54,840 --> 02:07:56,000 OK. 1863 02:07:57,200 --> 02:07:59,160 Do the polar bears hunt these big ones? 1864 02:07:59,160 --> 02:08:01,760 Yes. Yeah? Do they eat anything else? 1865 02:08:01,760 --> 02:08:03,640 They eat plants. 1866 02:08:03,640 --> 02:08:05,640 They do, OK? What, like the moss? 1867 02:08:05,640 --> 02:08:09,000 Grass and... Yes, during summertime. 1868 02:08:09,000 --> 02:08:11,600 Yeah. Scavenging for anything. 1869 02:08:11,600 --> 02:08:14,200 I guess they'll eat anything they can get their hands on, really, 1870 02:08:14,200 --> 02:08:16,240 if there's nothing? Yes. 1871 02:08:16,240 --> 02:08:19,040 If there's seals, there should be some polar bears around, hopefully. 1872 02:08:19,040 --> 02:08:20,880 Yes. 1873 02:08:20,880 --> 02:08:24,760 All of this area is normally polar bear land. 1874 02:08:29,160 --> 02:08:34,840 Sometimes it's very easy to see them and other days it's very difficult. 1875 02:08:34,840 --> 02:08:38,400 You can sail three metres from it. 1876 02:08:38,400 --> 02:08:40,040 You don't even see it. 1877 02:08:42,400 --> 02:08:44,840 They are floating out there somewhere. 1878 02:08:52,760 --> 02:08:57,160 After four hours of searching, Tobias leads us to the mouth 1879 02:08:57,160 --> 02:09:00,800 of a nearby fjord, where a colony of seals live year round. 1880 02:09:02,120 --> 02:09:04,520 We climb a hill to get a better view. 1881 02:09:13,080 --> 02:09:14,480 Polar bear! 1882 02:09:14,480 --> 02:09:15,720 What? Really? 1883 02:09:15,720 --> 02:09:18,000 Polar bear! 1884 02:09:18,000 --> 02:09:19,240 Where? 1885 02:09:23,040 --> 02:09:25,800 He's lying down? Yes. 1886 02:09:25,800 --> 02:09:29,720 He just raised and lay down again. No way. 1887 02:09:31,120 --> 02:09:34,160 Hundreds of metres over there are dotted hundreds of seals. 1888 02:09:34,160 --> 02:09:37,400 And right in the middle, a polar bear. 1889 02:09:37,400 --> 02:09:39,360 There it is, our first polar bear. 1890 02:09:41,840 --> 02:09:43,680 Finally, I've seen one. 1891 02:09:48,200 --> 02:09:51,040 Yeah, maybe it will walk towards here. 1892 02:09:55,440 --> 02:09:58,120 This is the moment that I've been waiting for, 1893 02:09:58,120 --> 02:10:00,480 is to see a polar bear in the wild. 1894 02:10:00,480 --> 02:10:02,240 Absolute dream come true. 1895 02:10:06,080 --> 02:10:07,720 Here. 1896 02:10:07,720 --> 02:10:09,000 Where? 1897 02:10:09,000 --> 02:10:10,400 There. Yeah. 1898 02:10:10,400 --> 02:10:11,840 Polar bear is there. 1899 02:10:24,400 --> 02:10:25,720 CONTENTED LAUGHTER 1900 02:10:27,560 --> 02:10:29,160 Absolutely phenomenal. 1901 02:10:30,760 --> 02:10:32,080 How old do you think it is? 1902 02:10:36,480 --> 02:10:41,000 This youngster is yet to reach maturity, but can expect to live 1903 02:10:41,000 --> 02:10:44,440 to between 15 and 20 years. 1904 02:10:44,440 --> 02:10:46,080 And how heavy is it, do you think? 1905 02:10:51,920 --> 02:10:54,120 400 kilos, that's a big bear, right? 1906 02:11:00,000 --> 02:11:02,600 Oh, wow. OK, so that was quite small, that was quite a small bear. 1907 02:11:02,600 --> 02:11:04,280 So we think that's a young male. 1908 02:11:04,280 --> 02:11:05,240 Yes. 1909 02:11:06,560 --> 02:11:10,960 He'll begin to breed between the age of eight and ten when he reaches 1910 02:11:10,960 --> 02:11:14,200 his physical peak and becomes attractive to females. 