All language subtitles for Trek Spy On The Wildebeest 1of2 The Journey 1080p HDTV x264 AC3 MVGroup org

This is the great
wildebeest migration
as you've never seen it before.

The story of Africa's
greatest travellers

is captured by
state-of-the-art spycams.

Only cameras concealed in
the most unlikely places

could capture such intimate images.

Here, they spy on the moment the
wildebeest cross Kenya's Mara River.

Their greatest challenge on
the astonishing 2,000 mile journey
they make each year.

The hidden cameras immerse us
in the action,

experiencing the drama
as the wildebeest see it.

They show what it's like
to be on the hit list
of every African predator.

Wildebeest undertake
the largest migration of
land mammals on the planet.

Their epic march creates a spectacle
that's beyond compare.

Over one and a quarter million
wildebeest

participate in the migration,

but each individual has its own
incredible story of survival.

The adult females
carry new life inside them.

These yet-to-be-born calves
will be the focus of this story.

We will see how they overcome
the greatest dangers,

whether from predators...
or from their journey.

Hundreds of individuals were filmed
to recreate the calf's story

as it makes the most challenging
trek that any mammal
ever undertakes.

After crossing the Mara River,

the herds follow the seasonal rains

and head south to the lush plains

of Tanzania's Serengeti.

Here, volcanic soils create pasture
rich in both minerals and nutrients.

And it's here that wildebeest
make their longest stop

on a journey that takes a year
to go full circle.

Their appearance
has been eagerly anticipated.

For lush pasture is not the only
reason for this annual get-together.

Africa's top predators are
assembling for a very special event.

Each February,
these plains experience
the world's largest baby boom.

In just three short weeks, over
half a million calves will be born.

It's with this moment of birth
that our story begins.

Delivery is quick,
every minute counts.

Mother and calf
must form a lasting bond

based on smell, taste and sight.

It's this relationship
that will sustain them
on the long journey that lies ahead.

This is his most vulnerable time.

Hyenas - they may
commute the distance of
two marathons to get here,

but for such easy pickings,
the rewards are worth it.

Vulnerable newborns
are just what they're looking for.

Other antelopes
hide their young away,

but wildebeest calves must be ready
to follow their mother from birth.

He has just minutes
to find his feet.

Hyenas prefer the easy option,

and prey doesn't come
much easier than this.

To survive,
the calf must master in minutes what
a human baby takes a year to learn.

Hyenas separate
as they move through the herds.

In this way,
they cover more ground.

They hunt with both sight
and sense of smell.

The calf learns to use his legs
faster than any other mammal.

He's up and walking
in under four minutes.

It's not a moment too soon.

He faces his first deadly challenge.

He's already proving his strength,

few calves can outrun a hyena
on their first day.

And he's taken the first steps on
a journey that will last a lifetime.

Danger past,
he suckles for the first time.

This begins the unbreakable bond
between mother and offspring.

One that will last the whole journey
until they return here next year.

Tortoise-cam
is just one of 20 different cameras

used to film the calf's story.

Between them, they will record
over 500 hours of behaviour.

Tortoise-cam's harmless appearance

lets him infiltrate the herd.

Protected by a hard shell, he's
never afraid to stick his neck out.

Helped by other
undercover agents,

he will spy on the calf
every step of the way.

Dawn brings no respite from danger.

Having young together helps
spread the risk posed by predators.

The mothers form nursery herds,
where newborns are hidden
among the older calves.

A territorial male attaches himself
to these nursing mothers

and drives out
any males older than a year.

Ousting the males creates
small secure nursing herds

within the super herd.

The calf may sometimes
get caught in the chase,

but having a male around
adds to his security.

Lions are an ever-present danger
and when the calves are born,

nomadic lions
swell the enemy's ranks.

As the male tries to keep control,
the herd easily becomes distracted.

To increase their chances,
pride lions often hunt as a team.

One lioness stalks directly forward.

Her aim is to close the gap
as quickly as possible
without being seen.

Another attempts
a flanking manoeuvre.

They will try to stalk to within
30 metres before risking an attack.

Lions find it hard to outrun
their prey,

so every inch nearer
tips the odds in their favour.

