Born in China Page #2

(SQUEAKING)

But Dawa is smarter.

Her cubs will go to sleep

with full stomachs tonight.

This one meal

could tide them over for an entire week.

In Dawa's world,

you must take life to give life.

Tao Tao has become

increasingly dejected...

and has been spending a lot of time...

just trying to avoid his little sister,

and his family.

But today, he's come across

some interesting neighbors...

who could change all that.

(MONKEYS SCREECHING)

These are the Lost Boys...

a gang of young male outcasts...

some of them as young as TaoTao.

These guys know all about rejection.

Being a Lost Boy is sort of

like running away to join the circus...

except with fewer rules.

These kids don't seem

to have a care in the world.

This is Rooster...

the leader of the Lost Boys.

He's been in a lot of battles.

You see that eye?

TaoTao's father had a hand in that.

He's certainly taken notice of Tao Tao.

Maybe Tao Tao reminds him

of himself at that age.

Or maybe he just stares at stuff a lot.

In any case, if Tao Tao

has been looking...

for a way to vent his frustrations...

he's come to the right place...

because on this sunny afternoon...

the Lost Boys have invited him...

to play an ancient

traditional monkey game...

called Let's Break Branches.

(SCREECHING)

(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)

This is exactly

what TaoTao needs right now.

Some of their shenanigans, however,

go a little too far for Tao Tao.

Like stealing a baby...

for kicks?

But hey...

it's not like it's his sister.

Being mischievous troublemakers...

is exhausting work.

For TaoTao, though,

life with the Lost Boys seems...

pretty sweet.

Until...

Goshawks are virtually

the only natural predators

these monkeys have.

And they're always on the lookout

for abandoned babies.

(SQUEALS)

(MONKEY SQUEALS)

(CALLING)

In the blink of an eye,

Tao Tee's world is turned upside down.

(GOSHAWK SCREECHES)

That came out of nowhere.

Why wasn't anyone

keeping an eye out?

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

It's a harsh dose of reality for Tao Tao.

That easily could have

been his little sister.

(THUNDER CRASHING)

(BIRDS SQUAWKING)

The summer winds,

carrying the warm scent

of fresh pastures...

have led the chiru

to their sacred destination...

Zhuonai Lake.

And the real purpose

of their heroic journey...

now reveals itself.

The whole fantastic, continuous cycle...

that is chiru existence...

is built on

this first moment of bonding...

between a mother and her baby...

sharing each other's scent.

Miraculously, baby chiru

are able to walk...

within 30 minutes of being born.

It's that "standing still"

part that's so difficult.

Within a few days,

they can run like their mothers.

As mothers and their calves

learn to identify each other by smell...

they're forming the essential,

unbreakable connections...

that bind the herd together

and allow it to survive

its return migration.

Sometimes, it takes a while...

for calves to figure out

whose smell is whose...

and they are gently encouraged

to keep sniffing.

The chiru will stay here

until the calves are capable...

of making their long return journey.

Then their pendulum

will swing back toward home...

where they'll be reunited

with the males they left behind.

(BLEATING)

(BIRDS WARBLING)

Up in the mountains of Sichuan...

the turn of seasons unfurls...

in a breathtaking kaleidoscope of color.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(WATER TRICKLING)

(MEIMEI WHIMPERING)

Ya Ya and her baby have finally

emerged from their den of solitude.

It's time for MeiMei to meet the world.

(WHIMPERING)

"Well, the baby's been fed...

"and cuddled...

"and put to bed."

"Time for lunch."

(LEAVES RUSTLING)

Pandas in the wild

eat almost nothing but bamboo.

Up to 40 pounds per day.

40...

pounds...

of bamboo...

per day.

(SQUEAKS)

MeiMei, however,

has a belly full of mother's milk...

and is fully rested.

And there's a whole

new world to explore.

Right.

She can't really go anywhere.

At this age, panda cubs

have barely learned to crawl.

(SQUEAKING)

But that doesn't diminish

her fascination...

with all these new sights and sounds.

Like this guy.

(WHIMPERS)

A red panda.

He's not really a panda at all.

He's actually closer to a raccoon.

MeiMei doesn't care what he is.

She just wants to

climb up there and say hello.

Red pandas spend

almost all their time up in trees...

which makes him

a perfect role model for MeiMei.

Because climbing trees...

is all baby pandas dream about.

There's so much beauty.

It's entrancing.

But behind the beauty...

lurks danger.

(SQUEAKS)

(SQUEAKING)

"Okay?"

"And here we go again."

(SQUEALS)

(GROWLS)

(WHIMPERING)

"Oh, my gosh.

"That was so embarrassing."

(HUFFING)

(MEIMEI WHIMPERING)

(WHIMPERS)

Moms are always there

to pick you up when you fall down.

And to drag you around

by the neck afterward.

If she could...

Ya Ya would stay

in this moment forever.

(LOW BARK)

All she wants to do

is hold onto her baby...

and smother her with love.

(SQUEAKS)

But MeiMei has had a taste of freedom.

And she likes it.

(SQUEALING)

Pine nuts are only

available in the fall...

and today Rooster and the Lost Boys...

have found a nice patch

all to themselves.

And Tao Tao is making sure

he gets his fair share.

(MONKEYS SCREECHING)

"Whoops."

He's been spending almost

all his time with the Lost Boys...

ever since his cute little baby sister

swallowed up his family.

(MONKEYS SCREECHING)

But when TaoTao's father shows up...

with the whole family in tow...

the festive mood changes...

to less festive.

(MONKEY SQUEALING)

Rooster probably still has

a chip on his shoulder...

about that whole eye thing.

(SCREECHES)

Looks like it's time

for some long-awaited payback.

(SCREECHING)

(SNARLING)

Tao Tao can't believe this.

Why is Rooster

picking a fight with his father?

The females in Tao Tao's family

rally around their man.

(SCREECHING)

Rooster, however, is on his own.

The Lost Boys only

look out for themselves.

With nobody to back him up...

Rooster beats a hasty retreat.

(SCREECHES)

Tao Tao is torn.

These new pals of his are turning out

to be a bunch of self-centered brats.

Is there anybody in this crazy world

you can actually depend on?

(BLEATING)

Up on the high plains...

the chiru have embarked

on their journey back home

to rejoin the males.

But the smell of young calves

has attracted followers.

(BLEATING)

This wolf tests the herd...

trying to separate the little ones.

By now, luckily, those baby legs...

are strong and fast,

just like their mothers'.

(ANTELOPE BLEATING)

The chiru are united.

The bonds between moms

and babies hold strong.

Each calf glued to its mother's scent.

(BLEATING)

The herd is many...

but the herd is one.

The sheer beauty of China...

manifests itself

in so many different ways...

in so many remote corners.

It sometimes feels like another world.

Under Dawa's nurturing...

her cubs are growing into

two impressive young cats.

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