1
00:00:07,574 --> 00:00:10,176
[insects chirping]
2
00:00:10,243 --> 00:00:12,479
[jackal howling]
3
00:00:16,516 --> 00:00:18,852
[thunder rumbling]
4
00:00:18,918 --> 00:00:21,321
[mystical music playing]
5
00:00:22,322 --> 00:00:25,792
[man] You can never underestimate
the power of beliefs.
6
00:00:29,396 --> 00:00:30,964
I come from Venda…
7
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where societies are mythical.
8
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[thunder rumbling]
9
00:00:39,139 --> 00:00:44,077
In Tshivenda, we call pangolin "khwara."
10
00:00:46,913 --> 00:00:49,382
[in Venda] Our elders believe that
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a pangolin comes down from the sky
12
00:00:53,753 --> 00:00:58,024
and vibrates its scales
to trigger the thunder.
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- [music intensifies]
- [thunder crashing]
14
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[rain pattering]
15
00:01:07,033 --> 00:01:08,835
[frog croaking]
16
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The pangolin brings us the rain.
17
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[thunder rumbling]
18
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[pangolin sniffing]
19
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When you see the pangolin,
20
00:01:23,650 --> 00:01:25,518
it means you will be blessed…
21
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[thunder rumbling]
22
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…because a pangolin is a gift from God.
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[epic music playing]
24
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[soulful vocalization]
25
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- [music fades]
- [thunder rumbling]
26
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[jackal howling]
27
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[dramatic sting]
28
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[siren wailing in distance]
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[gentle music playing]
30
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{\an8}[man 1] Before Pangolin,
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{\an8}I was sort of in that…
that stage of my life
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{\an8}where I wanted something
33
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{\an8}a little bit more long-term, meaningful.
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[gentle music continues]
35
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[Gareth] There's just something
about pangolins.
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00:02:29,749 --> 00:02:31,985
They changed the way I saw the world.
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[music intensifies]
38
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But I've still never seen
a pangolin in the wild.
39
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[horn honking]
40
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Only ones that we've rescued
from the illegal wildlife trade.
41
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And that was how I met Gijima.
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[dramatic music building]
43
00:03:00,180 --> 00:03:01,648
[lively music playing]
44
00:03:06,686 --> 00:03:10,023
[man] All eight species
of these unique mammals
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{\an8}have been harvested relentlessly
for traditional Chinese medicine.
46
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[music continues]
47
00:03:21,668 --> 00:03:27,040
The scales are used as an ingredient
in up to 60 commercial remedies.
48
00:03:32,912 --> 00:03:37,116
If the levels of illegal trade
remain as they are now,
49
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they'll be gone in two to three decades.
50
00:03:41,354 --> 00:03:42,722
[music fades]
51
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[tense music playing]
52
00:03:44,023 --> 00:03:46,025
[indistinct chatter on radio]
53
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[Gareth] A sting operation
is when we'll get intel
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00:03:56,169 --> 00:03:59,739
that there's a pangolin
that the traffickers want to sell.
55
00:04:01,074 --> 00:04:02,875
- [radio crackles]
- [indistinct chatter]
56
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[rustling]
57
00:04:08,781 --> 00:04:12,018
Ray lures them in, acting as a buyer.
58
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[tense music continues]
59
00:04:17,991 --> 00:04:19,025
[soft thudding]
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00:04:19,792 --> 00:04:21,661
[man] All right, stand by.
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Go, go, go, go!
62
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[frenetic music plays]
63
00:04:26,232 --> 00:04:28,067
- Now!
- [men clamoring]
64
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Get up! Get up!
65
00:04:30,703 --> 00:04:31,904
[man yelling]
66
00:04:31,971 --> 00:04:33,373
[music fades]
67
00:04:34,207 --> 00:04:36,976
[indistinct chatter]
68
00:04:40,413 --> 00:04:42,949
[pensive music playing]
69
00:04:44,050 --> 00:04:45,752
[Ray] He said he's had it for a week.
70
00:04:48,154 --> 00:04:50,023
- It's very light.
- [man] It's tiny.
71
00:04:52,558 --> 00:04:54,127
[pangolin sniffing]
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00:04:54,994 --> 00:04:58,598
[Gareth] Gijima was only a baby,
so he was tiny.
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[sniffing]
74
00:05:02,101 --> 00:05:03,803
It's an incredible thing
75
00:05:04,671 --> 00:05:09,175
to see and experience
just how innocent they are.
76
00:05:11,044 --> 00:05:14,380
Their only defense
is to roll up in a ball.
77
00:05:17,950 --> 00:05:19,018
They can't run.
78
00:05:19,085 --> 00:05:19,952
Okay. Okay.
79
00:05:20,019 --> 00:05:21,954
They can't bite you.
80
00:05:22,021 --> 00:05:24,357
Hey, buddy. You're good. You're good.
81
00:05:24,424 --> 00:05:26,192
They are just so harmless.
82
00:05:26,793 --> 00:05:28,795
[tender music playing]
83
00:05:30,530 --> 00:05:31,731
[speaking indistinctly]
84
00:05:31,798 --> 00:05:34,500
{\an8}We've made a contribution
to assist an animal
85
00:05:34,567 --> 00:05:37,070
{\an8}that perhaps would've been killed.
86
00:05:37,136 --> 00:05:40,973
{\an8}So it's… it's actually a good…
it's a good thing that we did. Ja.
87
00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,076
[indistinct chatter]
88
00:05:51,551 --> 00:05:53,252
[Gareth] I used to,
after a sting operation,
89
00:05:53,319 --> 00:05:54,821
be, like, super pumped up.
90
00:05:56,422 --> 00:05:57,623
Man stuff.
91
00:05:57,690 --> 00:06:00,126
Um, now I just feel traumatized.
92
00:06:01,961 --> 00:06:05,298
I mean, I know the suffering
that this animal is going through.
93
00:06:07,734 --> 00:06:11,504
Some of them just never
fully leave that darkness, and they die.
94
00:06:15,641 --> 00:06:17,643
[birds chirping]
95
00:06:25,418 --> 00:06:27,653
[woman] You never know what state
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00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,056
the pangolin's going to be in
when it comes in.
97
00:06:30,123 --> 00:06:32,091
[sniffing]
98
00:06:33,159 --> 00:06:34,527
Poaching is very traumatic
99
00:06:34,594 --> 00:06:37,630
'cause they're plucked out
of their little paradise…
100
00:06:38,231 --> 00:06:40,233
- Not… Date, ja.
- Date. Yeah.
101
00:06:41,067 --> 00:06:44,003
{\an8}…and then been through
a very, very rough period
102
00:06:44,070 --> 00:06:47,473
{\an8}of bad handling
and shouting and music and noise.
103
00:06:49,008 --> 00:06:51,611
- [doctor speaking indistinctly]
- [monitor beeping]
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00:06:53,045 --> 00:06:55,081
[Nicci] Gijima was very little.
105
00:06:56,449 --> 00:06:57,683
It was pitiful
106
00:06:57,750 --> 00:07:00,653
because he would've probably
still been with his mother.
107
00:07:02,422 --> 00:07:04,857
{\an8}[somber music playing]
108
00:07:04,924 --> 00:07:07,827
{\an8}You have a volunteer
assigned to each pangolin.
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00:07:10,930 --> 00:07:12,098
[switch clicks]
110
00:07:12,165 --> 00:07:15,368
They're very sensitive animals
because they're loners.
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00:07:16,169 --> 00:07:18,738
[Gareth speaking softly]
112
00:07:18,805 --> 00:07:21,774
[Nicci] I remember what struck me
was how terrified he was.
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00:07:24,510 --> 00:07:27,180
You are gonna be a handful, aren't you?
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Come on.
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You are gonna be a real handful.
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Hmm?
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[Nicci] Maybe he had been through
particularly traumatic events.
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This poor little animal
is just in this absolute blind panic.
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[Gareth whispering] Come on.
120
00:07:47,633 --> 00:07:49,969
- [sniffing]
- It's okay.
121
00:07:50,736 --> 00:07:52,672
It's okay, my buddy. It's okay.
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00:07:54,307 --> 00:07:55,975
[Nicci] Since 2007,
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I think we've probably released
close to 100 pangolins in all.
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00:07:59,612 --> 00:08:01,614
[gentle music playing]
125
00:08:03,483 --> 00:08:05,885
We used to keep them for a couple of days,
126
00:08:05,952 --> 00:08:09,755
give them fluids, and then just try
and get them out as quickly as possible.
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00:08:09,822 --> 00:08:11,224
No release process.
128
00:08:11,991 --> 00:08:14,126
Which is so, so different
to how we're doing it now
129
00:08:14,193 --> 00:08:16,262
because we've learned such hard lessons.
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00:08:16,329 --> 00:08:18,231
[music continues]
131
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[sniffing]
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00:08:23,569 --> 00:08:25,371
[music fades]
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00:08:27,340 --> 00:08:30,176
[Ray] Between the hospital
and the release process,
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00:08:30,243 --> 00:08:31,744
we were losing pangolins.
135
00:08:32,545 --> 00:08:33,713
The jump was too big.
136
00:08:33,779 --> 00:08:35,781
[pensive music playing]
137
00:08:37,183 --> 00:08:41,554
There needs to be a place
where you can become a pangolin again
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00:08:41,621 --> 00:08:43,389
and become a wild pangolin again.
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00:08:43,456 --> 00:08:45,791
[elephant huffs, rumbles]
140
00:08:45,858 --> 00:08:49,095
And that was the dream of a pangolarium,
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00:08:49,161 --> 00:08:51,097
and we've been looking for
the right place.
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00:08:51,163 --> 00:08:53,165
[music continues]
143
00:08:54,534 --> 00:08:56,536
[soulful vocalization]
144
00:08:58,070 --> 00:09:00,439
[Nicci] Lapalala is an exquisite reserve.
145
00:09:01,474 --> 00:09:03,042
[elephant rumbles]
146
00:09:03,109 --> 00:09:06,612
It's got mountains.
It's got wetlands. It's got grassland.
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00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:08,347
[bellowing gently]
148
00:09:08,414 --> 00:09:11,117
[blissful music playing]
149
00:09:13,185 --> 00:09:15,621
It's got so many different types of ants.
150
00:09:20,526 --> 00:09:23,696
It could be the perfect place
for young pangolins to go.
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00:09:23,763 --> 00:09:24,931
[insects chirping]
152
00:09:29,168 --> 00:09:31,837
We decided to take Gijima up…
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00:09:33,639 --> 00:09:35,775
and for Gareth to go up with him.
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00:09:35,841 --> 00:09:37,843
[music continues]
155
00:09:40,446 --> 00:09:44,350
[Gareth] For me, there's definitely
a fear of failure.
156
00:09:45,718 --> 00:09:50,590
I'd never had to nurture something
so vulnerable in my life before.
157
00:09:50,656 --> 00:09:53,059
All right, hang on. The last bit.
158
00:09:53,125 --> 00:09:56,996
I really just wanted to do
the best job possible.
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00:09:57,063 --> 00:09:59,065
[scratching]
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00:10:00,900 --> 00:10:05,705
But with Gijima,
that was never going to be easy.
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00:10:05,771 --> 00:10:07,206
[music continues]
162
00:10:09,642 --> 00:10:10,643
[music fades]
163
00:10:10,710 --> 00:10:13,779
[birds chirping]
164
00:10:21,954 --> 00:10:22,955
[Gareth] Hey.
165
00:10:23,589 --> 00:10:25,524
[soft thudding]
166
00:10:25,591 --> 00:10:26,892
Okay. Okay.
167
00:10:27,593 --> 00:10:28,594
Hmm?
168
00:10:28,661 --> 00:10:31,097
Welcome to your new home. Hey?
169
00:10:31,163 --> 00:10:32,098
[sniffing]
170
00:10:32,164 --> 00:10:33,666
Welcome to your new home.
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00:10:34,967 --> 00:10:37,703
Hey? Hey, my little man.
172
00:10:38,804 --> 00:10:41,874
Hey? You ready to go for a walk? Hey?
173
00:10:42,441 --> 00:10:43,542
Ready to go for a walk?
