All language subtitles for Baby Animals Series 1 12of13 Offbeat Adaptations 1080p

Humans are hardwired
to find babies adorable.

We even find these
animals cute,

despite their lack
of classic beauty.

Is it possible to be so ugly,
you're cute?

(♪♪♪)

This is Toliver.

He's a seven-week-old
Baird Tapir,

living at Reid Park Zoo
in Tucson, Arizona.

Don't recognize a tapir?

Well, they're not exactly
calendar material.

And you're unlikely to see these
endangered animals in the wild.

Only 5500 Baird tapirs remain

in the forests of Central
and South America.

So they're a rare sight except
for in zoos like this one.

That makes Toliver precious.

Just ask his mother.

Tessa is a very
affectionate mother.

She gives lots of time cleaning
him and vocalizing with him

and smelling and bonding.

They like to snuggle up
next to each other.

From the start, Toliver has
been an especially playful

and curious young tapir.

He started coming right up
to the keepers on day one

and checking us out.

Mom, on the hand,
doesn't like him to explore.

She's very overprotective,
so as he's wandering around

she often is chasing
right behind him

and trying to keep him
where she wants him to be.

Clearly he takes
after his mother.

He's definitely
inherited her snout.

It's called a prehensile nose
which means that they can use

that nose as an extra hand to be
able to pluck leaves off of

trees and put those leaves in
their mouth, to explore around.

That snout, which is his
nose and upper lip in one,

gives Toliver an
excellent sense of smell.

And it'll serve an additional
purpose when he grows up.

Tapirs, like many other mammals,
can sniff the air

for chemical signals
emitted by other tapirs.

It's called the
Flehmen response.

This type of communication
lets adult males figure out

when a partner might
be ready to mate.

Toliver's already starting to
practice a bit with his mom.

You'd think with this superb
sense of smell that Baird tapirs

would find another
behavior to be distasteful.

It's called coprophagia,

which means that
they like to eat poop.

The reason that for that
is it helps maintain

the good bacteria
in their stomach.

Helpful for the
tapirs' digestion,

but a smelly challenge
for the zookeepers!

They like to go to
the bathroom in the water.

It's a very large animal
and keeping that water clean

is a constant challenge.

So we have a really big filter
on our pool, but even with

the filter we always have
to constantly be cleaning it.

A rare animal, yes.

Glamorous, not so much.

Glamour's not important, though,
if your home is the rainforests,

marshes and mangroves of
Central and South America.

But being comfortable
in the water is.

That's their main
form of defense.

If a predator's chasing them
they can go in the water

to hide from them and so
they're very amphibious.

Toliver is still young, and
swimming is an acquired skill.

His mother seems unconvinced.

Even though he should be
an excellent swimmer,

mom is still not letting him
in the deep end of the pool,

so he goes in and he splashes
around in the shallow end,

but if he tries to go to the
deep end mom herds him off

and pushes him back
the other direction.

As a baby, Toliver's pretty
good at hide and seek,

thanks to his
unconventional appearance.

When tapir calves
are first born

they look like
watermelons with legs.

They've got stripes
and spots on them.

It's a form of camouflage
for when they're little.

if you think about what a
rainforest floor looks like

with the lights that
come through the leaves

you'll see kind of a
dappled light pattern,

and so those spots and
stripes help them blend in

to the rainforest floor so that
they can hide from predators.

At about four months, the
stripes will start to fade,

and they'll be totally gone

when Toliver is about
seven months old.

Change comes quick.

When he was born, Toliver
weighed about 14 pounds,

but he's growing fast.

As an adult male Baird tapir,

he will ultimately weigh
a hefty 500 pounds!

Speaking of adult males,
Toliver's dad is around too,

but not exactly a
presence in his life.

Tapir fathers aren't typically
involved in rearing.

So dad gets the enclosure
only when mom and Toliver

aren't using it.

We keep him back there
for the safety of the baby

but also for the
safety of the dad.

Mom is very defensive
and she outweighs dad

by about a hundred pounds

and so we're worried that if
we were to put him out there

that she might hurt dad just
trying to protect the baby.

Dad's backseat role seems to
suit Toliver and his mom

just fine.

They seem very, very happy
having this space to themselves.

Gelada baboons do
things a little differently

than most monkeys.

No bananas on the menu,
or swinging in the trees.

But group hugs?

That's more their style.

At Dudley Zoo, near Birmingham
England, two male gelada babies

also have something else figured
out: be cute while you're young.

Because that's not your destiny.

This is.

But these two don't know and
don't care what they look like.

