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Nature’s Miracle Babies Season 1 Episode 1 – Episode 1
Nature’s Miracle Babies is presented by Martin Hughes-Games. The series takes a look at the ground-breaking work of pioneering breeding programmes protecting some of the planet’s most threatened animals.
Episode 1:
In China there are thought to be less than 2,000 pandas left in the wild. Babies are key to the survival of the species but the adults are notoriously indifferent to mating. Martin visits a hugely successful captive breeding programme in Chengdu where medical techniques developed for humans are being used to help pandas become pregnant. He also travels to Zoo Atlanta in the USA, where they’re hoping their female panda, Lun Lun, on loan from her home country, is going to mate. And he discovers that nothing is straightforward about these adorable creatures. “The giant panda is charismatic, controversial, a puzzle but also extremely beautiful,” says Martin. Closer to home, another breeding programme at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey is working on saving the future of the most threatened monkey in South America – the pied tamarin – which is at risk from deforestation in Brazil. It’s a delicate process as the mother could well turn on the babies, causing them serious injuries. At Whipsnade Zoo, Behan, an Asian one-horned rhino, is nearing the end of a marathon 16-month pregnancy. Hunting for traditional medicine has seen the species decimated but now a combination of protection in Nepal and India and captive breeding mean that it may have a future.