1911 02:11:14,200 --> 02:11:16,800 It's sniffing. Sniffing, yes. 1912 02:11:16,800 --> 02:11:20,560 It smelt us right away when we came around the corner. 1913 02:11:22,200 --> 02:11:28,160 A keen sense of smell allows them to sniff out a seal from 30km away. 1914 02:11:28,160 --> 02:11:31,400 But less than 2% of their hunts are successful. 1915 02:11:32,680 --> 02:11:35,440 How often will a polar bear eat a seal? 1916 02:11:35,440 --> 02:11:40,640 Whenever they hunt, they can be days, 14 days, a month. 1917 02:11:42,160 --> 02:11:44,080 Without eating? Wow, it's amazing. Yeah. 1918 02:11:44,080 --> 02:11:47,080 Just laying around on the ice, cooling down. 1919 02:11:48,680 --> 02:11:50,480 Why are the seals so relaxed? 1920 02:11:50,480 --> 02:11:52,520 It lives among the seals. 1921 02:11:52,520 --> 02:11:54,040 So the seals are... 1922 02:11:55,280 --> 02:11:57,520 ..used to it around. 1923 02:12:07,360 --> 02:12:11,760 The fat that polar bears put on now is critical for their survival 1924 02:12:11,760 --> 02:12:15,160 in late summer, when most of the sea ice has melted 1925 02:12:15,160 --> 02:12:17,040 and they're unable to hunt. 1926 02:12:18,360 --> 02:12:23,400 During the summer, they start moving on the ice cap and going north. 1927 02:12:23,400 --> 02:12:25,240 Right, so they will travel on the ice cap? 1928 02:12:25,240 --> 02:12:26,840 Yes. They will, OK. 1929 02:12:26,840 --> 02:12:29,200 It's colder. And they like it cold? 1930 02:12:29,200 --> 02:12:30,760 Yeah. 1931 02:12:30,760 --> 02:12:33,360 He's smelt us and he's just disappeared off 1932 02:12:33,360 --> 02:12:35,960 straight through that colony of seals over there. 1933 02:12:38,840 --> 02:12:41,640 Well, that was an incredible first encounter. 1934 02:12:58,080 --> 02:13:01,680 Seeing the bear yesterday was a real highlight for me. 1935 02:13:01,680 --> 02:13:04,760 It was... Even though it was quite far away, 1936 02:13:04,760 --> 02:13:09,960 to finally see a bear in the wild - 1937 02:13:09,960 --> 02:13:12,240 that's got to be one of life's real highlights. 1938 02:13:12,240 --> 02:13:14,360 So I'm really, really lucky. 1939 02:13:14,360 --> 02:13:18,280 Obviously, I'd love to get a little bit closer. 1940 02:13:18,280 --> 02:13:22,800 It's totally hit and miss whether or not you get to see 1941 02:13:22,800 --> 02:13:26,720 any wildlife out here, because it's such a vast landscape. 1942 02:13:26,720 --> 02:13:29,080 But, fingers crossed. 1943 02:13:29,080 --> 02:13:32,120 If it was easy, then...it wouldn't be worth doing, would it? 1944 02:13:36,760 --> 02:13:38,840 I only have a few days left, 1945 02:13:38,840 --> 02:13:43,640 and I want to spend as much time as I can with these majestic animals. 1946 02:13:43,640 --> 02:13:49,520 So, the best chance to see polar bears is where we saw... Before. 1947 02:13:49,520 --> 02:13:50,680 Yes. 1948 02:13:50,680 --> 02:13:53,040 Polar bear is here. The polar bear's here. 1949 02:13:53,040 --> 02:13:57,000 And where are we now? We're... We're here. ..here now. OK. 1950 02:13:57,000 --> 02:13:58,560 I think that sounds like the best. 1951 02:13:58,560 --> 02:13:59,920 Yeah. The best plan. 1952 02:14:01,000 --> 02:14:04,600 HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE 1953 02:14:04,600 --> 02:14:09,480 When he was a kid, the ice cap was all the way out here. 1954 02:14:09,480 --> 02:14:12,080 Really? Yes. It was up to this point? Yes. 1955 02:14:12,080 --> 02:14:14,360 So how far back has it disappeared? 