174
00:10:43,609 --> 00:10:46,045
They've been through all this trauma,
175
00:10:46,112 --> 00:10:49,215
so a lot of what we're doing
176
00:10:49,281 --> 00:10:52,251
is the psychological rehabilitation.
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00:10:53,052 --> 00:10:54,120
{\an8}Okay.
178
00:10:55,588 --> 00:10:58,624
{\an8}Gijima, he was around 3 kg.
179
00:11:01,794 --> 00:11:05,464
He needs to be 6.5 kg
before we let him go.
180
00:11:05,531 --> 00:11:06,365
Are you ready to go?
181
00:11:06,432 --> 00:11:09,268
That's a weight that has been determined
182
00:11:09,335 --> 00:11:12,605
over years and years of trial and error
183
00:11:13,172 --> 00:11:17,276
and learning the hard way
that if a pangolin's too small,
184
00:11:17,343 --> 00:11:19,011
it won't survive.
185
00:11:19,078 --> 00:11:20,946
[low rumbling]
186
00:11:22,214 --> 00:11:25,885
So the first time I took him out here
at Lapalala, he just ran.
187
00:11:25,951 --> 00:11:28,054
[lively music playing]
188
00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:29,522
Where are you going?
189
00:11:29,588 --> 00:11:30,690
And he's fast.
190
00:11:32,725 --> 00:11:34,026
There's a fence there.
191
00:11:37,129 --> 00:11:39,665
Careful, you're gonna walk
into the fence. Oop.
192
00:11:39,732 --> 00:11:42,368
I was full helicopter parent. [laughs]
193
00:11:42,435 --> 00:11:44,270
I wasn't letting him out of my sight.
194
00:11:44,336 --> 00:11:46,772
Here's Gijima!
195
00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:49,942
There goes Gijima. [laughing]
196
00:11:50,009 --> 00:11:52,011
[music continues]
197
00:11:52,845 --> 00:11:55,347
Are you going for a swim? Yeah?
198
00:11:55,414 --> 00:11:56,716
[sniffing]
199
00:11:56,782 --> 00:11:57,783
Careful.
200
00:11:58,684 --> 00:12:00,386
Hey? Careful there.
201
00:12:00,453 --> 00:12:02,555
[endearing music building]
202
00:12:02,621 --> 00:12:06,926
His dominant instinct
wasn't to settle, to forage.
203
00:12:08,427 --> 00:12:11,564
I think that instinct
to just get away kicked in.
204
00:12:11,630 --> 00:12:13,632
[endearing music continues]
205
00:12:27,046 --> 00:12:31,417
He didn't interpret my presence
as a very safe space.
206
00:12:31,484 --> 00:12:33,786
[sniffing]
207
00:12:36,722 --> 00:12:37,857
[music fades]
208
00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:43,362
He was just fully driven.
209
00:12:43,429 --> 00:12:45,798
Not affectionate, not playful.
210
00:12:46,732 --> 00:12:50,336
His dominant instinct was to escape.
211
00:12:50,402 --> 00:12:52,404
[birds chirping]
212
00:13:02,248 --> 00:13:06,552
He's a Temminck's pangolin,
but he's not fully bipedal yet.
213
00:13:09,388 --> 00:13:10,856
So when he walks,
214
00:13:10,923 --> 00:13:14,627
he'll still support himself a lot
with his arms.
215
00:13:14,693 --> 00:13:17,830
[inspirational music playing]
216
00:13:22,334 --> 00:13:26,138
[Ray] Pangolins have been on planet Earth
for 85 million years.
217
00:13:27,139 --> 00:13:29,441
They evolved with the dinosaurs.
218
00:13:32,845 --> 00:13:36,182
It walks on its hind legs
with its two front legs like a T. rex,
219
00:13:36,248 --> 00:13:37,316
just dotting along.
220
00:13:37,383 --> 00:13:39,385
[inspirational music continues]
221
00:13:43,189 --> 00:13:46,725
There's no other mammal that's covered
in hard, overlapping scales,
222
00:13:47,359 --> 00:13:50,896
so that on its own
makes them absolutely unique.
223
00:13:53,065 --> 00:13:57,903
It's an ancient creature
that runs the risk of extinction.
224
00:13:58,504 --> 00:14:01,974
A creature that is unicorn-type status.
225
00:14:02,474 --> 00:14:04,643
Because that's what it is, it's so rare.
226
00:14:09,982 --> 00:14:13,152
So effectively, pangolins
can't open their mouth like we can.
227
00:14:16,055 --> 00:14:19,225
They've got a small little hole
where the tongue comes out.
228
00:14:21,227 --> 00:14:24,196
Their food is literally ants and termites.
229
00:14:24,263 --> 00:14:25,130
That's it.
230
00:14:25,197 --> 00:14:27,199
[intriguing music playing]
231
00:14:32,404 --> 00:14:34,306
Their hearing ability is very good.
232
00:14:36,809 --> 00:14:38,477
Their eyesight is very poor.
233
00:14:38,544 --> 00:14:40,546
[music continues]
234
00:14:42,748 --> 00:14:43,649
[sniffing]
235
00:14:43,716 --> 00:14:47,453
Their scenting capacity,
even better than a dog.
236
00:14:47,519 --> 00:14:49,521
[continues sniffing]
237
00:14:53,192 --> 00:14:54,293
They don't have vocal cords.
238
00:14:55,995 --> 00:14:57,429
They don't make a noise.
239
00:14:59,131 --> 00:15:01,133
They're predominantly nocturnal.
240
00:15:01,934 --> 00:15:03,202
Sleep out in burrows.
241
00:15:04,403 --> 00:15:06,739
You wouldn't know
if that thing's five meters from you.
242
00:15:09,308 --> 00:15:10,910
You just don't see them.
243
00:15:11,710 --> 00:15:13,612
[sniffing]
244
00:15:15,614 --> 00:15:18,350
They only have
one pup per female per year.
245
00:15:19,952 --> 00:15:22,721
And their parental care is extreme.
246
00:15:24,089 --> 00:15:26,926
Moms look after their pups
for six, seven months.
247
00:15:28,260 --> 00:15:30,663
When they eventually leave the burrow,
248
00:15:31,230 --> 00:15:34,767
they ride on mom's back,
being taught how to feed on solid foods
249
00:15:34,833 --> 00:15:35,935
and what to look for.
250
00:15:37,403 --> 00:15:39,405
And then they go off on their own.
251
00:15:42,841 --> 00:15:44,610
[music fades]
252
00:15:44,677 --> 00:15:46,679
[birds, insects chirping]
253
00:15:53,953 --> 00:15:55,888
[Gareth chuckling] Living with a pangolin,
254
00:15:56,455 --> 00:15:58,090
it's very quiet.
255
00:16:01,860 --> 00:16:05,531
I redesigned my entire routine
256
00:16:06,398 --> 00:16:08,801
to suit his schedule.
257
00:16:08,867 --> 00:16:10,869
[bird calling]
258
00:16:12,771 --> 00:16:16,308
So a normal day
would pretty much be, wake up 4 a.m.,
259
00:16:17,609 --> 00:16:18,677
and then
260
00:16:19,244 --> 00:16:22,081
admin, running the business.
261
00:16:24,483 --> 00:16:27,953
And then, obviously,
waiting to hear the scratching at the box.
262
00:16:28,020 --> 00:16:30,055
[scratching on box]
263
00:16:34,326 --> 00:16:35,194
[door opens]
264
00:16:35,260 --> 00:16:37,463
- [switch clicks]
- [footsteps treading]
265
00:16:38,330 --> 00:16:40,432
[box door opens]
266
00:16:40,499 --> 00:16:41,934
[Gareth whispering] Hello, my buddy.
267
00:16:43,202 --> 00:16:45,738
[softly] Hello. Be a good boy.
268
00:16:46,338 --> 00:16:48,307
Ooh. Come on then, eh?
269
00:16:48,841 --> 00:16:51,377
Oh, shh. My buddy. Come on.
270
00:16:51,443 --> 00:16:55,748
You can put a plate of ants
in front of a pangolin, and it won't feed.
271
00:16:55,814 --> 00:16:58,183
Oh, that's a big yawn, hey? Come on.
272
00:16:58,250 --> 00:16:59,918
The only way we can get them to feed
273
00:16:59,985 --> 00:17:02,154
is by putting them down
and letting them forage.
274
00:17:02,221 --> 00:17:04,323
Okay. Hey? Okay, here we go.
275
00:17:05,024 --> 00:17:05,858
Here we go.
276
00:17:06,925 --> 00:17:09,828
Here we go, hey? Here we go, my buddy.
277
00:17:11,030 --> 00:17:11,964
There we go.
278
00:17:12,464 --> 00:17:15,734
[curious music playing]
279
00:17:22,441 --> 00:17:26,211
When you're looking for ants,
you have to get to know ants.
280
00:17:28,380 --> 00:17:30,516
Gijima took me into that world…
281
00:17:32,951 --> 00:17:35,654
on the very, very surface of the Earth.
282
00:17:36,989 --> 00:17:38,290
And beneath it.
283
00:17:44,063 --> 00:17:46,665
They share this underworld kingdom.
284
00:17:53,906 --> 00:17:56,175
- [whistles]
- It's a massive nest.
285
00:17:57,342 --> 00:17:59,611
Caswell is an ant doctor.
286
00:17:59,678 --> 00:18:01,647
- These are the savanna spiny ants.
- [Gareth] Yeah.
287
00:18:01,713 --> 00:18:04,383
He's so excited about the world of ants.
288
00:18:04,450 --> 00:18:06,318
{\an8}I've got a taste for ants.
289
00:18:06,385 --> 00:18:07,319
{\an8}Like pangolins.
290
00:18:07,886 --> 00:18:12,658
{\an8}[chuckling] So… So, myrmecology is
the study of ants, in short.
291
00:18:12,724 --> 00:18:14,726
[bright music playing]
292
00:18:17,396 --> 00:18:20,566
I did not learn
how the natural environment works
293
00:18:20,632 --> 00:18:21,767
in the textbook.
294
00:18:24,870 --> 00:18:28,340
As a Muvenda young, uh, boy,
295
00:18:28,407 --> 00:18:29,675
I'd just go to the bush.
296
00:18:29,741 --> 00:18:31,743
[music continues]
297
00:18:36,582 --> 00:18:39,918
There were just stretches of land.
There was so much life in them.
298
00:18:40,486 --> 00:18:42,254
There were all these animals.
299
00:18:45,457 --> 00:18:48,494
But in all these years
of being out in the field,
300
00:18:49,061 --> 00:18:50,662
I've never seen a pangolin.
301
00:18:56,101 --> 00:18:59,938
The first time I saw a pangolin,
I saw it with Gareth.
302
00:19:04,910 --> 00:19:06,545
It was just amazing.
303
00:19:06,612 --> 00:19:08,614
[music continues]
304
00:19:11,750 --> 00:19:13,585
This mythical animal.
305
00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:19,458
It's got this physical appearance
of multiple animals combined.
306
00:19:22,561 --> 00:19:24,930
It was just something out of this world.
307
00:19:24,997 --> 00:19:28,233
[bright music continues]
308
00:19:40,579 --> 00:19:42,347
[music fades]
309
00:19:45,984 --> 00:19:49,688
In Lapalala right now,
I've got a long-term study,
310
00:19:50,189 --> 00:19:53,492
studying the response of ants
to climate change.
311
00:19:53,992 --> 00:19:56,695
You can see one of them there.
The small ones.
312
00:19:57,763 --> 00:19:59,064
[Gareth] Okay.
313
00:19:59,131 --> 00:20:00,866
[curious music playing]
314
00:20:02,034 --> 00:20:04,736
[Dr. Caswell] Ants are part of
what we call social animals,
315
00:20:04,803 --> 00:20:06,271
just like we are social too.
316
00:20:07,139 --> 00:20:08,907
And they all come from one family.
317
00:20:09,775 --> 00:20:11,777
The queen is this founding mother.
318
00:20:14,613 --> 00:20:16,848
You're the mother, and it's your world.
319
00:20:16,915 --> 00:20:20,118
And you've got these Terminator-like kids
320
00:20:20,185 --> 00:20:21,920
that only take orders.
321
00:20:21,987 --> 00:20:25,524
And everything that they do
is just for the success of the colony.