Right now, half-brothers
Billy and Ambo

are only interested
in their mother's love.

Addis is Billy's mother, the
family's most senior female.

That experience comes in
handy with this wild child.

Billy is very headstrong.

He very much knows what he wants
to do and he always runs around

and pretty much
gets his own way.

He's just very, very naughty.

Then there's
nine-month old Ambo,

on his mother Tanna's back.

Ambo is the total opposite.

Ambo is a complete wuss,
bless him.

He's just really-- he's
very clingy to his mother

and because Tanna is
a first time mother,

so she has been a lot
more careful with him

in sort of how
she looks after him.

Billy and Ambo's dad
is alpha male, Bono.

With so many personalities,
there's potential for

high drama, but a blended family
is the norm for Geladas.

A typical family has an adult
male with a harem of anywhere

from three to six females,
and their offspring.

Bono's not huge - gelada males
get to be about 2 feet tall -

but he does have a
hair-raising mane.

He's mostly silent,
but absolutely strong.

Bono is actually
a really good male.

He's quite calm and
he doesn't freak out,

he just stares and goes, 'No,
you can't actually hurt me'.

He's just quite
happy just eating

and going around
doing his own thing.

He doesn't want these
little ones jumping on him

trying to play with him.

Females keep Bono
and the family in line.

if they don't like him they
will all team up together

and drive him away
because female Geladas

don't put up with any nonsense
most time from the males.

It's a small family at
the zoo, but in the wild,

families join together,
especially if food is abundant.

These foraging bands can grow
to several hundred members.

Geladas come from the high
mountain meadows of Ethiopia.

It's unlike the savannah

or forest habitat
of other primates.

They've adapted to life on
steep cliffs, few trees,

and limited food.

The zoo tries to mimic
that mountain habitat.

We've designed the enclosure
to sort of take into effect

some of the things they
would encounter in the wild,

so in the wild you will
find them up in mountains,

they will sleep on rocky
cliff ledges, which is sort of

to help them protect
themselves from predators.

So we've got a few rocky
cliff faces that they will go

and sit under and maybe
have a midday nap in.

Billy and Ambo like to spend
time here with their moms.

Billy's a bit of a wild card,

but both boys are slowly
changing their habits.

They are starting to spend
a lot more time grazing now
like the

adults and they do the shuffling
gait, which all the adults do.

The shuffle is the gelada's
bum-sliding move.

They do it because they're
almost exclusively grass eaters.

The problem is, grass offers
very little nutrition.

So they will try and
save as much energy

as they possibly can.

So mainly they will
just sit on their bums

and just shuffle along like
this stuffing their faces

with grass as they go along,

and the babies are
starting to do that a lot more.

Unlike many monkeys,
Geladas rarely climb trees.

In fact, humans are the only
primates to spend more time

on the ground than Geladas.

And like us, they've got
cushioned bottoms!

The difference is
Geladas are meant to sit;

humans, not so much.

Most other baboon species sport
a bright red butt to show off.

Not Geladas.

It would be a waste of time,
them having 'cause they do sit

on their bums all day.

So they've instead evolved to
have a nice bright red chest.

They're sometimes called
the bleeding heart baboon

because of it and it serves
the same purpose as the bum.

It can show when the females are
in estrus or it shows dominance

within the group, the
deeper the red it is.

Geladas looking for a
mate will come running

when they see that
bright red chest.

The boys are still growing into
their hairless red chests,

so they communicate
in other ways.

Not through touch, mind you.

Many other primates spend a lot
of time grooming each other,

but geladas' hands are
busy picking grass

up to 10 hours a day.

So instead of touching,

they care for each other
with their voices.

Biologists refer to it
as "vocal grooming".

It's a very wimpy sound,
particularly hearing it from the

big males, but they go along and
just sort of go (makes sound)

and it's a strange little sound
to hear for such a big animal.

The babies have started
doing that with the adults

as well now.

Geladas also communicate
using body and facial
expressions,

some which give
them a reputation

for being scary and mean.

So raising their eyebrows,
that would be

sort of like a mild
threat for them.

Just letting you know they're
not completely happy with you.

They do lip flipping as
well, which would be just

totally warning you away
that you're in trouble.

They have quite large canines,
they will flip the top lip up

and just bare their
big impressive teeth,

and then you know to
back off from them then.

That grimace is meant to
ward off predators, or rivals.

After all, those teeth could
really do some damage.

The boys have their own
repertoire of expressions.

The pair of them they do have
a little thing with us keepers.

They will sort of bob their
tongues out and smack the lips

when they see us,
so it's kind of like

a friendly, reassuring
gesture for a Gelada.