One lioness finds a target...

the calf.

But the herd panics across her path,

and she spots a new victim.

Both calf and mother escape.

But in the chaos, the calf
is separated from his mother.

He desperately needs to find her
if he is to survive.

But the mother is just one
among thousands.

He checks every wildebeest he meets,
but the females reject any calf
that's not their own.

Without the herd,
he is hopelessly vulnerable,

and the lions are not far away.

The lions may be distracted now,
but they have many mouths to feed.

The birth of their cubs
coincides with this bumper harvest.

The calf's smell is unfamiliar.

He will never be adopted
by another mother,

even if she has lost her own calf.

The herd drifts away.

His call is unique,
if his mother hears his cries,
she will react instantly.

Vultures keep an eye on everything
that happens in the migration.

They react quickly
to any new opportunity.

Lions don't give up their kill
easily, but with bellies full,

it's easier to take a more
relaxed view of scroungers.

But for some,
it's simply a matter of principle.

The vultures are used to this game.

They make their living
stealing food from lions.

Time is on the vultures' side.

He may be frustrated,
but he's just wasting his energy.

As the day heats up, the desire
to defend the carcass cools down.

This is a battle that vultures
invariably win.

Lost calves are so desperate
for company,

they will attempt to befriend
any likely animal.

Even zebra are better than nothing.

But there is no warm welcome here
for a lonely stranger.

Hyenas have now picked up
the scent of the carcass.

But a lone calf
makes a more tempting alternative.

Instinctively, he heads for
the centre of the nearest herd.

It may not be his herd,
or even his own kind,

but this was a fortunate move.

Zebras often tackle a threat
head-on and a raging stallion,

at full throttle,
is a force to be reckoned with.

By comparison,
the carcass is easy meat,

even if it means battling it out
with the vultures.

Between them, they will quickly
polish off the lot.

It's midday, and the lost calf
is feeling the heat.

Even his reluctant companions
leave him.

Starved of his mother's milk,
he's close to exhaustion.

No calf below six months old
will survive on its own.

But there is still hope
on the horizon.

The herd returns.

Whilst there is fresh grass to eat,
herds don't move far.

He searches again,
but even to a calf,

all adult wildebeest look the same.

Sound is a more reliable guide,

he can recognise his mother's call
among a thousand others.

A glimmer of recognition,

but smell is the final confirmation
as the pair are reunited.

Remarkably, 95% of lost calves
become reunited with their mothers.

Suckling reinforces the strong bond
between them.

Once more, the herd provides
security and protection,

especially against an old enemy.

Now, a lost eland calf
has become a target.

The wildebeest calf was lucky
that he didn't suffer the same fate.

Dung-cam, a camera modelled
on a pile of elephant dung,

is soon capturing some
rarely seen behaviour.

Hyenas have devised a method
of extending the shelf life

of their surplus food.

The eland calf is destined for
the same underwater larder,

as are the remnants
of the wildebeest carcass.

Water not only hides the food,

but conceals the smell
from other scavengers.

Skull-cam is in dangerous company.

Hyenas spend the hottest
part of the day cooling off,

but this is also the time

when thirsty calves
urgently need a drink.

They have no choice
but to face off the enemy.

Dung-cam takes up battle stations,

but a gorged and lazy hyena
has other things on his mind.

Wildebeest have learnt to live
alongside their troublesome
neighbours,

making the most of
the hyenas' off-duty moments.

But a calf is never
truly out of danger.

Hyenas can turn nasty at any moment.

But then
something remarkable happens,

the wildebeest go on the offensive.

The mother, defending her calf,
sends the hyena packing.

The hyena has deadly enemies
of its own.

This is the worst mistake
of its life.

Hyenas will steal food from lions
and kill their cubs.

This looks like revenge.

A lioness vents her anger too,
but all she gets is a bloody nose.

The war between lions and hyenas
over food never ends.

Even for a whole pride,
a hyena is a tough adversary.

It's late April, and the lush
green plains have been eaten away

and become a barren wasteland.

Dust devils whip the dust
into a swirling column.

A new and puzzling sight
for a three-month-old calf.

