Born in China Page #4

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

In China...

some believe the panda to be

the living embodiment...

of the yin and yang concept...

the curved black-and-white

patterns of its fur...

mimicking the symbol itself.

(SQUEALING)

This duality of opposing forces

exists everywhere in nature.

But perhaps nowhere more so...

than in the mounting relationship

between Ya Ya and MeiMei.

The push and pull between

freedom and protection...

is coming to a head.

(SQUEALS)

Ya Ya wants so badly...

to hold on to her precious daughter

and keep her safe.

But MeiMei has an uncontrollable...

evolutionary urge to just climb.

And yeah, sure,

the kid has some issues with gravity.

But so what? Life is risky.

She's going to fall down.

(SQUEALING)

And then, she'll get back up.

(SQUEALING)

But at some point,

she has to do it on her own.

And today is that day.

(SQUEALS)

(SQUEALING)

As deep as YaYa's love

for her daughter is...

there is a force that is stronger.

A force of nature.

And it's pulling them apart.

She's going for it.

(SQUEALING)

(SQUEALS)

(SQUEALING)

The day you climb a tree on your own...

without falling out of it...

is a big day.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

Ya Ya may be

a slightly overprotective mother...

but she's raised

one extraordinary little panda.

She also knows...

it will soon be time to say goodbye.

The joy a mother receives...

from raising a cub from birth, however...

is worth a thousand farewells.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(MONKEYS SQUEALING)

Springtime means more food.

More fleas.

And more babies.

(MONKEYS SQUEALING)

Which, in turn, means...

more baby fever.

(SQUEALING)

(SQUEALING)

Though Tao Tao is getting along better

with his family lately...

he's understandably been spending

less time around his father.

And a lot more time by himself.

Tao Tao's sister is growing up, too.

She's starting to

show off her own personality.

She's at an age now

where her mother can leave her alone...

to go forage for food.

Or for someone else's baby.

(SQUEALS)

But wherever there are little babies...

goshawks are not far away.

Tao Tao spots the predator

and sounds the alarm.

(SCREECHES)

The troop scrambles for cover.

(MONKEYS SCREECHING)

All little ones are accounted for.

Except for one. Tao Tao's sister.

(SCREECHING)

But Tao Tao has been

keeping an eye on her...

and leaps into action.

He reaches her just in time.

(GOSHAWK SCREECHES)

(SQUEALS)

Tao Tao has never felt so valued.

He acted on pure instinct

to protect his sister.

And that brave act

has made him realize...

that he's grown up.

A lot.

(SCREECHES)

His dad is definitely happy

to have him back in the fold.

The young outcast

without a care in the world...

has grown up into the family hero.

He's certainly a hero

in his sister's eyes.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(WIND WHOOSHING)

Back up on the high plateau...

the winter snow

lingers well into spring...

and Dawa is still fighting

to provide for her cubs.

(BLEATING)

The injury to her foot

has greatly hampered

her hunting ability...

and she no longer has the speed

to chase down prey...

as fast as these wild sheep.

(BELLS TINKLING)

But an opportunity arises.

In springtime,

domesticated yaks are released...

to graze in the higher elevations.

These beasts are

10 times as heavy as Dawa...

and one blow from

those powerful horns could be fatal.

Going up against

a whole herd is like attacking an army.

(LOW GROWL)

But her cubs are relying on her.

(YAKS GRUNTING)

(BELLS TINKLING)

It's now or never.

(GRUNTING)

(BELLS TINKLING)

(YAKS GRUNTING)

The calf's mother

rallies to save her baby.

Dawa refuses to let go.

She knows this is her last chance.

But a yak mother's will

to protect her young...

is just as strong as Dawa's.

The yak strikes Dawa

hard with her horns.

(DAWA SNARLS IN PAIN)

Dawa is injured badly.

(GRUNTING)

One mother's brave rescue

of her baby...

is another's tragic failure to feed hers.

(YAKS GRUNTING)

(LOW GROWL)

(CUBS GROWLING FAINTLY)

(BELLS TINKLING)

(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)

(CRANES WARBLING)

In Chinese mythology,

when a life ends...

a crane carries that soul...

to rejoin the cycle of birth and rebirth.

From the end to the beginning.

Time pushes this cycle ever forward.

The young become adults.

The adults grow old.

And the old are reborn.

Death is not the end.

It is merely a waypoint

in a circle that continues endlessly.

(SCREECHES)

(CUB WHIMPERING)

(CUB SQUEALS)

(CRANES CAWING)

(CRANES WARBLING)

(YAWNING)

Every creature plays its part...

in this great cyclical symphony.

Each life lived...

is just one beat

in the larger beautiful rhythm.

This vast land breeds

both love and hardship.

But in the hardship...

there is hope.

(MONKEYS SCREECHING)

This is where they live.

This is where they die.

This is where they grow.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC PLAYING)

This is where they are born.

In China.

(LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING)

(SQUEALS)

(SCREECHES)

We tried to take

some time-lapses of the landscape.

As you might see right now...

the light is not very interesting.

But the good thing is...

the weather is changing

every half an hour.

So, if you don't like

the weather or the light...

you just have to wait a little bit

and everything changes again.

(CHUCKLES)

Got a snow leopard

sneaking up on blue sheep.

It doesn't get any better than this!

CREW MEMBER:
Now it's hailing.

Perhaps in half an hour,

it will be beautiful sunshine.

So, it's just a waiting game.

(PUPS SQUEALING)

(CHUCKLING)

CREW MEMBER 1:
I'm done With it.

CREW MEMBER 2:
(ON RADIO)

Go ahead.

CREW MEMBER 3:
(ON RADIO) Hello?

CREW MEMBER 4:
Okay.

(LAUGHING)

He's looking at the monitor.

(CREW MEMBERS LAUGHING)

(SCREECHES)

(CHUCKLES) Oh! The camera moves.

- (WIND WHOOSHING)

- Okay, it's, again,

half an hour later.

- And now it's snowing.

- (THUNDER RUMBLING)

We have rolling mist

and a proper thunderstorm.

But I'm still convinced that

if we wait another half an hour...

we will have

best conditions for my time-lapse.

It's really wonderful

getting so intimate...

with the early family life

of such a rare and beautiful bird.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(WIND WHOOSHING)

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