1956 02:14:14,360 --> 02:14:17,960 Five kilometres? No, more. 1957 02:14:17,960 --> 02:14:21,040 So it's retreated... Yeah. ..more than 5km. 1958 02:14:21,040 --> 02:14:23,880 20, 25... 20?! 1959 02:14:23,880 --> 02:14:27,480 So, the ice has gone back 20km since, since you were... 1960 02:14:27,480 --> 02:14:28,960 Yeah, at least. ..a kid. 1961 02:14:33,840 --> 02:14:37,200 Tobias was saying that when he was a kid, 1962 02:14:37,200 --> 02:14:43,640 the ice cap, which is sort of way behind that hill behind me there, 1963 02:14:43,640 --> 02:14:46,880 actually used to come all the way to this fjord 1964 02:14:46,880 --> 02:14:48,440 that I'm in right now. 1965 02:14:48,440 --> 02:14:51,680 And it, in fact, covered that hill in its entirety. 1966 02:14:54,360 --> 02:14:56,840 Very, very shocking to see just how quickly the landscape, 1967 02:14:56,840 --> 02:14:59,040 the environment, is changing in this part of the world. 1968 02:15:00,840 --> 02:15:04,160 Greenland's ice cap is shrinking seven times faster 1969 02:15:04,160 --> 02:15:06,360 than it was in the early '90s. 1970 02:15:07,640 --> 02:15:11,160 Well, this is very much the front line of climate change, 1971 02:15:11,160 --> 02:15:13,600 a lot of it caused by, you know, human impact. 1972 02:15:16,120 --> 02:15:20,440 There was a staggering loss of 166 billion tonnes 1973 02:15:20,440 --> 02:15:22,640 of ice in 2021 alone. 1974 02:15:25,000 --> 02:15:29,400 And it's the main reason for rising sea levels around the world. 1975 02:15:31,240 --> 02:15:33,480 60,000 people live in Greenland. 1976 02:15:34,800 --> 02:15:37,680 50,000 Inuit, and they're not the ones causing the problem. 1977 02:15:38,880 --> 02:15:42,240 But they're very much the ones who are dealing with the consequences. 1978 02:15:50,000 --> 02:15:53,440 We're heading back to where we saw yesterday's bear 1979 02:15:53,440 --> 02:15:55,080 to see if he's returned. 1980 02:16:01,600 --> 02:16:04,000 HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE 1981 02:16:04,000 --> 02:16:05,960 Oh, wow! Polar bear on the ice. 1982 02:16:10,440 --> 02:16:13,080 Wow. Look at that - right on top of an iceberg. 1983 02:16:13,080 --> 02:16:16,880 Just as you can imagine, it couldn't get any more perfect than that. 1984 02:16:20,840 --> 02:16:23,200 And it's the same bear as before. 1985 02:16:23,200 --> 02:16:25,440 It's the same. Yeah, it's the same one. 1986 02:16:26,960 --> 02:16:28,920 SHUTTER CLICKS 1987 02:16:33,480 --> 02:16:35,080 Absolutely phenomenal. 1988 02:16:35,080 --> 02:16:38,760 That bear's right on the crest of that iceberg, just watching us. 1989 02:16:38,760 --> 02:16:41,040 Stunning. 1990 02:16:41,040 --> 02:16:42,560 HE LAUGHS 1991 02:16:42,560 --> 02:16:44,160 Always very special. 1992 02:16:45,720 --> 02:16:48,080 Oh, no, he's running away. 1993 02:16:48,080 --> 02:16:51,000 Now it will go to the other side of the ice. 1994 02:16:53,200 --> 02:16:55,560 We're going to see how close we can get on the boat. 1995 02:16:55,560 --> 02:16:57,920 We should be able to get much closer this way. 1996 02:16:57,920 --> 02:16:59,880 Hopefully, when we get around this bend here, 1997 02:16:59,880 --> 02:17:02,080 we should get a pretty good view. 1998 02:17:03,320 --> 02:17:04,600 It's up there. 1999 02:17:04,600 --> 02:17:06,200 Oh, there he is. Look at that. 2000 02:17:09,080 --> 02:17:11,560 Absolutely incredible. 2001 02:17:11,560 --> 02:17:14,920 Probably 50 metres away, 2002 02:17:14,920 --> 02:17:16,720 bounding straight towards us, 2003 02:17:16,720 --> 02:17:18,600 and obviously very curious. 2004 02:17:19,840 --> 02:17:22,400 That, for me, is a lifelong dream. 2005 02:17:22,400 --> 02:17:24,240 I've always wanted to see one in the wild, 2006 02:17:24,240 --> 02:17:26,440 and it doesn't get better than that. 2007 02:17:27,640 --> 02:17:29,520 Utterly remarkable. 2008 02:17:29,520 --> 02:17:33,920 It moves so quickly. Yes. It's so fast. 2009 02:17:33,920 --> 02:17:36,120 Straight up over that as if it's nothing. 2010 02:17:37,720 --> 02:17:41,600 Wow. Absolutely incredible encounter with a polar bear. 2011 02:17:41,600 --> 02:17:44,400 Happy? Yes. Yeah, very happy. 2012 02:17:44,400 --> 02:17:46,320 Yes. Exciting. 2013 02:17:49,200 --> 02:17:53,600 After two expeditions and over three weeks of roughing it 2014 02:17:53,600 --> 02:17:56,320 in this brutal and spectacular wilderness, 2015 02:17:56,320 --> 02:17:59,160 I finally have the encounter I dreamed of. 2016 02:18:11,240 --> 02:18:13,120 Well, mate, thank you so much. 2017 02:18:14,400 --> 02:18:15,680 Tobias. 2018 02:18:15,680 --> 02:18:17,320 Thank you. 2019 02:18:17,320 --> 02:18:18,520 Mikkel. 2020 02:18:18,520 --> 02:18:19,960 Thank you, my friend. 2021 02:18:21,880 --> 02:18:23,080 Thank you. 2022 02:18:23,080 --> 02:18:24,240 Safe travels. 2023 02:18:26,000 --> 02:18:28,280 Bye. 2024 02:18:28,280 --> 02:18:30,600 Well, that is the end of... 2025 02:18:31,840 --> 02:18:33,520 ..an incredible adventure. 2026 02:18:34,720 --> 02:18:38,120 Greenland has been an utterly fascinating place. 2027 02:18:38,120 --> 02:18:41,680 It's been probably one of the most challenging environments 2028 02:18:41,680 --> 02:18:43,880 I've ever been on an expedition in. 2029 02:18:46,440 --> 02:18:48,120 The extreme cold. 2030 02:18:49,960 --> 02:18:52,520 This is obviously a place that's under threat. 2031 02:18:52,520 --> 02:18:55,640 You know, the landscape, the environment is changing. 2032 02:18:55,640 --> 02:19:00,040 If global temperatures continue to rise as expected, 2033 02:19:00,040 --> 02:19:04,040 it's predicted that we'll lose a third of the polar bear population 2034 02:19:04,040 --> 02:19:05,400 by 2050. 2035 02:19:07,080 --> 02:19:10,960 But, as the Inuit and the polar bears both show, 2036 02:19:10,960 --> 02:19:15,440 people are adapting, and people are very resilient, 2037 02:19:15,440 --> 02:19:17,240 and the wildlife is resilient, too, 2038 02:19:17,240 --> 02:19:20,440 so there is lots of reason to be optimistic. 2039 02:19:22,040 --> 02:19:26,440 Scientists have recently discovered an isolated population 2040 02:19:26,440 --> 02:19:30,160 of polar bears in a remote area of south Greenland 2041 02:19:30,160 --> 02:19:32,880 who have quickly adapted to hunt seals 2042 02:19:32,880 --> 02:19:35,160 from glaciers at the edge of the sea. 2043 02:19:36,640 --> 02:19:40,960 If the rest of the Arctic's polar bears learn to adapt, 2044 02:19:40,960 --> 02:19:42,920 then they do have a fighting chance. 2045 02:19:45,000 --> 02:19:47,560 This is one of the last great wildernesses on Earth. 2046 02:19:49,120 --> 02:19:50,720 And I just hope it stays that way.