322
00:20:25,591 --> 00:20:27,593
[curious music continues]
323
00:20:29,494 --> 00:20:32,231
All ants that you see out are females.
324
00:20:32,931 --> 00:20:34,700
They're all sisters.
325
00:20:34,766 --> 00:20:36,635
It looks like they talk to each other.
326
00:20:37,803 --> 00:20:40,405
- [Dr. Caswell] It's grooming sometimes.
- They'll groom each other?
327
00:20:40,472 --> 00:20:41,873
[Dr. Caswell] Yeah, they'll groom.
328
00:20:45,644 --> 00:20:49,248
You are mostly seeing the older ones
329
00:20:50,682 --> 00:20:53,785
'cause the newborns and all the brothers
are still in the nest.
330
00:20:56,922 --> 00:20:59,524
So it seems like in a matured ant colony,
331
00:20:59,591 --> 00:21:03,996
the older you get,
the more risky job you do.
332
00:21:05,163 --> 00:21:07,232
[bird calling]
333
00:21:08,367 --> 00:21:10,369
[Gijima sniffing]
334
00:21:13,705 --> 00:21:16,842
[Gareth] When his nose is on the ground,
he's looking for food.
335
00:21:17,409 --> 00:21:22,414
He can smell ants
through a foot of hard, hard earth.
336
00:21:27,019 --> 00:21:29,621
So this larvae is, like,
what he's going for.
337
00:21:29,688 --> 00:21:31,890
All those miniature pieces of rice.
338
00:21:31,957 --> 00:21:33,225
Yeah. It's eggs.
339
00:21:33,292 --> 00:21:34,126
[Gareth] Yeah.
340
00:21:35,927 --> 00:21:37,062
He's feasting.
341
00:21:39,898 --> 00:21:41,667
It's like pangolin ice cream.
342
00:21:43,368 --> 00:21:45,470
The ants go into a total panic.
343
00:21:45,537 --> 00:21:47,572
[sniffing]
344
00:21:50,242 --> 00:21:53,745
It must just be this giant dragon
345
00:21:53,812 --> 00:21:56,515
coming to wipe you out.
346
00:21:56,581 --> 00:21:58,583
[continues sniffing]
347
00:22:02,487 --> 00:22:04,990
The ants will try and rescue their babies.
348
00:22:06,825 --> 00:22:08,293
So they'll pick them up,
349
00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:10,829
and they'll start carrying them
away from his attack
350
00:22:10,896 --> 00:22:12,431
as quickly as possible.
351
00:22:14,433 --> 00:22:16,435
[whimsical music playing]
352
00:22:21,273 --> 00:22:23,141
And when the ants bite him on his tongue,
353
00:22:23,809 --> 00:22:26,712
he pulls it between his claws
to get them off.
354
00:22:35,187 --> 00:22:38,323
And then sometimes,
he'll almost wrap it in a knot.
355
00:22:44,129 --> 00:22:45,697
[tempo decreases]
356
00:22:45,764 --> 00:22:47,666
[dramatic music plays]
357
00:22:50,402 --> 00:22:52,404
[music fades]
358
00:22:52,471 --> 00:22:54,473
- [insects chirping]
- [birds chirping]
359
00:23:00,479 --> 00:23:02,013
I mean, he was eating.
360
00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,249
Um, he was definitely eating.
361
00:23:05,050 --> 00:23:06,918
But he still wants to run.
362
00:23:11,757 --> 00:23:14,559
I felt under a lot of pressure because
363
00:23:15,060 --> 00:23:19,965
{\an8}there's just so much riding on
him being a successful release.
364
00:23:20,832 --> 00:23:25,570
{\an8}We wanna establish this place
as a sanctuary for pangolins.
365
00:23:27,305 --> 00:23:29,274
If something goes wrong with him,
366
00:23:29,341 --> 00:23:32,377
then in all likelihood,
the project isn't gonna go ahead.
367
00:23:32,444 --> 00:23:33,879
[tense music playing]
368
00:23:33,945 --> 00:23:35,947
[electric fence buzzing]
369
00:23:36,882 --> 00:23:38,917
[buzzing loudly]
370
00:23:38,984 --> 00:23:42,120
[Gareth] Where we walk,
there is an electric fence around here.
371
00:23:42,187 --> 00:23:44,189
[tense music continues]
372
00:23:47,092 --> 00:23:50,262
[Ray] The lowest strand is about
20 centimeters off the ground.
373
00:23:50,829 --> 00:23:54,633
It's the perfect height
that a pangolin, walking on its hind legs,
374
00:23:54,699 --> 00:23:57,269
will walk into it,
and it hits it in the soft underbelly.
375
00:23:57,335 --> 00:24:00,705
Boom! That pulse can hit, and it's gonna
curl up in a protective ball.
376
00:24:01,273 --> 00:24:04,242
There it sits… [mimicking electric shocks]
377
00:24:04,309 --> 00:24:05,277
…until it's dead.
378
00:24:05,343 --> 00:24:07,245
[tense music continues]
379
00:24:07,312 --> 00:24:10,482
The death rate in this country
by electrocution is probably
380
00:24:10,549 --> 00:24:13,418
about six or seven orders of magnitude
higher than the illegal trade.
381
00:24:13,485 --> 00:24:15,487
[electric fence buzzing]
382
00:24:18,523 --> 00:24:22,828
Then, one day, I was walking
and got distracted for a split second.
383
00:24:22,894 --> 00:24:24,896
[Kulu sniffing]
384
00:24:27,666 --> 00:24:29,634
And I think he saw it as a gap.
385
00:24:31,036 --> 00:24:33,238
He just made a turn for the fence.
386
00:24:33,305 --> 00:24:35,640
[foreboding music playing]
387
00:24:35,707 --> 00:24:39,010
So I dived backwards
to push him away from the fence.
388
00:24:39,077 --> 00:24:40,345
[electric fence buzzing]
389
00:24:41,847 --> 00:24:45,183
And the current went through me,
and I did charge him.
390
00:24:45,250 --> 00:24:46,351
[electricity zaps]
391
00:24:47,219 --> 00:24:48,053
Hey.
392
00:24:52,824 --> 00:24:55,160
- [somber music playing]
- [distressed breathing]
393
00:25:01,032 --> 00:25:03,902
He just starts shaking like crazy.
394
00:25:07,706 --> 00:25:08,740
It's okay, hey?
395
00:25:10,375 --> 00:25:11,276
It's like this…
396
00:25:11,343 --> 00:25:12,711
[trilling]
397
00:25:12,777 --> 00:25:14,779
[rapid distressed breathing]
398
00:25:24,589 --> 00:25:28,560
The problem is that he hadn't associated
the charge with the fence.
399
00:25:28,627 --> 00:25:30,962
He had associated the charge with me.
400
00:25:32,297 --> 00:25:35,300
Hey. It's okay. Hey. It's me, my buddy.
401
00:25:35,967 --> 00:25:37,435
It's me. Hey.
402
00:25:38,537 --> 00:25:41,973
It's okay. Hey. It's me.
403
00:25:43,808 --> 00:25:44,676
Hey.
404
00:25:46,044 --> 00:25:48,280
I just had to give him space.
405
00:25:49,114 --> 00:25:51,116
[distressed breathing]
406
00:25:54,553 --> 00:25:55,954
[sniffing]
407
00:26:02,127 --> 00:26:03,461
It felt horrible.
408
00:26:03,528 --> 00:26:07,999
Come on, it's okay.
Hey, my buddy. It's okay. It's me.
409
00:26:09,134 --> 00:26:11,336
[somber music playing]
410
00:26:11,403 --> 00:26:13,738
I just felt disappointed with myself.
411
00:26:17,742 --> 00:26:19,744
[intriguing music playing]
412
00:26:25,016 --> 00:26:29,988
[Gareth] My whole life,
I've had a fear that I'm not enough.
413
00:26:33,224 --> 00:26:36,761
School was difficult. I was hyperactive.
414
00:26:36,828 --> 00:26:38,396
I could not sit still.
415
00:26:43,201 --> 00:26:45,070
I was sort of a rebel in my youth.
416
00:26:45,637 --> 00:26:48,673
I went to two,
three different high schools,
417
00:26:48,740 --> 00:26:50,842
and eventually, I dropped out.
418
00:26:50,909 --> 00:26:52,944
[music continues]
419
00:26:54,112 --> 00:26:57,649
For a good three years,
I was earning a living playing poker.
420
00:27:00,418 --> 00:27:01,252
Partying.
421
00:27:02,954 --> 00:27:04,055
I loved it.
422
00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:09,394
[dramatic sting]
423
00:27:09,461 --> 00:27:13,264
And then two of my best friends
died in a car accident.
424
00:27:13,331 --> 00:27:15,333
[melancholic music playing]
425
00:27:17,202 --> 00:27:20,071
It just tore my heart apart.
426
00:27:20,138 --> 00:27:22,474
[music continues]
427
00:27:30,215 --> 00:27:33,018
I had become so disconnected.
428
00:27:35,420 --> 00:27:37,455
I slowly started realizing
429
00:27:38,156 --> 00:27:40,525
that I was just never going to be happy
430
00:27:41,059 --> 00:27:43,628
unless I found something else.
431
00:27:43,695 --> 00:27:46,197
- [music continues]
- [birds chirping]
432
00:27:52,737 --> 00:27:55,573
All of my school holidays,
I got sent up to Zimbabwe
433
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:57,942
to go play in the wild.
434
00:28:03,281 --> 00:28:08,286
I kind of just remember
this very strong sense of freedom
435
00:28:08,353 --> 00:28:09,454
being out there.
436
00:28:15,026 --> 00:28:16,528
This sense of stillness.
437
00:28:21,232 --> 00:28:22,133
[birds squawking]
438
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,302
I wanted to be involved with wildlife,
439
00:28:24,836 --> 00:28:26,805
but I was running a business in Joburg.
440
00:28:27,672 --> 00:28:30,975
I couldn't be out in the bush
all the time the way I wanted to be.
441
00:28:31,042 --> 00:28:31,910
Ja.
442
00:28:31,976 --> 00:28:34,279
So then I got in touch with Ray,
443
00:28:34,345 --> 00:28:37,282
and he took me to the Joburg Wildlife Vet.
444
00:28:38,583 --> 00:28:41,352
And I saw my first pangolin.
445
00:28:41,419 --> 00:28:44,122
[hopeful music playing]
446
00:28:49,394 --> 00:28:52,664
There was a before world
and an after world.
447
00:29:00,205 --> 00:29:03,074
I started walking them every single day.
448
00:29:03,141 --> 00:29:05,143
[music continues]
449
00:29:10,648 --> 00:29:13,651
They have such a softness about them.
450
00:29:17,388 --> 00:29:19,924
I've been taught my entire life,
451
00:29:19,991 --> 00:29:22,594
"No, you don't talk about your feelings."
452
00:29:26,231 --> 00:29:30,401
But I think the difference
between pangolins and people is,
453
00:29:31,136 --> 00:29:33,505
it's far easier
to be vulnerable around a pangolin.
454
00:29:33,571 --> 00:29:35,573
[music continues]
455
00:29:38,543 --> 00:29:41,079
They're not gonna judge
that vulnerability.
456
00:29:41,780 --> 00:29:43,681
They sort of see the real you.
457
00:29:45,617 --> 00:29:48,953
This is you right now,
right here, and that's it.
458
00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:58,129
[music fades]
459
00:29:58,196 --> 00:30:00,198
[animals calling]
460
00:30:05,837 --> 00:30:07,839
After the electric fence,
461
00:30:07,906 --> 00:30:10,508
it's taken him a long time to forgive me.
462
00:30:12,510 --> 00:30:14,579
{\an8}You run around in the garden…
463
00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:19,884
{\an8}while I put my shoes on. Okay? Hey? Okay?
464
00:30:20,885 --> 00:30:22,887
{\an8}Don't go climbing over
the fence or anything.
465
00:30:22,954 --> 00:30:24,222
{\an8}I'll be back in a jiffy.
466
00:30:30,061 --> 00:30:33,131
[Nicci] Each pangolin is different
like people are different.
467
00:30:34,799 --> 00:30:38,570
Some pangolins just roll around
being friends with everybody.