As the choking clouds
make life difficult,

the herd treks southwards

seeking greener pasture
and fresh water.

Our spy-cams travel with them.

Meet dragonfly-cam.

Small and quiet, it can fly close
to the herd without causing alarm.

It tracks the wildebeest south
as they follow the seasonal rains.

For higher views,
stealth-cam takes over.

It can zoom into a detail
of the herd.

Ahead lies Lake Ndutu,
in the far south of the Serengeti.

By now, the calf is used to being
on the move.

but as the herd approaches the lake,

he is about to encounter
a new challenge.

Lake Ndutu is a soda lake
loaded with corrosive minerals.

Although the calf must be thirsty,

he has no alternative but to
cross it as quickly as possible.

The calf needs to hurry.

Too long in the water,
and the soda can burn.

The calf's first experience
of deep water is traumatic,

and he still has a way to go.

A mile across, the lake is
a true test of the calf's stamina.

Fortunately, there are
no crocodiles to worry about,

and he's taken to swimming
as easily as he took up walking.

Powerful strokes drive him forward.

Guided by his mother,
the calf makes it to the shallows.

This ordeal by water
is just a taste of things to come.

Having crossed the lake,
the herd veers westwards

into new fresh pasture, where the
seasonal rains have recently fallen.

Grass-cam is there to greet them.

But it's natural grass
that revitalises the herd.

Replenished by these lush meadows,

there's even time
for a game of chase.

It's not only calves
that are expert at this game.

Cheetahs are the fastest running
mammals on earth,

and one in every two of their hunts
are successful.

For the calves,
playing is a form of training,
it hones their escaping skills.

But for all their speed, cheetahs
still need the element of surprise.

A cheetah cannot sustain top speed
for more than 15 seconds
without overheating.

Spotting the predator before he ran
gave the calf a vital head start.

In a few weeks, following the yearly
cycle of the rains,

the calf's herd
moves northwestwards.

They finally reach the acacia
woodlands of the western Serengeti.

It's taken the calf
four months to get here.

Here, the calf will find
welcome shade

and good grazing
between the trees.

But here lurks Africa's
most elusive predator.

Leopards are the stealth hunters
of the trek.

Masters of surprise,
ambush is their modus operandi.

But for a six-month-old cub,
a stone curlew is more his size.

The bird's distraction display
is a tactic to lure the leopard
away from its nest.

Today, the cub only manages
to ruffle a few feathers.

It will be at least a year
before he becomes a serious threat.

It's June, and midsummer madness

seems to have gone
to the bulls' heads.

This tree-rubbing
is a way to vent their aggression.

The thrashing of young saplings
by a quarter of a million bulls

helps stop the spread
of the woodlands.

The destruction inadvertently
preserves their precious grasslands.

As well as needing good pasture,
the wildebeest must make
a daily trip to water.

Simply waiting for a meal to arrive

is the lazy lion's approach
to hunting.

It's just a matter of remembering
to wake up on time.

The calf has every reason
to be wary, for this
is when most ambushes occur.

The need for daily water
helps drive the great trek.

The entire population drinks three
Olympic-sized swimming pools of it
each day.

No longer dependent
solely on mother's milk,

the calf guzzles his fair share.

Head down,
he is at his most vulnerable.

They sense danger.
The lioness must make her move.

She isolates the calf,
but he's more sure-footed now...

..and dust creates
the perfect smokescreen.

Only one in five hunts
are ever successful.

The trek moves on northwards
through the woodlands.

The herd will soon arrive
at one of the most dangerous spots

in the whole of Africa.

The calm waters of the
Grumeti River are deceptive.

To capture the upcoming drama,

the river has been staked out
with a variety of spy-cams.

A new camera makes an appearance.

Hippo-cam is designed to blend in
with the local residents.

Hippos can be aggressive,
but something far more
sinister lurks here.

These are the biggest
crocodiles in Africa.

Even Africa's biggest mammal
gives them a wide berth.

Some are over 20 feet long
and weigh more than a tonne.

They may not have eaten
for a whole year.

But food is about to arrive.

It's rush hour, and for a baboon,

the traffic to the river
can become quite a hazard.