They're cute for now,

and Billy and Ambo have
personalities to match.

The keepers are
enjoying it while they can.

When Billy and Ambo are adults,
that might not be as much fun.

When giant anteaters
get up close and personal,

it may be much more
personal than you'd like.

They'll extend
their snouts towards you.

And then a very long, very
slobbery, very sticky, tongue.

It's kind of like
intimidating at first but then
you realize

that there's nothing there
that can hurt you.

It's just a big tongue
that comes out.

Those snouts, and freakishly
long tongues, look unusual,

even to people that work
with animals full-time.

They are definitely
the weirdest animal I've ever
worked with.

In terms of weird,

the only thing that can
top one is another.

Yep, that's a baby anteater
on top of her mom.

Riding on the back of mom
who's a 108 pounds,

that's got to be cute
'cause it's just like a

double decker bus.

This is Maui, a
not-so-little 4-month-old

at Santa Ana zoo in California.

She can be hard to see,
even in plain sight.

Maui blends in when
she's riding on her mom,

which she does
most of the time.

They look just like
a bump on mom,

but of the same color pattern
and striping and everything.

Their tail is not as long,
the hairs aren't as long,

but they're fully haired and
look just like a miniature.

This baby can conceal
itself in other ways too.

When they sleep they curl
like a dog, but their tail
hinges

at their rear end and just folds
like a big fan over them.

They just look like a
little dark bush or a rock

just sitting there.

They need all the tricks
they can muster to survive.

They're hunted and
eaten in parts

of Central and South America.

And they're classified
as vulnerable.

This zoo is doing what it can
to build up the population.

Maui is the result of a
successful breeding program.

When she gets a little older,
as early as two years -

she'll be ready to
have her own pups,

and she'll go to another
zoo to become a mom.

It may sound harsh, separating
moms from offspring so young,

but it's what anteaters
do in the wild, anyway.

Once the babies are weaned
off mom, which is somewhere near

that one-year period, mom's
going to usually run into

another male soon
and get rebred.

At that point the baby
can't be around mom

and so mom kicks the baby out.

Anteaters may look bizarre,
but they're nothing to laugh at.

They're built to fight.

Weighing roughly 100
pounds, giant anteaters are the

largest of the four
species of anteaters.

They have extremely powerful
shoulders and walk on their

knuckles, to protect their
most powerful weapon: claws.

They have two large claws in
the centre and then two smaller
ones

on the outside and
they can shred you.

They hit with those things, it's
going to tear a hole in you

and that's their main defense.

These claws come in handy in
the wild when fighting jaguars

and pumas, their biggest
threats other than humans.

Thankfully, the baby anteaters
here don't claw their keepers.

You can pick them up and hold
them; and as long as you don't

do anything quick
they're usually real easygoing

and just sit there
in your arms.

And our female is very good,
especially in the morning

she'll just sleep and you can
do anything to the baby.

She probably knows it's not
good to claw the hand that feeds
her,

especially one that
provides this

nutritious, delicious gruel.

They just lap it up.

And actually our male
is extremely fast

at getting the gruel out.

Our female's a little more
dainty when she eats.

In the wild, anteaters
have to work harder

for their steady diet of
ants, termites and grubs.

They sniff them out
with their snout.

Their sense of smell is
40 times better than ours.

Once they've
picked up the scent,

giant anteaters use their
claws to get at the bugs.

Then they use
their snout as a mouth.

They don't have to chew,
so they don't have teeth.

Their tongues are covered
in sticky saliva,

which helps them hoover up
to 35,000 insects a day.

And a giant anteater
won't have any problem

getting that two-foot-long
tongue into tight spaces.

If you have pockets or a
sleeve the nose goes in that
hole

and then the tongue comes
out and starts going

bam, bam, bam, bam and
starts feeling around

looking for things to
pull out of that hole.

Maui's primary diet
is still mom's milk.

It will be till she's
about five months old.

But she's already willing to try
other things - like yogurt.

Her curiosity goes beyond food
to exploring her world.

Some of these little babies
will stay on mom all the time.

Maui seems to be a little
bit more adventurous.

Most of my smaller ones
like that I rarely see 'em off,

but we see Maui off a lot more.

Curious, adventurous, with
some very peculiar body parts.

And sort of cute.

But it won't be
long before Maui

is a fully-grown,
fierce, giant anteater.

Wild and woolly
doesn't suit everyone,

but this fellow wears it well.

This is Charlie.

He's a Bactrian camel,
living at Dudley zoo

near Birmingham, England.

And he's proud father of the
newest camel in the compound:

Fergie.