468
00:30:38,636 --> 00:30:40,572
[helicopter whirring]
469
00:30:40,638 --> 00:30:44,342
Some are very sensitive
and highly strung, maybe.
470
00:30:44,409 --> 00:30:45,944
[sniffing]
471
00:30:46,010 --> 00:30:47,979
He just couldn't settle.
472
00:30:53,251 --> 00:30:55,253
[birds chirping]
473
00:30:55,887 --> 00:30:56,988
[insect buzzing]
474
00:30:58,790 --> 00:31:01,292
[Gareth] In Zulu, "gijima" means "run."
475
00:31:04,395 --> 00:31:08,900
If I'm constantly calling him "run,"
maybe he understands that.
476
00:31:08,967 --> 00:31:11,402
[Gijima sniffing]
477
00:31:11,469 --> 00:31:14,672
"Kulula" means "easy" in Zulu.
478
00:31:15,173 --> 00:31:17,542
[sniffing]
479
00:31:17,609 --> 00:31:20,178
And so I just started calling him Kulu.
480
00:31:22,547 --> 00:31:24,415
That didn't work at all with him.
481
00:31:28,286 --> 00:31:29,921
Kulu does whatever he wants to do.
482
00:31:31,356 --> 00:31:32,223
[exhales sharply]
483
00:31:32,757 --> 00:31:34,759
[birds chirping]
484
00:31:41,432 --> 00:31:42,367
Okay.
485
00:31:43,067 --> 00:31:46,037
Do you wanna go down here, huh?
Go down here?
486
00:31:47,639 --> 00:31:50,041
Come here. Come on. Get down.
487
00:31:50,708 --> 00:31:55,146
I sort of tried
to set up boundaries for him.
488
00:31:55,213 --> 00:31:57,382
[curious music playing]
489
00:31:57,448 --> 00:31:58,883
There are certain blocks
490
00:31:58,950 --> 00:32:02,153
which have pretty much
been marked out by roads.
491
00:32:04,656 --> 00:32:06,291
He doesn't like boundaries.
492
00:32:08,092 --> 00:32:09,694
He's very crafty.
493
00:32:11,262 --> 00:32:13,932
If I'm there, he definitely pauses.
494
00:32:13,998 --> 00:32:16,000
[curious music continues]
495
00:32:21,005 --> 00:32:22,974
And then there's that sort of mad dash
496
00:32:23,641 --> 00:32:26,711
to try and get across the road,
hoping that I don't see him.
497
00:32:26,778 --> 00:32:29,013
Uh-uh. Uh-uh. Uh-uh.
498
00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:31,082
[tempo increases]
499
00:32:38,389 --> 00:32:40,391
[tempo decreases]
500
00:32:49,567 --> 00:32:51,569
[tempo increases]
501
00:32:52,337 --> 00:32:53,171
[Gareth] Uh-uh.
502
00:32:55,139 --> 00:32:56,174
Uh-uh.
503
00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:58,076
[tempo decreases]
504
00:33:00,178 --> 00:33:01,579
[music ends]
505
00:33:06,551 --> 00:33:08,553
- [insects chirping]
- [birds calling]
506
00:33:18,863 --> 00:33:21,499
Are you eating
because you heard me coming?
507
00:33:22,700 --> 00:33:25,503
Or are you just being a good boy?
508
00:33:28,072 --> 00:33:31,175
He's figured out that
so long as he's eating,
509
00:33:31,709 --> 00:33:33,044
I don't pick him up.
510
00:33:33,111 --> 00:33:35,213
So if he's eating, I don't pick him up.
511
00:33:35,913 --> 00:33:37,148
So if he's running
512
00:33:37,882 --> 00:33:40,918
and I stop
and I go towards him to pick him up,
513
00:33:41,686 --> 00:33:44,722
he'll start scratching,
whether there's food there or not.
514
00:33:47,658 --> 00:33:49,027
He's like a little kid.
515
00:33:50,228 --> 00:33:52,697
You have to redirect his awareness.
516
00:33:52,764 --> 00:33:55,466
Otherwise, he's just like,
"Okay, cool, now I'm exploring."
517
00:33:59,237 --> 00:34:01,973
[Gareth] Part of his rewilding,
518
00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:05,076
he needs to investigate in burrows.
519
00:34:19,924 --> 00:34:23,861
[Ray] You've got porcupine,
bushpig, warthogs making burrows.
520
00:34:24,429 --> 00:34:25,863
Aardvarks, certainly.
521
00:34:25,930 --> 00:34:28,866
And then pangolins modifying them.
522
00:34:38,142 --> 00:34:40,144
[whimsical music playing]
523
00:34:40,978 --> 00:34:41,813
[Gareth] Ow!
524
00:34:43,147 --> 00:34:46,851
Sometimes, in the evening,
he sneaks into burrows
525
00:34:46,918 --> 00:34:48,986
because he obviously wants to sleep out.
526
00:34:50,421 --> 00:34:55,326
What that means for me is
I have to try to take him out.
527
00:34:56,294 --> 00:34:57,595
[Nicci] Oh God.
528
00:34:58,830 --> 00:35:00,898
You're hoping
there isn't a warthog in there.
529
00:35:03,034 --> 00:35:05,703
And then I'm always thinking
of snakes coming out of there.
530
00:35:06,337 --> 00:35:07,405
Spiders.
531
00:35:10,541 --> 00:35:11,742
[Gareth] I need to know that
532
00:35:11,809 --> 00:35:13,978
he's not just gonna come out
of the burrow at 1 a.m.
533
00:35:14,045 --> 00:35:16,547
and then make a mad dash for freedom.
534
00:35:18,683 --> 00:35:19,717
[Gareth exhales]
535
00:35:20,384 --> 00:35:21,319
Oh God.
536
00:35:25,223 --> 00:35:26,090
[grunting]
537
00:35:31,629 --> 00:35:32,563
Ow!
538
00:35:32,630 --> 00:35:34,999
[laughing] I've been stuck
in a few burrows.
539
00:35:35,066 --> 00:35:38,002
I have had to be
pulled out of a few burrows, yes.
540
00:35:38,069 --> 00:35:39,637
Okay, I'll walk you up.
541
00:35:39,704 --> 00:35:41,672
- Wheelbarrow.
- Okay, slowly, ja?
542
00:35:41,739 --> 00:35:43,574
[percussive music playing]
543
00:35:43,641 --> 00:35:45,176
[groaning]
544
00:35:46,043 --> 00:35:48,880
- [man] You all right?
- I just squashed my ball on this branch.
545
00:35:48,946 --> 00:35:49,981
Oh my God.
546
00:35:50,815 --> 00:35:51,816
[groaning]
547
00:35:51,883 --> 00:35:53,885
[percussive music continues]
548
00:35:55,953 --> 00:35:57,488
It's cool that he's in there,
549
00:35:57,555 --> 00:36:01,959
but that does mean, like,
a sleepless night for me.
550
00:36:04,228 --> 00:36:06,230
[bird calling]
551
00:36:06,931 --> 00:36:08,299
I slept next to him.
552
00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,336
I put my feet
in the entrance of the burrow
553
00:36:12,403 --> 00:36:16,340
'cause if I fell asleep,
I would feel him crawling over me.
554
00:36:16,407 --> 00:36:18,409
[animals calling]
555
00:36:21,979 --> 00:36:23,981
[birds chirping]
556
00:36:35,159 --> 00:36:38,196
{\an8}Slowly, over time,
I've learned to trust him.
557
00:36:48,839 --> 00:36:51,876
Just the sense of freedom
that I can give him out here.
558
00:36:55,446 --> 00:36:57,582
I can leave him for an hour at a time,
559
00:36:57,648 --> 00:37:00,885
and then to find him, I use the telemetry.
560
00:37:00,952 --> 00:37:02,019
[telemetry beeping]
561
00:37:10,027 --> 00:37:12,029
[Kulu sniffing]
562
00:37:13,064 --> 00:37:16,234
[Dr. Caswell] Every time you walk
with Kulu, you see new things.
563
00:37:18,436 --> 00:37:21,105
[sniffing intently]
564
00:37:21,172 --> 00:37:25,142
As pangolins forage,
they will not disrupt the whole colony.
565
00:37:28,813 --> 00:37:30,514
They will eat just enough.
566
00:37:34,051 --> 00:37:35,653
For me, that is so smart.
567
00:37:40,691 --> 00:37:43,160
[scratching]
568
00:37:46,530 --> 00:37:49,834
You just see, like, the entire surface
of the Earth is just moving,
569
00:37:49,900 --> 00:37:51,569
and it's crawling the whole time.
570
00:37:52,903 --> 00:37:53,904
It's quite wild.
571
00:37:56,173 --> 00:37:59,043
This is all just
one giant pugnacious nest.
572
00:38:00,945 --> 00:38:06,217
The most aggressive, dominant ants,
and scary too, is the pugnacious.
573
00:38:06,751 --> 00:38:08,552
[dramatic music plays]
574
00:38:08,619 --> 00:38:10,788
We know who's the biggest enemy
of pugnacious ants.
575
00:38:11,789 --> 00:38:12,857
It's the pangolin.
576
00:38:12,923 --> 00:38:15,126
[dramatic music continues]
577
00:38:19,230 --> 00:38:21,532
Pugnacious, they will eat anything.
578
00:38:23,167 --> 00:38:24,735
They'll overwhelm certain insects.
579
00:38:26,671 --> 00:38:29,874
Even some small mammals, like rats.
580
00:38:29,940 --> 00:38:33,377
Some birds, small chicks that can't fly,
they will be eaten as well.
581
00:38:38,649 --> 00:38:40,284
Around this termite mound,
582
00:38:40,351 --> 00:38:43,087
this is a huge hunting ground
for the pugnacious ants.
583
00:38:47,692 --> 00:38:51,028
When the pangolins go and eat termites…
584
00:38:53,431 --> 00:38:56,033
ants like pugnacious will also benefit,
585
00:38:56,867 --> 00:39:00,404
scavenging on the leftovers
of the pangolin.
586
00:39:00,471 --> 00:39:03,040
[dramatic music continues]
587
00:39:09,113 --> 00:39:12,283
[Gareth] The snouted termite soldiers
all stand by,
588
00:39:12,350 --> 00:39:14,318
with their snouts pointed upwards.
589
00:39:15,353 --> 00:39:19,523
And then, if a pugnacious
comes in close proximity to them,
590
00:39:20,091 --> 00:39:22,126
they'll spray out this toxic glue.
591
00:39:22,193 --> 00:39:25,262
[ominous music playing]
592
00:39:28,799 --> 00:39:31,235
It completely deters the pugnacious.
593
00:39:31,302 --> 00:39:33,304
[music continues]
594
00:39:40,211 --> 00:39:44,782
And that gives the workers enough time
to pull the larvae back into the nest…
595
00:39:49,487 --> 00:39:51,722
and then quickly close up the tunnels.
596
00:39:51,789 --> 00:39:53,791
[ominous music continues]
597
00:40:00,998 --> 00:40:03,000
[music fades]
598
00:40:10,474 --> 00:40:11,742
[insects chirping]
599
00:40:11,809 --> 00:40:13,811
[jackal howling]
600
00:40:22,219 --> 00:40:24,221
[animals calling]
601
00:40:36,300 --> 00:40:41,205
{\an8}[Gareth] He has this incredible drive
to be free.
602
00:40:42,740 --> 00:40:45,876
{\an8}But we need to get to six and a half kg.
603
00:40:48,312 --> 00:40:50,781
{\an8}[Nicci] A pangolin of six and a half kg
604
00:40:50,848 --> 00:40:52,349
is really strong,
605
00:40:53,017 --> 00:40:56,487
and it can hold itself into a tight ball
606
00:40:56,554 --> 00:40:58,823
and, therefore,
protect itself against predators.
607
00:40:58,889 --> 00:41:00,891
[uplifting music playing]
608
00:41:11,502 --> 00:41:14,438
[Gareth] It's taken Kulu a long time
609
00:41:14,505 --> 00:41:17,441
to feel secure in the environment.
610
00:41:19,844 --> 00:41:24,048
I started seeing signs of him
settling down and calming.