It's best to look both ways!

The crocodile's long hungry wait
is now over.

Wildebeest are always nervous facing
new situations and in this case,

who can blame them?

For the calf,
it's a totally new experience,

but the confidence of others
boosts his own confidence.

If undisturbed, wildebeest can drink
eight litres in a single session.

As his confidence builds,
he is oblivious to what lurks
beneath the surface.

The herd is bewildered. Some have
never seen a crocodile before.

Even as the full horror unfurls,

there is great confusion
about just what is going on.

And that was just the first attack.

300 hungry crocodiles
live in the Grumeti River.

Wildebeest react differently
to crocodiles than other predators.

Even the adults seem unsure of
just how much danger they're in.

The calf's desire
to quench his thirst

overcomes any fear he may have.

The crocodiles manoeuvre
around them with surprising ease.

They are intelligent hunters,

plotting their attack
with precision.

A strike can happen at any time.

Despite the carnage,
the mother and calf survive.

They stampede back onto the plains.

For the baboons,
it's more like a spectator sport.

They might as well settle down,
a single croc

can take some time
to overpower its victim.

But crocodiles are co-operative
feeders, they work together.

The death roll breaks the prey
into bite-sized chunks,

but aggression can spill over.

The calf has survived
his first day at the Grumeti,

but as the river is
the only water for 30 miles,

tomorrow,
he must run the gauntlet again.

Meanwhile, our tortoise-cam
has found a friend.

For tortoise-cam,
it's soon back to business.

And these bulls
are not to be messed with.

It's the rutting season.

Three weeks of mayhem in which
the males fight over the females.

Not the time to be stuck
in the danger zone.

It's a test of
real strength and stamina.

The winner returns to the females.

At this time, a collective madness
appears to infect the males.

The clashes can be quite violent.

Each bull tries to round up
as many cows as possible.

The calf gets caught up
in the confusion,

as his mother
is corralled by the bull.

It's a chaotic and confusing time
for the calf.

During the rut,
bulls barely eat or sleep,

they're so charged up
with testosterone.

They have to stay on guard
for cattle rustlers.

It's total pandemonium
as these rival males

try to steal the females.

They run through other males'
territories

scattering the herd
in an attempt to abduct their cows.

Troublemakers
are challenged to a duel.

For the calf, it must be a relief
when things finally calm down.

But for a male guarding females,
there's no respite.

Challengers are always on the prowl.

The calf can only
snatch a moment's rest.

He soon becomes caught up
in more cattle-rustling.

The bull springs into action.

He sees off his rival
and claims his prize.

Matings are more successful in
this species than any other mammal.

95% succeed.

After all that activity,
the herds head back to the river.

But dragonfly-cam is experiencing
technical difficulties.

Its transmitter
has mysteriously lost contact.

Dragonfly-cam refuses to die.

It gamely tries to continue
its mission.

Even grounded, it keeps on filming.

The rut has proved thirsty work.

This time,
the herds are more cautious.

Sensing danger, the calf holds back.

But crocodiles still seem
more of a curiosity than a danger,

and other animals
don't seem too concerned.

Guinea fowl seem remarkably happy
to tempt fate.

A yellow-billed stork
plays a game of dare.

All the signals are reassuring.

A baboon with young appears relaxed,

even with a crocodile
just a stone's throw away.

Wildebeest are highly tuned to the
signals given off by other animals.

Apparently,
there's nothing to worry about.

But a glossy starling
still gives them the jitters.

The calf takes his cue
from the confidence of others.

He can still stare death in the face
and not even know it.

A crocodile's low profile
is its secret weapon.

It isn't seen as a threat.

Nose to nose,

but the calf is still oblivious
to the clear and present danger.

The teeth miss by inches.

He may have escaped
the jaws of death,

but his mother is not so lucky.

Without her, the calf is doomed.

But the croc can't keep his grip.

The bond between mother and calf has
carried them through the first leg
of their epic journey,

but will it be enough to overcome
the ordeals that lie ahead of them?

In the next programme, the calf
reaches Kenya's Masai Mara,

where he faces the greatest
challenges of his epic trek.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd - 2007

E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk