Wild Babies (2022) s01e03 Episode Script

1 [growling.]
- [tranquil music plays.]
- [cub squeals.]
[Helena Bonham Carter.]
After two nights alone in the South African bush the little lion cubs are finally reunited with their mother.
[tranquil music continues.]
[cubs squeal.]
But their sister Kaya is still missing.
[lion growls.]
[tranquil music continues.]
More careful than her brothers, this clever little cub has been hiding, waiting to ensure the coast is clear.
[tranquil music continues.]
[cub squeals.]
But this moment of tenderness must be brief.
[tranquil music continues.]
With a strong scent of leopard in the area, mom has to keep her cubs moving.
Their survival depends on it.
[tranquil music fades.]
Babies born wild must often be on the move.
They need to find food, seek safety, or simply move home.
[tranquil music plays.]
Kaya and her brothers are on their way to a new den site.
Each new hideout will keep them safe from their enemies.
[tranquil music continues.]
But traveling by day is risky.
They need to stay close to their mom.
[tranquil music continues.]
Until now, their world has been restricted to a little rocky outcrop.
So the journey is an eye-opener to their African home.
[lion growls.]
[tranquil music continues.]
[tranquil music fades.]
Kaya gets her first real view of the MalaMala Pride Lands.
And the neighbors she'll share them with.
[cub squeals.]
[bird squawks.]
But this guinea fowl is not quite as pleased to see Kaya.
[guinea fowl squawks.]
[cub growls.]
The little cub doesn't yet understand she's Africa's top-ranking predator [cub squeals.]
and everyone's afraid of them.
[whimpering.]
It's been a long walk.
And being the smallest Kaya's feeling tired and hungry.
[cub whimpers.]
She's beginning to lag behind.
[tranquil music plays.]
There's only one thing for it.
[tranquil music continues.]
It's tough as a single mom traveling with kids.
[lion growls.]
[lion growls.]
Suddenly, out in the grasslands [growling.]
there's a familiar call.
[lion growls.]
[uplifting music plays.]
The cubs keep low.
Any strange lion is a threat.
[uplifting music continues.]
But she's one of the family.
Mom's younger sister.
[uplifting music continues.]
Lionesses are the heart and soul of the pride.
They form lifelong attachments and share the duties of bringing up the cubs.
In this first meeting with their aunt, straightaway, the bond is clear.
[uplifting music fades.]
Now, they have help to get to their new den site.
It's close to the shores of the Sand River.
[elephant trumpets.]
Stretching for 15 miles through the center of their territory, this river is the lifeblood of the MalaMala pride.
Its precious water is a magnet for the animals that lions like to hunt.
[tranquil music plays.]
Mom hasn't made a kill in days.
But now, with backup from her sister, she might have more success.
Unless she eats soon, her cubs won't make it.
[cub squeals.]
Together, they hide the cubs in the shelter of the bushes and set off on a vitally important hunting trip.
Newborns usually need time to grow strong enough to travel.
But some babies face a journey from the very first moment of birth.
[tranquil music plays.]
The tropical coast of Central America.
[uplifting music plays.]
For thousands of sea creatures, it marks the start of a journey.
[uplifting music continues.]
These are olive ridley turtles.
Every one, an expectant mother.
[uplifting music continues.]
They've swum a whole ocean to get here.
[tranquil music plays.]
To the beach where their lives began.
[tranquil music continues.]
Each year, they come back to nest.
And produce the next generation of sea turtles.
[tranquil music continues.]
It's known as the arribada, or arrival.
[tranquil music continues.]
Over just a few days, millions of eggs will be buried here.
[tranquil music continues.]
[tranquil music fades.]
This mom is one of the last to arrive.
She heads to the back of the beach, beyond the tide line where her clutch of 100 eggs will be safe from the waves.
With her babies all tucked in, it's time to leave.
But her mission hasn't gone unnoticed.
[tense music plays.]
A hunter is stalking the sands.
A jaguar.
[tense music continues.]
With his own forest home shrinking, he's been forced to hunt further afield.
[tense music continues.]
He's discovered there's food to be found on the beach.
[tense music continues.]
If mom can reach the surf, she might just make it.
[suspenseful music plays.]
[suspenseful music crescendos.]
[melancholy music plays.]
Coming here, she's paid the ultimate sacrifice a mother can make for the offspring she'll never meet.
[melancholy music continues.]
But in a matter of weeks her story will be continued.
[melancholy music continues.]
[melancholy music fades.]
Being on the move doesn't always involve a journey.
Sometimes, it's about taking those first tentative steps towards independence.
[tranquil music plays.]
This is Indonesia's dense tropical jungle.
[tranquil music continues.]
Up in the canopy, 70 feet high, an orangutan.
[tranquil music continues.]
A mother with her tiny baby.
Few have a stronger bond in the animal world.
[tranquil music continues.]
Mina, her daughter, is just a few months old.
She's been clinging to her mom since birth.
Using her body as a climbing frame [tranquil music continues.]
to feed even to sleep.
[tranquil music continues.]
[tranquil music fades.]
But now, Mina's at the age when she wants more freedom.
[tranquil music plays.]
After all, in the jungle, there's a lot to explore.
A sheer variety of animals and plants.
[tranquil music continues.]
But which trees are safe to climb? What's on the menu? And where? That's why every minute of her first seven years will be spent with mom.
[baby orangutan squeals.]
It'll take that long to acquire all her knowledge and wisdom.
[baby orangutan squeals.]
But Mina's got a problem.
[baby orangutan squeals.]
Her mom's first baby died suddenly in infancy.
[melancholy music plays.]
It seems the memory of her firstborn has left her fearful.
[melancholy music continues.]