611
00:41:24,114 --> 00:41:26,116
[sniffing]
612
00:41:27,251 --> 00:41:30,020
There was that definite shift in him.
613
00:41:30,087 --> 00:41:32,089
[music continues]
614
00:41:36,694 --> 00:41:38,462
He started trusting me.
615
00:41:43,033 --> 00:41:44,835
Oh, there's the good stuff.
616
00:41:44,902 --> 00:41:48,038
There we go. Oh, is that the goodness?
617
00:41:48,672 --> 00:41:51,842
Pangolins are not great
at regulating their body temperature.
618
00:41:52,409 --> 00:41:53,410
There we go.
619
00:41:53,477 --> 00:41:57,448
We were out, and I poured a little bit
of water on him, trying to cool him down.
620
00:41:57,515 --> 00:41:59,316
On the belly, there you go.
621
00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:05,155
And he starts doing little 360s
622
00:42:05,222 --> 00:42:07,758
and crawling around the tree
like a maniac.
623
00:42:08,325 --> 00:42:09,660
Hey, there we go.
624
00:42:12,930 --> 00:42:15,232
What are you doing? Hey?
625
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,536
Is that fun, my boy, hey? Is that nice?
626
00:42:19,169 --> 00:42:20,437
Hey? Nice and cool.
627
00:42:21,872 --> 00:42:23,874
[uplifting music continues]
628
00:42:25,910 --> 00:42:30,247
Sometimes, when they're playing,
they'll wrap their tail around your arm.
629
00:42:36,153 --> 00:42:40,624
That was the first time that Kulu
actually really allowed me to lift him up,
630
00:42:40,691 --> 00:42:43,394
and he was using my arm as a play tool.
631
00:42:48,632 --> 00:42:52,202
To be held by the tail and rolled around,
that's fun for him.
632
00:43:09,453 --> 00:43:11,255
He just started opening up,
633
00:43:11,322 --> 00:43:14,725
and a playful side started to emerge.
634
00:43:25,402 --> 00:43:29,340
He went through
this just horrific experience
635
00:43:29,406 --> 00:43:31,075
at the hands of humans.
636
00:43:31,141 --> 00:43:32,710
[joyful music playing]
637
00:43:32,776 --> 00:43:34,278
So much fun, hey?
638
00:43:36,513 --> 00:43:39,383
More? You want more? You want more?
639
00:43:39,450 --> 00:43:43,053
For him to then give me
that level of trust
640
00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:44,622
is incredibly validating.
641
00:43:44,688 --> 00:43:47,791
You want more? Come on then. Come on, you.
642
00:43:47,858 --> 00:43:49,860
[joyful music continues]
643
00:43:59,637 --> 00:44:02,539
He's learning
how to protect himself through play.
644
00:44:03,941 --> 00:44:08,379
Their core strength needs to be
incredibly strong and developed.
645
00:44:13,384 --> 00:44:17,421
He developed it,
doing sit-ups and doing crunches
646
00:44:18,288 --> 00:44:19,590
and doing pull-ups.
647
00:44:19,657 --> 00:44:20,758
[Gareth laughs]
648
00:44:20,824 --> 00:44:22,826
[joyful music continues]
649
00:44:49,687 --> 00:44:50,788
[branch snaps]
650
00:44:53,457 --> 00:44:54,625
[music fades]
651
00:44:56,260 --> 00:44:58,162
[monkeys barking]
652
00:44:58,228 --> 00:45:00,698
[barking, chittering]
653
00:45:02,966 --> 00:45:04,201
[door opens]
654
00:45:05,135 --> 00:45:06,704
[Gareth] We've been here for six months.
655
00:45:06,770 --> 00:45:07,905
Big boy.
656
00:45:07,971 --> 00:45:10,574
We're very close to our freedom.
657
00:45:11,075 --> 00:45:13,944
Come on. Come here.
Can I have a nice yawn? Hey?
658
00:45:14,011 --> 00:45:16,547
{\an8}[Nicci] We know when they're ready
for their release process
659
00:45:16,613 --> 00:45:20,818
{\an8}when they are displaying
very relaxed behavior.
660
00:45:22,252 --> 00:45:25,689
They're feeding nicely.
They're consistently putting on weight.
661
00:45:28,358 --> 00:45:32,463
[Gareth] Where we are now
is about a 45-minute drive
662
00:45:32,529 --> 00:45:34,998
from where he's going to be released.
663
00:45:35,065 --> 00:45:37,835
First one down, my bud. First one down.
664
00:45:38,435 --> 00:45:40,003
With a satellite tag,
665
00:45:40,070 --> 00:45:42,539
I'll be able to see
his location on my phone.
666
00:45:45,609 --> 00:45:49,346
Every hour,
I'll get a ping to say, "I'm here."
667
00:45:50,080 --> 00:45:51,815
I'm sorry. I'm sorry, my bud.
668
00:45:51,882 --> 00:45:56,286
But even with that,
the stakes are very high.
669
00:45:56,353 --> 00:45:58,756
[tense music playing]
670
00:46:01,725 --> 00:46:04,728
[monkeys screeching]
671
00:46:08,165 --> 00:46:10,567
[Ray] We'd release
a perfectly healthy pangolin,
672
00:46:10,634 --> 00:46:12,102
and they would die overnight.
673
00:46:13,370 --> 00:46:15,506
We've lost pangolin to honey badger,
674
00:46:16,507 --> 00:46:19,009
lion, leopard, hyena, even elephant.
675
00:46:20,611 --> 00:46:23,447
Every pangolin is gonna face his dangers,
676
00:46:24,114 --> 00:46:27,217
but at some stage, Kulu needs to be wild.
677
00:46:28,752 --> 00:46:30,320
Can I see a yawn now?
678
00:46:31,121 --> 00:46:33,390
Hey? Are you tired, my buddy?
679
00:46:33,457 --> 00:46:34,458
Hey?
680
00:46:47,671 --> 00:46:49,673
[hopeful music playing]
681
00:46:54,211 --> 00:47:00,083
[Gareth] Where we're releasing Kulu,
it is pangolin paradise.
682
00:47:04,288 --> 00:47:07,724
You've got an incredible amount
683
00:47:07,791 --> 00:47:11,228
of ant and termite activity there.
684
00:47:17,234 --> 00:47:21,471
What I have to do
is completely reestablish him
685
00:47:22,172 --> 00:47:24,975
so he knows where he is
every second of the day.
686
00:47:27,044 --> 00:47:31,615
He'll familiarize himself
with the different smells in the area,
687
00:47:32,182 --> 00:47:34,785
where the potential dangers are.
688
00:47:34,852 --> 00:47:36,186
[low rumbling]
689
00:47:43,627 --> 00:47:45,529
Hey, come on. Come here.
690
00:47:46,296 --> 00:47:47,798
Come on. Okay, all right.
691
00:47:47,865 --> 00:47:49,600
Are you raring to go?
692
00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:53,337
There you go. Hey? You know where you are.
693
00:48:05,215 --> 00:48:07,651
[adventurous music playing]
694
00:48:07,718 --> 00:48:09,720
[Kulu sniffing]
695
00:48:18,328 --> 00:48:20,397
Over the course of the first three days,
696
00:48:20,464 --> 00:48:23,100
he was moving
three to four kilometers in a day.
697
00:48:24,768 --> 00:48:26,637
It's a massive area.
698
00:48:26,703 --> 00:48:28,438
Ja, he's motored.
699
00:48:28,505 --> 00:48:29,439
[telemetry beeps]
700
00:48:32,209 --> 00:48:34,778
He'll feed as quickly as possible…
701
00:48:36,947 --> 00:48:40,851
and just cover
as much distance as possible.
702
00:48:40,918 --> 00:48:43,553
[rousing music playing]
703
00:48:45,856 --> 00:48:48,358
Where are we going?
There's a leopard here.
704
00:48:49,059 --> 00:48:51,795
Are you sure you wanna be up here? Huh?
705
00:48:51,862 --> 00:48:53,563
It was all very frantic.
706
00:48:53,630 --> 00:48:56,800
[rousing music continues]
707
00:49:10,681 --> 00:49:11,748
Stay in the shade.
708
00:49:13,283 --> 00:49:15,919
[sniffing]
709
00:49:23,126 --> 00:49:24,261
[music ends]
710
00:49:24,328 --> 00:49:26,330
[birds chirping]
711
00:49:27,831 --> 00:49:30,100
I mean, he needs to at least
712
00:49:30,167 --> 00:49:33,503
spend a week or two in an area
713
00:49:33,570 --> 00:49:35,706
and then explore, but, you know,
714
00:49:35,772 --> 00:49:39,543
not just sort of day after day
after day after day, just running.
715
00:49:47,751 --> 00:49:51,588
There's only so much pressure
I can put on him to eat.
716
00:49:57,761 --> 00:49:59,196
Oh, that is pretty, huh?
717
00:50:02,632 --> 00:50:03,800
[lion roars]
718
00:50:06,003 --> 00:50:08,005
[moaning]
719
00:50:14,444 --> 00:50:16,246
[roaring playfully]
720
00:50:16,313 --> 00:50:17,614
[pensive music playing]
721
00:50:17,681 --> 00:50:19,683
[continues roaring]
722
00:50:27,224 --> 00:50:28,058
Come on.
723
00:50:29,459 --> 00:50:31,595
Come on, my boy.
We still need to eat, bud.
724
00:50:34,231 --> 00:50:36,700
[lion roaring in distance]
725
00:50:44,141 --> 00:50:47,944
There we go, hey? There we go, my boy.
726
00:50:48,011 --> 00:50:49,646
[uplifting music playing]
727
00:50:53,116 --> 00:50:54,251
[loud rustling]
728
00:50:54,317 --> 00:50:55,152
Stop.
729
00:50:58,121 --> 00:51:00,190
I heard something bugger off there.
730
00:51:00,257 --> 00:51:01,425
[tense music playing]
731
00:51:01,491 --> 00:51:02,893
[low growling]
732
00:51:02,959 --> 00:51:05,328
Ja, there's monsters in the bushes here.
733
00:51:05,395 --> 00:51:07,164
[tense music continues]
734
00:51:10,333 --> 00:51:11,701
[hyenas howling]
735
00:51:13,937 --> 00:51:17,474
This little flay area
is just leopard paradise.
736
00:51:17,541 --> 00:51:19,543
[low growling]
737
00:51:21,378 --> 00:51:24,614
At night,
the wild is a very different place.
738
00:51:25,248 --> 00:51:29,319
Lions become
a very different animal after dark.
739
00:51:30,487 --> 00:51:31,855
So do leopard.
740
00:51:40,263 --> 00:51:42,265
[low growling]
741
00:51:42,933 --> 00:51:45,068
[loud roaring]
742
00:51:45,135 --> 00:51:46,536
Hearing a leopard…
743
00:51:46,603 --> 00:51:47,737
[hyenas chittering]
744
00:51:47,804 --> 00:51:49,473
…hyenas walking around.
745
00:51:50,073 --> 00:51:52,042
That's a very definitive warning.
746
00:51:52,109 --> 00:51:53,276
[frantic music playing]
747
00:51:53,343 --> 00:51:55,312
He's freaking out.
748
00:51:59,349 --> 00:52:01,718
Okay, my boy. I got you.
749
00:52:02,252 --> 00:52:04,588
I got you, my buddy. I got you.
750
00:52:08,158 --> 00:52:09,392
[gentle music playing]
751
00:52:10,060 --> 00:52:11,228
Okay, here, boy.
752
00:52:27,878 --> 00:52:28,778
[beeps]
753
00:52:28,845 --> 00:52:30,614
He's burning a lot of energy.
754
00:52:33,750 --> 00:52:38,255
This evening, he was, I think,
the lowest he's been for over a week,
755
00:52:39,022 --> 00:52:42,959
so it's… it's a noticeable weight drop.
756
00:52:47,063 --> 00:52:50,567
And the potential is
is then we start going backwards.
757
00:52:54,404 --> 00:52:58,141
[dramatic whoosh]
758
00:53:01,344 --> 00:53:02,646
[line ringing]
759
00:53:05,882 --> 00:53:10,620
He's used more energy
than he's been able to take in.