She's just eight weeks old.

And this is Fergie's mom, Mandy.

These lumpy humpy mammals
form a tight-knit family unit,

and they've been that
way from day one.

Fergie was born in the
stable with her mom and dad

and she's stayed with
them at all times.

The only time she's ever been
separated was when we've had to

weigh her or just give her
a little check-up.

But now, as you see, she's
very happy living with them.

You may think Fergie
has the kind of face

only a mother could love.

But Charlie dotes on her, too.

He's a great big,
seven-foot-high softie.

Male camels can be
quite aggressive,

obviously when they hit
maturity, but since he's had

Fergie around, he's a lot
more chilled out.

Fergie may have
softened him up too much.

Dad obviously used to be in
charge of the little group but

now I think he's finding that
he's not as in charge anymore.

Of course, we all know
who's really running the show.

Fergie's in charge and mom
will do anything for Fergie

so he tends to have to
take the backseat now

and do what mom and baby want.

Fergie and her camel
parents have some features

that might look odd to us,
but if she were in the wild,

they'd be key to her survival.

For example, Fergie could stand
within a few minutes of birth,

thanks to her large,
even-toed feet.

Camels' big feet provide steady
footing on the uneven terrain

of central Asian
deserts and steppes.

They walk in herds
across sand and rock,

sometimes for days on end.

They can run, too; up
to twenty miles an hour.

If a young camel like Fergie
couldn't keep up,

she'd be in big trouble.

Those big eyes and wide noses

are also adapted to
desert conditions.

They can close their nostrils
when there's sandstorms.

They've got two extra eyelashes
to shelter their eyes

from the sand.

Even their ears are
protected from the sand.

They're lined with hair.

Deserts are a place
of harsh extremes.

Temperatures can plummet,
or it can be blisteringly hot.

The camel's shaggy coat
works for both.

In the winter they grow
this great big thick coat

and in the summer they
molt and it all comes off

and they have a very thin coat.

So they're very adapted
to the weather

that they have to live in.

That very furry coat is
one of the things that

distinguishes them from
their middle eastern cousin,

the one-humped dromedary.

When you hear the word camel,
you probably picture these guys.

They're usually the ones
in the desert scenes

but Bactrian camels have
star quality, too.

Just check out that profile.

And what about those humps?

Dromedaries only have one hump.

Bactrians have two.

Right now, Fergie's humps
are a little hard to see.

At first you couldn't
see them at all.

They blended in with her fur.

She's got lovely
thick, curly fur.

I think it'll be a long, long
time before those humps

start to fill out, as she does,
and get the proper two-hump

look like her mom and dad.

Of all the things that
help camels survive,

humps are most important.

Imagine walking
hundreds of miles

with no water or food in sight.

You'd be smart to
bring along supplies.

Humps are like a
camel's backpack.

But the contents
might surprise you.

Everybody thinks
they store water.

They don't store water, it's
just a fat source so that they

can go for days without food and
water and they can use the fat

as a food source.

The humps flop over as
that supply is used up.

Since they can go without
water for long stretches,

they know to load up
when they get the chance.

A camel in the wild can drink
up to 30 gallons at once,

in as little as 13 minutes.

You won't see that
at the zoo though.

They have a steady
supply of water here.

When it comes to food, Fergie's
still feeding from her mother.

She will until
she's one and a half.

But she's
exploring other tastes.

She's started having a little
smell of the hay and the straw

and having a little nibble and
we've just started introducing

a few calf pellets just so she
can get the taste of solids.

This family also enjoys
chewing on bark.

Being able to eat tough
vegetation, even prickly plants,

is an adaptation
for desert survival.

For Fergie, this peculiar
combination of her mother's milk

and rough vegetation
appears to work.

She's thriving.

She's so big.

But she's estimated
about 5 foot tall now,

so she's growing taller
and taller every day.

It's a hopeful sign for a
species in danger of extinction.

People need to
know how rare they are.

They're critically endangered.

A lot of people think they're
quite ugly but when you

come and see them they've
got a lovely personality.

Fergie has clearly
charmed her keepers.

I just love her.
She's just wonderful.

Every day she's growing.

Every day she's doing
something different

and she's just a pleasure
to watch and work with.

Love and affection for a
lumpy, long-legged creature.

Now that's something
you don't hear everyday.

As these strange
lookers illustrate,

baby animals
aren't always cute.

But what might seem ugly to us

is usually an incredibly
useful adaptation.

Tapirs' noses, anteaters'
tongues, baboons' chests -

they're all features meant to
help these animals survive.

(♪♪♪)

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