Every attempt Mina makes to leave her side is thwarted.
[melancholy music continues.]
She's not allowed to climb.
Or try things out.
Even when they're tantalizingly close.
[melancholy music continues.]
This overprotectiveness is holding Mina back.
[melancholy music continues.]
[melancholy music fades.]
But this baby is a bit of a rebel.
[jaunty music plays.]
[baby orangutan squeals.]
Desperate for some freedom, she starts pushing against the boundaries.
[jaunty music continues.]
Her constant fidgeting wears her mother down.
[jaunty music continues.]
She never gives her a break.
[jaunty music continues.]
And, of course, there are downsides to keeping your baby this close.
[jaunty music plays.]
[jaunty music fades.]
Mom's finally got the message.
[tranquil music plays.]
It's just a small win for Mina.
Hardly the freedom of the forest.
[tranquil music continues.]
But it's a milestone for her mom.
[tranquil music continues.]
In letting Mina take her first steps she's realized that part of being a good mom is letting your loved ones go.
[tranquil music fades.]
[tranquil music plays.]
It's a warm, clear night in Costa Rica.
[tranquil music continues.]
And new life is stirring.
[tranquil music continues.]
Under cover of darkness, tiny olive ridley turtles crawl from their buried nests.
[tranquil music continues.]
Each of these baby hatchlings is driven by instinct, following the brightest horizon to reach the sea.
[tranquil music continues.]
There's just 70 feet of sand to cross.
But if you're less than two inches long, that's a marathon.
[exciting music plays.]
As thousands begin to emerge the synchrony of the hatching becomes clear.
[exciting music continues.]
This midnight flight has been widely anticipated.
[exciting music fades.]
[foreboding music plays.]
Predators have turned up to take advantage of a feast.
[tense music plays.]
Even an old enemy is back.
[tense music continues.]
Picked off one by one, thousands won't make it.
[tense music continues.]
But of those who run the gauntlet, some will get through to reach the safety of the sea.
[tense music fades.]
Up beyond the tide line, the last to emerge.
[tranquil music plays.]
The hatchlings have reached the surface of their late mother's nest.
For this baby female, a first view of dawn.
[tranquil music continues.]
But now, in the clear light of day, it's the very worst time to run.
[tense music plays.]
With no one to guide her, the plucky hatchling makes her move.
[tense music continues.]
Tangled tree roots must seem like a mountain range to a tiny turtle.
[tense music continues.]
Her siblings find a way through.
[tense music continues.]
While with one tumble, she's a sitting target.
[tense music continues.]
But she's not done yet.
[tense music continues.]
It's a straight sprint ahead.
But out in the open, there's nowhere to hide.
[tense music continues.]
Black vultures stalk the sands.
And up above, frigate birds mount relentless attack.
[foreboding music plays.]
On this beach [suspenseful music crescendos.]
it seems there are a hundred ways to die.
[tense music plays.]
She's almost within striking distance of the surf.
Now, it's all down to luck.
[tense music crescendos.]
[tranquil music plays.]
Where her mother's journey ended could hers be just beginning? [tranquil music continues.]
[uplifting music plays.]
In reaching the ocean, this baby turtle will spend the next 15 years at sea, before finding her way back to this same beach to lay her own eggs and continue her mother's legacy.
[uplifting music fades.]
With a new dawn in Southern Africa, comes excitement.
[jaunty music plays.]
Their mother has a tasty treat for Kaya and her brothers.
During the night, she and her sister finally made a kill.
[jaunty music continues.]
Now she has the chance to give the cubs their first taste of meat.
But to get there, they have to cross the Sand River.
[jaunty music continues.]
[cub squeals.]
[cub squeals.]
Like most cats [cub squeals.]
Kaya's afraid of water.
It's the darkness of it.
[tense music plays.]
The strange creatures lurking in the depths.
[grunting.]
It's not safe for little Kaya to attempt to swim.
[tense music plays.]
Whereas her big brothers must fend for themselves.
[tense music continues.]
[cub squeals.]
[tranquil music plays.]
The cub's aunt has been guarding the kill, waiting for their arrival.
[tranquil music continues.]
The brothers are the first to approach.
They've never had solids before.
[tranquil music continues.]
They soon tuck in, while Kaya is typically wary.
[cub growls.]
[tranquil music continues.]
[cub growls.]
But there's something about that smell that's irresistible.
[tranquil music continues.]
This fresh meat, full of protein, will be a nutritious supplement to mom's milk.
[tranquil music fades.]
But they've got visitors.
[ominous music plays.]
Hooded vultures.
Scavengers, forever on the lookout for their next meal.
[ominous music continues.]
[lion growls.]
The adults know this is very bad news.
Because where there's one vulture soon, there will be dozens.
[foreboding music plays.]
To any predator, circling vultures advertise a kill.
[foreboding music continues.]
And the MalaMala pride happen to be on patrol close by.
[tense music plays.]
Mom's unsure how they'll react to her cubs.
[tense music continues.]
[growling.]
But they're only interested in the carcass.
[tense music continues.]
[cub squeals.]
[growling.]
As the pride rush in, these are the very worst circumstances for the cubs' first meeting with their family.
[cub squeals.]
[tense music continues.]
Getting between a lion and food can be fatal for a vulnerable youngster.
[tense music continues.]
[cub squeals.]
[growling.]
In all the commotion [growling.]
their mom loses her hard-won kill.
[suspenseful music plays.]
[lion growls.]
[lion growls.]
But worst of all, as they run for cover, she loses sight of her cubs.
[suspenseful music continues.]
[lion roars.]
- [suspenseful music crescendos.]
- [lion growls.]
[dramatic music plays.]