760
00:53:11,254 --> 00:53:14,157
[Nicci on phone] That makes sense.
Remember what he was like.
761
00:53:14,224 --> 00:53:17,160
He used to run, and then he slowly,
over time, settled down.
762
00:53:17,227 --> 00:53:20,297
- That's what you're waiting for him to do.
- I want him to do it immediately.
763
00:53:20,363 --> 00:53:22,199
- Just waiting for him to settle down.
- [laughs]
764
00:53:22,265 --> 00:53:24,668
- [Nicci laughs]
- [Gareth] No, I want him to do it now.
765
00:53:25,769 --> 00:53:28,772
[Nicci] I think when rational advice
has failed,
766
00:53:29,306 --> 00:53:32,275
the only advice
is to trust your own instinct.
767
00:53:33,210 --> 00:53:35,545
And also to trust the pangolin.
768
00:53:35,612 --> 00:53:38,248
'Cause the pangolin
has got such strong instincts.
769
00:53:38,315 --> 00:53:40,317
[pensive music playing]
770
00:53:42,819 --> 00:53:45,422
[Gareth] Rule number one
is don't lose the pangolin.
771
00:53:50,327 --> 00:53:53,163
I was trying to give him
a little bit more space.
772
00:53:53,763 --> 00:53:55,465
Just to try and get him to calm down.
773
00:53:55,532 --> 00:53:57,534
[music continues]
774
00:54:01,938 --> 00:54:05,575
But forgetting the telemetry,
it's just such a stupid mistake.
775
00:54:08,178 --> 00:54:10,380
If he gets into a certain area
776
00:54:10,447 --> 00:54:14,517
and his tags come off,
I might never find him again.
777
00:54:16,686 --> 00:54:18,955
Then there's the electric fence.
778
00:54:19,022 --> 00:54:21,391
That fence is just certain death.
779
00:54:21,458 --> 00:54:23,960
And he can do a kilometer in an hour.
780
00:54:24,027 --> 00:54:26,029
[tense music playing]
781
00:54:32,535 --> 00:54:34,304
You guys go back to the car.
782
00:54:35,438 --> 00:54:37,240
It's making me anxious.
783
00:54:38,008 --> 00:54:38,975
Like, now.
784
00:54:43,346 --> 00:54:45,148
[Nicci] You feel so responsible.
785
00:54:45,982 --> 00:54:49,386
You feel responsible
to the team of people that are behind you,
786
00:54:50,020 --> 00:54:52,656
but most of all,
you feel responsible to that animal.
787
00:54:52,722 --> 00:54:54,724
[music continues]
788
00:55:00,797 --> 00:55:02,999
[Gareth] Because the satellite tag
is not checking in,
789
00:55:03,066 --> 00:55:06,036
we can't pinpoint him down to…
790
00:55:07,637 --> 00:55:11,341
exactly where he is
so that we can actually find him.
791
00:55:12,242 --> 00:55:14,411
You know, we walked around
looking for him, but…
792
00:55:15,045 --> 00:55:17,681
I mean, it's like trying to find a ghost.
793
00:55:17,747 --> 00:55:19,749
[tense music continues]
794
00:55:20,750 --> 00:55:22,352
[screeching]
795
00:55:32,262 --> 00:55:34,397
- [phone chimes]
- Oh, he's just clocked in.
796
00:55:34,464 --> 00:55:37,100
Okay, let's go.
Uh, he's just gone further north,
797
00:55:37,167 --> 00:55:39,903
and he's on that side of the road.
Come on, let's go.
798
00:55:39,969 --> 00:55:40,870
[engine starts]
799
00:55:40,937 --> 00:55:42,939
[tense music continues]
800
00:55:45,442 --> 00:55:47,711
He's now been gone
for two and a half hours.
801
00:55:59,889 --> 00:56:00,990
[engine stops]
802
00:56:01,057 --> 00:56:03,059
[suspenseful music playing]
803
00:56:06,196 --> 00:56:09,532
We found him just under a tree,
804
00:56:09,599 --> 00:56:10,900
eating termites.
805
00:56:10,967 --> 00:56:12,969
[joyful music playing]
806
00:56:17,407 --> 00:56:20,043
And I think it was in that moment,
807
00:56:21,177 --> 00:56:24,013
it was kind of like, "He's got this."
808
00:56:32,255 --> 00:56:34,891
He doesn't need me
being this helicopter parent,
809
00:56:34,958 --> 00:56:36,226
watching over him.
810
00:56:40,530 --> 00:56:42,432
At the thornbush there. No.
811
00:56:43,767 --> 00:56:44,734
Hmm.
812
00:56:47,871 --> 00:56:52,175
You can't control everything,
and my sort of knee-jerk is, "Yes, I can."
813
00:56:52,242 --> 00:56:53,209
[laughs]
814
00:56:56,246 --> 00:57:01,017
But I think, yeah,
there is that reality that, "No, I can't."
815
00:57:01,651 --> 00:57:02,685
Hello, my champ.
816
00:57:03,820 --> 00:57:06,122
Hello, my champ. Hello.
817
00:57:07,223 --> 00:57:08,658
What's up? Come on.
818
00:57:08,725 --> 00:57:10,660
[music continues]
819
00:57:22,272 --> 00:57:26,509
There's been less than a handful of times
where he's actually come to me.
820
00:57:30,213 --> 00:57:32,749
- [endearing music playing]
- [sniffing]
821
00:57:32,816 --> 00:57:34,684
Aw. Aw.
822
00:57:34,751 --> 00:57:37,387
My boy. Hey.
823
00:57:38,254 --> 00:57:39,289
Hello.
824
00:57:40,623 --> 00:57:42,125
Oh my goodness.
825
00:57:42,192 --> 00:57:44,227
[endearing music continues]
826
00:57:45,895 --> 00:57:46,729
Hey.
827
00:57:47,864 --> 00:57:49,999
Oh my goodness, my boy.
828
00:57:51,801 --> 00:57:53,002
Are you cleaning me?
829
00:57:57,874 --> 00:58:00,543
Do I need a clean? Hey?
830
00:58:03,413 --> 00:58:06,115
He sort of reassured me and said,
831
00:58:07,517 --> 00:58:09,018
"Everything's gonna be fine."
832
00:58:09,752 --> 00:58:10,587
Hey?
833
00:58:10,653 --> 00:58:12,655
[endearing music continues]
834
00:58:12,722 --> 00:58:14,724
[sniffing]
835
00:58:22,465 --> 00:58:23,566
That is crazy.
836
00:58:30,039 --> 00:58:32,909
Hey? Thank you for that, my boy. Hey?
837
00:58:33,676 --> 00:58:34,978
Thank you, my buddy.
838
00:58:35,044 --> 00:58:37,580
[music continues]
839
00:58:57,700 --> 00:58:59,068
[music fades]
840
00:58:59,636 --> 00:59:00,970
Ja, I don't know.
841
00:59:01,504 --> 00:59:04,240
It sort of felt like he was telling me.
842
00:59:05,542 --> 00:59:06,442
[inhales sharply]
843
00:59:10,847 --> 00:59:11,848
[sniffling]
844
00:59:27,564 --> 00:59:28,531
[door opens]
845
00:59:34,304 --> 00:59:35,171
[beeps]
846
00:59:49,018 --> 00:59:51,154
[mystical music playing]
847
00:59:51,220 --> 00:59:53,523
[soulful vocalization]
848
00:59:58,094 --> 00:59:59,462
[insects chirping]
849
00:59:59,529 --> 01:00:01,731
[man in Venda]
When the universe was created…
850
01:00:03,132 --> 01:00:07,337
the healers and animals were connected.
851
01:00:11,007 --> 01:00:14,077
The pangolin holds a special place.
852
01:00:14,644 --> 01:00:17,780
[vocalization continues]
853
01:00:17,847 --> 01:00:20,183
As a Venda child, you must spend
854
01:00:20,249 --> 01:00:22,785
the first three months of life
inside your home.
855
01:00:25,755 --> 01:00:29,325
Before you go out,
you must be vaccinated to keep you safe.
856
01:00:29,392 --> 01:00:31,694
[thunder rumbling]
857
01:00:31,761 --> 01:00:34,330
The healer takes the scale of a pangolin
858
01:00:35,264 --> 01:00:36,799
and soaks it in water.
859
01:00:40,903 --> 01:00:43,306
We will splash that water upon you,
860
01:00:43,373 --> 01:00:44,474
like rain.
861
01:00:46,776 --> 01:00:50,980
This will instill you
with humility and calm…
862
01:00:53,416 --> 01:00:56,719
so that when the pangolin
calls the thunder,
863
01:00:56,786 --> 01:00:58,388
you will not be afraid.
864
01:00:58,454 --> 01:01:00,456
[thunder rumbling]
865
01:01:06,396 --> 01:01:08,398
[insects chirping]
866
01:01:09,265 --> 01:01:11,267
[guinea fowl squawking]
867
01:01:19,142 --> 01:01:20,977
[somber music playing]
868
01:01:21,044 --> 01:01:22,645
[Gareth] It's the last time, bud.
869
01:01:23,646 --> 01:01:25,815
Hey? It's your last time.
870
01:01:27,050 --> 01:01:30,853
Hey, last time. Last time, my boy. Hey?
871
01:01:31,754 --> 01:01:34,757
[breathes deeply]
872
01:01:36,893 --> 01:01:40,029
On the one hand,
I just want him to be free so badly.
873
01:01:41,964 --> 01:01:43,299
Okay. [sniffles]
874
01:01:43,866 --> 01:01:46,502
But then, the one thing
that I thought of was, like,
875
01:01:46,569 --> 01:01:48,304
"What am I gonna do without him?"
876
01:01:48,371 --> 01:01:49,706
[somber music continues]
877
01:01:58,614 --> 01:02:00,917
{\an8}I mean, he lives with me. [sniffles]
878
01:02:00,983 --> 01:02:03,720
I sleep five meters away from him.
879
01:02:04,287 --> 01:02:05,221
[sniffles]
880
01:02:06,222 --> 01:02:11,861
I'm in his presence 24/7,
and I have been for six months, so…
881
01:02:11,928 --> 01:02:12,795
[sniffles]
882
01:02:14,464 --> 01:02:18,167
What is it gonna feel like
being away from that?
883
01:02:18,234 --> 01:02:20,236
[music continues]
884
01:02:25,241 --> 01:02:28,578
Okay, my buddy, we're here.
Hey, we're here.
885
01:02:30,046 --> 01:02:31,314
We're here, my champ.
886
01:02:33,816 --> 01:02:34,984
[music fades]
887
01:02:35,051 --> 01:02:37,019
Gonna eat lots. Hey?
888
01:02:39,088 --> 01:02:43,659
Oh, so hungry, hey?
Gonna eat lots for me, my buddy. Hey.
889
01:02:44,260 --> 01:02:45,128
[sniffles]
890
01:02:45,194 --> 01:02:49,465
My letting go of him
is gonna be incredibly gradual.
891
01:02:49,532 --> 01:02:51,534
[sniffing]
892
01:02:52,435 --> 01:02:54,170
I mean, he's a hand-reared pangolin.
893
01:02:54,237 --> 01:02:57,507
Oh, there we go. Hey? That's a good boy.
894
01:02:57,573 --> 01:03:00,643
He's spent more of his life with me
895
01:03:01,377 --> 01:03:04,113
than he has in the wild.
896
01:03:04,180 --> 01:03:06,182
[intriguing music playing]
897
01:03:08,417 --> 01:03:11,087
Is he gonna feel abandoned?
898
01:03:11,154 --> 01:03:12,255
[chuckles]
899
01:03:15,324 --> 01:03:16,993
Is it gonna stress him out to the point
900
01:03:17,059 --> 01:03:20,296
where his immune system
starts getting compromised,
901
01:03:20,363 --> 01:03:22,465
he gets covered in ticks,
902
01:03:22,532 --> 01:03:25,067
he stops feeding,
he starts running at night?
903
01:03:25,134 --> 01:03:26,636
Hey, where are you going?
904
01:03:28,204 --> 01:03:31,073
Um, there's a lot that can go wrong.
905
01:03:34,143 --> 01:03:35,778
Then there's the electric fence.
