Baby Planet

The maternal instinct is one of Natures strongest - it makes sure mothers bond with, care for and protect their babies. Without it, the worlds breeding programmes for threatened species would face a very different future. In this programme we see how a female rhinos natural caution protects her baby and spend time with a baby kangaroo who was rejected by his mother so she could carry on breeding. A mother Amur leopard gets angry when her cubs are taken away for their vaccinations, and we meet two orangutan mums whose maternal instincts help them bring their babies up in just the right way.

No matter how skilled an animal mother is, sometimes things go wrong. Thats when dedicated keepers and carers must step in to save the lives of mothers and babies. This programme travels to Australia to see the huge efforts needed to save flying fox mums and babies from a deadly paralysis, and watches as a vet carefully removes a baby zebras umbilical cord. We reveal how keepers successfully changed the way they keep Rothschilds giraffes, but still have to step in to bottle-feed a youngster. We share peoples sadness at an elephant stillbirth and elation when another healthy elephant calf is born.

Captive breeding and rehabilitation programmes are a vital part of the struggle to save threatened species around the world. If they don't succeed, many endangered creatures could simply disappear. This programme features the long-awaited birth of a baby Giant panda, and follows her through the first months of her life. An abandoned baby manatee is encouraged to feed by a much older male, then she must be left behind when he is released back into the wild. We spend time with three big cat cubs who sadly can never be released, but will play a big part in educating people about their species. We witness the caesarian birth of a baby Gelada baboon, and show how he flourishes, despite being abused by his mother.

On Baby Planet, the best care in the world wont stop nature taking its course whatever the outcome. However even the darkest cloud can have a silver lining. In this programme keepers struggle to save sixteen hunting dog puppies after their mother dies; sadly only six make it, but they have a bright future as part of a new pack. We go home with a rejected Barbary lion cub where she finds a new canine companion, and see how a baby White-cheeked gibbon keeps staff guessing about its gender. In South Africa abandoned Wattled crane eggs are put in an incubator very few hatch out, but the efforts to save this threatened species must go on.

Sometimes animal mothers manage just fine, but at other times they need a lot of help from the keepers and vets who run the worlds wildlife maternity wards. In this programme Amanda the Lowland gorilla surprises everyone by becoming pregnant at a late age. The birth goes well, but soon afterwards Amandas in pain and her baby develops a worrying lump on its back. We watch an aardvark cause chaos during her pre-natal exam, and spend time with a Malayan tapir who keeps everyone guessing about her due date. We see how two Striped hyena cubs are hand-reared after their mother rejects them, then travel to the USA, where its third time lucky when a nervous warthog mum finally overcomes her terror of piglets.

Two rare bonobo babies, born at the same zoo in the USA, are both rejected by their mothers. Keepers step in to hand raise the babies and begin the long and potentially dangerous process of re-introducing them to the other bonobos living at the zoo It is only from them that they can learn the skills they need to become independent. We also meet two wild baby seals, who are found weak and starving on the freezing UK coastline. They are rescued and taken to a rehabilitation centre where they must learn how to catch fish and fight for their food, before they can be released back into the wild. In France we witness the birth of four precious cheetah cubs and follow one of the cubs on a risky adventure and in Ireland a Ring Tailed Lemur mother struggles to keep an eye on her new born twins, as they learn to climb.