906
01:03:35,845 --> 01:03:39,081
Just this sort of unavoidable dragon.
907
01:03:39,582 --> 01:03:41,584
[music intensifies]
908
01:03:48,391 --> 01:03:50,393
[music fades]
909
01:03:58,935 --> 01:04:01,170
Hey, buddy. Is this your home?
910
01:04:01,938 --> 01:04:03,606
Is this your home, my champ?
911
01:04:10,179 --> 01:04:14,617
It's an amazing day.
He's eaten heaps, and he's still eating,
912
01:04:14,684 --> 01:04:16,352
which is just unbelievable.
913
01:04:19,956 --> 01:04:22,425
He's been incredibly relaxed.
914
01:04:22,491 --> 01:04:23,893
[Kulu sniffing]
915
01:04:23,960 --> 01:04:25,761
He hasn't run.
916
01:04:27,196 --> 01:04:30,933
He's happy.
I can… I can feel that he's happy.
917
01:04:32,935 --> 01:04:34,036
[woman] Are you happy?
918
01:04:34,904 --> 01:04:36,639
I'm ecstatic. [chuckles]
919
01:04:39,308 --> 01:04:41,611
[soulful music playing]
920
01:04:47,583 --> 01:04:49,518
[Ray] When you're working closely
with animals,
921
01:04:49,585 --> 01:04:52,288
it gets very, very difficult
to break that bond.
922
01:04:54,624 --> 01:04:56,592
And he's gonna have to go through that.
923
01:04:58,127 --> 01:05:00,897
And that's gonna be… bloody hard.
924
01:05:03,032 --> 01:05:03,900
Hey.
925
01:05:03,966 --> 01:05:05,968
[music continues]
926
01:05:12,775 --> 01:05:14,710
[Ray] And we're trying to save a species.
927
01:05:17,213 --> 01:05:19,982
A species that could go extinct
in our lifetime.
928
01:05:24,954 --> 01:05:28,824
You've had the privilege of working
with a ghost, working with a unicorn.
929
01:05:33,863 --> 01:05:36,699
And when you think about that,
it weighs heavy on you.
930
01:05:36,766 --> 01:05:38,768
[music continues]
931
01:05:46,842 --> 01:05:48,311
[Gareth] Ja. He knows.
932
01:06:02,959 --> 01:06:04,627
[music fades]
933
01:06:07,029 --> 01:06:09,031
[breathing shakily]
934
01:06:14,904 --> 01:06:16,238
[telemetry beeping]
935
01:06:17,473 --> 01:06:21,143
I'll just keep an eye on him,
for as long as he allows me.
936
01:06:21,210 --> 01:06:23,145
[animals calling]
937
01:06:23,212 --> 01:06:25,214
[telemetry beeping]
938
01:06:33,689 --> 01:06:35,691
[birds chirping]
939
01:06:48,137 --> 01:06:51,841
[Ray] We monitor these pangolins
post-release up to 12 months.
940
01:06:52,775 --> 01:06:55,478
And we need feedback
almost on a daily basis.
941
01:06:55,544 --> 01:06:57,880
[adventurous music playing]
942
01:07:06,756 --> 01:07:08,524
[Gareth] With the camera trap,
943
01:07:08,591 --> 01:07:12,028
I can give him space but still spy on him.
944
01:07:12,094 --> 01:07:13,095
[sniffing]
945
01:07:13,162 --> 01:07:14,930
[laughs]
946
01:07:16,899 --> 01:07:18,667
You can see in this burrow,
947
01:07:19,568 --> 01:07:21,737
he actually has an upstairs bedroom.
948
01:07:21,804 --> 01:07:26,409
When he goes in now, you can actually
see him go upstairs into the burrow.
949
01:07:26,475 --> 01:07:28,944
[music continues]
950
01:07:37,586 --> 01:07:39,922
We've seen, like,
quite a few different housemates.
951
01:07:40,523 --> 01:07:42,425
[adventurous music continues]
952
01:07:45,694 --> 01:07:46,529
[Gareth chuckles]
953
01:07:49,765 --> 01:07:51,333
[sniffing]
954
01:07:51,400 --> 01:07:55,137
I mean, there's just this incredible world
happening around him.
955
01:07:55,805 --> 01:07:57,807
[music continues]
956
01:08:05,815 --> 01:08:07,349
[rhinoceros huffing]
957
01:08:10,352 --> 01:08:11,754
[insects chirping]
958
01:08:22,131 --> 01:08:24,133
[music fades]
959
01:08:25,301 --> 01:08:26,502
[Ray] He's invincible.
960
01:08:27,002 --> 01:08:28,871
That's what that pangolin feels now.
961
01:08:30,673 --> 01:08:33,509
But it's tough out there,
and it's dangerous.
962
01:08:34,009 --> 01:08:36,245
And he'll learn he's not invincible.
963
01:08:36,879 --> 01:08:38,781
[thunder crashing]
964
01:08:40,149 --> 01:08:41,484
[ethereal music playing]
965
01:08:42,651 --> 01:08:46,889
[man in Venda] In Tshivenda,
a pangolin is a mystical creature.
966
01:08:48,991 --> 01:08:51,927
It is a blessing to see one.
967
01:08:54,230 --> 01:08:58,334
But if one drop
of a pangolin's blood touches the ground,
968
01:08:58,400 --> 01:09:01,437
it will bring forth natural disasters.
969
01:09:01,504 --> 01:09:03,405
[thunder crashing]
970
01:09:03,472 --> 01:09:06,542
[soulful vocalization]
971
01:09:19,021 --> 01:09:21,023
[ethereal music continues]
972
01:09:33,202 --> 01:09:37,106
[Gareth] He'd been free for eight weeks
when I had to go to Joburg for work.
973
01:09:39,141 --> 01:09:42,044
But while I was there,
I got a call from the reserve,
974
01:09:42,111 --> 01:09:44,480
saying that
he wasn't coming out of his burrow.
975
01:09:46,048 --> 01:09:49,418
All the scenarios
were running through my mind.
976
01:09:50,352 --> 01:09:52,655
I felt like
there was something wrong with him.
977
01:09:55,024 --> 01:09:56,992
My main concern was that
978
01:09:57,059 --> 01:09:59,728
something like a spotted hyena
had gotten hold of him.
979
01:09:59,795 --> 01:10:01,830
[melancholic music playing]
980
01:10:01,897 --> 01:10:04,767
It didn't occur to me
that his burrow could have collapsed
981
01:10:04,833 --> 01:10:06,402
until it was day six.
982
01:10:06,468 --> 01:10:08,470
[music continues]
983
01:10:10,105 --> 01:10:12,641
That morning,
I was just getting more and more concerned
984
01:10:12,708 --> 01:10:15,711
and, like, building up into quite a state.
985
01:10:15,778 --> 01:10:17,246
[line ringing]
986
01:10:17,313 --> 01:10:19,114
- Hey, Nicci.
- [Nicci on phone] Morning, Gareth.
987
01:10:19,181 --> 01:10:20,616
[Gareth] Something's not right.
988
01:10:20,683 --> 01:10:22,818
He hasn't actually been seen for six days.
989
01:10:24,053 --> 01:10:26,889
So, I have thought of every eventuality.
990
01:10:27,890 --> 01:10:31,026
God, I don't know what--
what to even think, um…
991
01:10:31,093 --> 01:10:33,062
[Nicci] I don't know
what to say about that
992
01:10:33,128 --> 01:10:36,131
except just get there with a spade.
993
01:10:36,699 --> 01:10:37,900
[Gareth] Yeah, okay.
994
01:10:37,967 --> 01:10:39,935
[music intensifies]
995
01:10:41,904 --> 01:10:43,906
[music fades]
996
01:10:45,908 --> 01:10:48,177
- [jackal howling]
- [lion roaring]
997
01:10:48,244 --> 01:10:50,212
[pensive music playing]
998
01:10:53,048 --> 01:10:56,085
[telemetry beeping]
999
01:11:03,392 --> 01:11:04,393
[Gareth exhales sharply]
1000
01:11:04,994 --> 01:11:06,562
So I get there yesterday.
1001
01:11:08,197 --> 01:11:09,999
Set up the camera trap.
1002
01:11:10,065 --> 01:11:11,767
It's all right, my boy. It's just me.
1003
01:11:12,301 --> 01:11:13,469
Start digging.
1004
01:11:13,535 --> 01:11:15,504
[pensive music continues]
1005
01:11:19,008 --> 01:11:22,244
So I'm just, like,
"Oh Jesus Christ, I'm digging up a body."
1006
01:11:22,978 --> 01:11:24,980
[melancholic music playing]
1007
01:11:26,048 --> 01:11:30,152
[shakily] I feel like I've got,
like, emotionally, just nothing left.
1008
01:11:31,587 --> 01:11:33,589
[grunting]
1009
01:11:35,324 --> 01:11:37,926
Ja, I'd been digging for like,
for two hours.
1010
01:11:37,993 --> 01:11:40,095
My back's, like, giving in.
1011
01:11:41,063 --> 01:11:42,431
[telemetry beeping]
1012
01:11:42,498 --> 01:11:44,967
Eventually, I realized I needed help,
1013
01:11:45,801 --> 01:11:47,936
so I called in the anti-poaching unit.
1014
01:11:48,437 --> 01:11:50,506
We were, like, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig.
1015
01:11:55,344 --> 01:11:57,780
It took us, like,
four and a half, five hours.
1016
01:11:58,747 --> 01:12:00,616
We dug a swimming pool.
1017
01:12:00,683 --> 01:12:02,685
[tense music playing]
1018
01:12:06,922 --> 01:12:09,358
Eventually, we get to this hollow point.
1019
01:12:18,867 --> 01:12:22,171
[voice breaking] And at that point,
I was convinced
1020
01:12:23,238 --> 01:12:25,808
the chances are that he's not alive.
1021
01:12:26,575 --> 01:12:28,110
I'm digging up his body.
1022
01:12:28,177 --> 01:12:30,179
[tense music continues]
1023
01:12:31,647 --> 01:12:32,548
[grunting]
1024
01:12:38,854 --> 01:12:41,023
[grunting] Okay, guys,
just kill the lights.
1025
01:12:41,090 --> 01:12:43,092
[tense music continues]
1026
01:12:46,829 --> 01:12:47,763
[music fades]
1027
01:12:47,830 --> 01:12:48,831
[exhales sharply]
1028
01:12:51,567 --> 01:12:53,569
[sobbing]
1029
01:12:59,475 --> 01:13:02,711
Hey, are you okay? Are you okay, my boy?
1030
01:13:02,778 --> 01:13:04,580
Hey? Are you okay?
1031
01:13:04,646 --> 01:13:05,848
And he looks at me.
1032
01:13:06,548 --> 01:13:08,517
Are you all right, my buddy? Hey?
1033
01:13:09,251 --> 01:13:12,855
I just fall over. I was like,
"Oh my God, he's alive."
1034
01:13:14,423 --> 01:13:18,327
Are you okay, my boy?
Hey? Are you all right?
1035
01:13:18,927 --> 01:13:22,631
Hey? Are you okay? Are you hurt?
1036
01:13:23,432 --> 01:13:24,433
Are you hurt?
1037
01:13:25,300 --> 01:13:27,469
Hey? Are you all right?
1038
01:13:28,003 --> 01:13:29,938
Hey? Are you okay?
1039
01:13:30,572 --> 01:13:33,142
Hey? What are you doing in here?
1040
01:13:33,842 --> 01:13:35,577
Check him out. Look at him.
1041
01:13:36,378 --> 01:13:39,648
He's, like, shell-shocked
of what's been going on
1042
01:13:39,715 --> 01:13:42,184
and the noise around him
and everything like that.
1043
01:13:42,785 --> 01:13:45,921
Okay, I think he's a little bit weak, so…
1044
01:13:46,555 --> 01:13:51,026
Hey, it's all right. I've got you, my boy.
You're okay. You're okay, my boy.
1045
01:13:51,593 --> 01:13:54,229
Hey, you're okay. You're okay, my buddy.
1046
01:13:54,830 --> 01:13:58,834
Hey, are you okay? Hey? Are you all right?
1047
01:13:59,468 --> 01:14:01,870
Are you sleeping? Hey?
1048
01:14:02,971 --> 01:14:04,339
Are you okay, my buddy?
1049
01:14:05,541 --> 01:14:08,043
Look at me. Are you okay, my boy? Hey?
1050
01:14:08,710 --> 01:14:10,846
Hey, look at you. Hey, it's me.
1051
01:14:10,913 --> 01:14:13,115
It's me, my buddy. It's me.
1052
01:14:13,682 --> 01:14:16,151
Hey? Are you all right? Hey?
1053
01:14:17,052 --> 01:14:19,822
You're okay, my boy.
What are you doing to me?
1054
01:14:19,888 --> 01:14:22,124
Hey, come on. Come on.
1055
01:14:22,191 --> 01:14:26,261
Here you go, let's go up.
Come here. Hey, it's all right, come here.
1056
01:14:27,196 --> 01:14:28,630
Are you gonna walk for me?
1057
01:14:29,364 --> 01:14:30,499
Hey? Can you walk?
1058
01:14:30,999 --> 01:14:33,368
I wanna see, like, okay, is he weak?
1059
01:14:36,238 --> 01:14:38,006
And he slowly starts walking.
1060
01:14:41,743 --> 01:14:42,778
[sniffing]
1061
01:14:42,845 --> 01:14:46,915
He finds a nest of ants,
and he just climbs in.
1062
01:14:48,484 --> 01:14:51,086
Just starts to chow like crazy.
1063
01:14:51,153 --> 01:14:53,155
[sniffing intently]
1064
01:14:55,023 --> 01:14:57,593
The little dude was starving.
1065
01:15:01,029 --> 01:15:02,731
What an ordeal.
1066
01:15:02,798 --> 01:15:05,067
[continues sniffing]
1067
01:15:23,118 --> 01:15:27,422
It never occurred to me
that him being trapped in a burrow
1068
01:15:27,489 --> 01:15:29,925
would be something
I would have to worry about.
1069
01:15:31,159 --> 01:15:33,161
[birds calling]
1070
01:15:45,040 --> 01:15:47,042
{\an8}[vehicle approaching]
1071
01:15:51,046 --> 01:15:52,080
[rhinoceros bellows]
1072
01:15:52,614 --> 01:15:55,183
[Gareth] All right, big girl. Just relax.
1073
01:15:56,151 --> 01:15:57,853
[Dr. Caswell] Have you seen
any interactions
1074
01:15:57,920 --> 01:15:59,821
between him and some of the big mammals?
1075
01:15:59,888 --> 01:16:03,759
[Gareth] So, the interesting thing
is he'll actually follow them around.
1076
01:16:05,794 --> 01:16:08,196
- Because he'll roll in their dung.
- Oh yes.
1077
01:16:08,263 --> 01:16:10,132
And he'll cover himself.
1078
01:16:17,406 --> 01:16:21,543
If you're a lion,
and you're smelling rhino shit,
1079
01:16:21,610 --> 01:16:24,346
you don't think that it's something
that you're gonna hunt.
1080
01:16:24,413 --> 01:16:27,649
[Dr. Caswell] Ja.
There's so much mimicking in most animals.
1081
01:16:46,301 --> 01:16:47,369
Hey, my buddy.
1082
01:16:48,637 --> 01:16:50,739
Are we gonna do this,
and I'll leave you alone?
1083
01:16:52,374 --> 01:16:54,910
- Come on. Come. Come.
- [sniffing]
1084
01:16:55,811 --> 01:16:57,646
Come. Come.
1085
01:16:58,213 --> 01:16:59,815
[laughs]
1086
01:17:00,449 --> 01:17:04,753
Come here. Come on. Let's be quick.
Come on. We'll be quick. Hello.
1087
01:17:05,387 --> 01:17:09,591
Come on. I know you're a free pangolin.
You don't wanna be handled. Hey?
1088
01:17:11,226 --> 01:17:13,195
Pull it up this way. There we go.
1089
01:17:17,699 --> 01:17:20,068
{\an8}Hold still. There we go.
1090
01:17:23,438 --> 01:17:26,341
Hey. You're very calm in there. Hey?
1091
01:17:27,275 --> 01:17:28,410
Have you been good?
1092
01:17:29,177 --> 01:17:32,414
Have you been a good boy?
How's this tummy? That's good.
1093
01:17:33,348 --> 01:17:34,316
Huh?
1094
01:17:37,753 --> 01:17:39,655
Hah. Completely unfazed.
1095
01:17:46,228 --> 01:17:48,330
You see how slowly he's moving, eh?
1096
01:17:48,397 --> 01:17:49,231
Not that…
1097
01:17:49,297 --> 01:17:50,932
[mimicking frantic walk]
1098
01:17:58,674 --> 01:17:59,641
Ja.
1099
01:17:59,708 --> 01:18:02,477
Looks like
he's heading west into the valley.
1100
01:18:04,379 --> 01:18:06,381
[birds calling]
1101
01:18:11,653 --> 01:18:13,655
[thunder rumbling]
1102
01:18:19,761 --> 01:18:22,731
[soulful singing]
1103
01:18:25,067 --> 01:18:26,635
[Dr. Caswell] As a human being,
1104
01:18:26,702 --> 01:18:29,137
it's your role
to protect the animals around you.
1105
01:18:32,474 --> 01:18:36,945
As scientists,
we're trying to now link the science
1106
01:18:37,479 --> 01:18:39,081
and what people understood.
1107
01:18:40,115 --> 01:18:41,349
[sniffing]
1108
01:18:41,416 --> 01:18:43,018
You've got this magical animal
1109
01:18:44,720 --> 01:18:46,021
that can make it rain.
1110
01:18:46,088 --> 01:18:47,689
[thunder rumbling]
1111
01:18:47,756 --> 01:18:49,191
Everyone wants the rain.
1112
01:18:51,693 --> 01:18:53,628
The myth that protects,
1113
01:18:53,695 --> 01:18:57,899
that has let humans
and the environment live in harmony.
1114
01:18:58,900 --> 01:19:02,304
[soulful singing continues]
1115
01:19:04,005 --> 01:19:06,007
[wind whooshing]
1116
01:19:07,309 --> 01:19:10,145
Those stories,
they were passed through generations,
1117
01:19:10,212 --> 01:19:14,416
but we're raising a group of people now
that need to be told things as they are.
1118
01:19:15,884 --> 01:19:19,087
They are not interested in
what people used to believe.
1119
01:19:20,355 --> 01:19:22,157
[guitar music playing]
1120
01:19:22,224 --> 01:19:25,327
Whether science combined
with the traditional ways of doing things,
1121
01:19:26,027 --> 01:19:27,262
or science comes alone,
1122
01:19:27,763 --> 01:19:29,364
at the center of everything
1123
01:19:29,431 --> 01:19:32,934
is that we need
to protect the environment.
1124
01:19:33,001 --> 01:19:35,003
[thunder rumbling]
1125
01:19:37,906 --> 01:19:42,344
What has our kind done to the Kulu kind?
1126
01:19:44,813 --> 01:19:47,616
[soulful song playing]
1127
01:19:52,120 --> 01:19:53,054
[exhales sharply]
1128
01:19:54,823 --> 01:19:58,760
[Nicci] I think that if
such a special creature like a pangolin
1129
01:19:58,827 --> 01:19:59,928
is lost,
1130
01:20:01,096 --> 01:20:04,833
it symbolizes the way we treat everything.
1131
01:20:05,801 --> 01:20:07,369
[soulful singing continues]
1132
01:20:07,435 --> 01:20:09,437
[wind whooshing]
1133
01:20:17,179 --> 01:20:19,681
[thunder rumbling]
1134
01:20:24,920 --> 01:20:27,088
[low rumbling]
1135
01:20:31,693 --> 01:20:32,794
[thunder crashing]
1136
01:20:32,861 --> 01:20:35,230
[rhythmic clapping]
1137
01:20:37,232 --> 01:20:39,201
[singing becomes spirited]
1138
01:20:40,802 --> 01:20:42,237
[thunder rumbling]
1139
01:20:42,304 --> 01:20:44,239
[spirited singing continues]
1140
01:21:10,432 --> 01:21:12,000
[song ends]
1141
01:21:12,067 --> 01:21:14,069
[animals calling]
1142
01:21:36,791 --> 01:21:38,793
[inspirational music playing]
1143
01:21:41,830 --> 01:21:43,732
It has been a hell of a thing,
1144
01:21:44,366 --> 01:21:46,635
like a long, long journey.
1145
01:21:46,701 --> 01:21:47,836
[chuckles]
1146
01:21:55,277 --> 01:21:57,712
He's just a completely different animal.
1147
01:22:00,415 --> 01:22:02,884
He's so relaxed. [laughs]
1148
01:22:05,720 --> 01:22:08,690
It just feels like he can do things
1149
01:22:08,757 --> 01:22:11,259
when he wants to, on his terms,
1150
01:22:11,326 --> 01:22:13,361
{\an8}without any sort of pressure.
1151
01:22:18,667 --> 01:22:20,535
{\an8}He's carried on gaining weight.
1152
01:22:20,602 --> 01:22:22,604
[music continues]
1153
01:22:28,910 --> 01:22:31,880
He's now mapped out this entire area.
1154
01:22:34,783 --> 01:22:40,055
And he's moved
into this dense, thick riverine territory.
1155
01:22:43,959 --> 01:22:48,964
It's like he has found
the wildest pocket of wilderness,
1156
01:22:49,030 --> 01:22:51,333
and that's where he's staying.
1157
01:22:51,399 --> 01:22:53,401
[inspirational music continues]
1158
01:22:54,502 --> 01:22:56,504
[soulful vocalization]
1159
01:23:04,679 --> 01:23:06,982
He might be looking for a female.
1160
01:23:08,016 --> 01:23:10,652
I mean, the fact that
he's now going around
1161
01:23:10,719 --> 01:23:13,755
and just scent-marking everything
1162
01:23:13,822 --> 01:23:16,491
is a pretty good indication
that he's ready.
1163
01:23:19,394 --> 01:23:22,831
And we know
there are other pangolins in the area.
1164
01:23:29,771 --> 01:23:32,807
He's now been in the wild
1165
01:23:32,874 --> 01:23:35,577
for longer than he's been in captivity.
1166
01:23:36,444 --> 01:23:40,181
It almost seems
like a debt was paid at that point.
1167
01:23:40,248 --> 01:23:42,384
[music continues]
1168
01:23:42,450 --> 01:23:44,452
[sniffing]
1169
01:23:48,023 --> 01:23:51,793
The last two times
that I've gone out to go check on him,
1170
01:23:51,860 --> 01:23:53,661
he's tried to hide from me.
1171
01:23:56,698 --> 01:23:58,233
By lying flat,
1172
01:23:58,299 --> 01:24:01,836
he's trying to blend in
with his surroundings.
1173
01:24:12,480 --> 01:24:17,085
That feels like the last step
in his rewilding process.
1174
01:24:17,152 --> 01:24:19,387
[music continues]
1175
01:24:29,264 --> 01:24:32,333
I mean, there's got to be a point
where you let go.
1176
01:24:37,038 --> 01:24:39,040
{\an8}[inspirational music continues]
1177
01:24:40,909 --> 01:24:42,911
{\an8}[insects chirping]
1178
01:24:52,454 --> 01:24:55,890
In a way, we maybe should never
have seen him in the first place.
1179
01:24:56,724 --> 01:24:59,327
I mean, if he's just never seen again,
1180
01:24:59,961 --> 01:25:03,731
that means he's out there doing his thing.
1181
01:25:03,798 --> 01:25:05,767
[inspirational music continues]
1182
01:25:05,834 --> 01:25:07,836
[soulful vocalization continues]
1183
01:25:47,208 --> 01:25:49,210
[music continues]
1184
01:26:25,413 --> 01:26:27,415
[soulful vocalization continues]
1185
01:26:33,855 --> 01:26:37,725
[ululating]
1186
01:26:37,792 --> 01:26:39,661
[music fades]
1187
01:26:39,727 --> 01:26:41,729
[percussive music playing]
1188
01:27:04,652 --> 01:27:06,654
[soulful vocalization]
1189
01:28:35,843 --> 01:28:37,478
{\an8}[music ends]