Animal Odd Couples Around the World | Full Episode |Animal Adventures

We love to keep pets, forming close bonds with them and making them part of our lives. Okay, that's it, I'm in love. That's it, it's official. But around the world, some people have sought out unusual and even potentially dangerous relationships with some very surprising animals. Every morning I'd get up and he would attack me. For a human to want to befriend a lion is one thing, but it takes two to form a partnership. If you get a bird to be your friend, you have a friend for life. When she's in a good mood, it's a phenomenal feeling. And recently science has begun to unearth why other animals might be willing to form lasting bonds with us. I'm Liz Bonnen and I'm going on a worldwide journey of discovery. To uncover the reasons behind some of the most unexpected animal-human friendships. The dolphins are telling the fishermen how to fish. How a hippo could become part of a family. I'm feeding a hippo. Why a polar bear would let a man give it a hug. It's just a really special bond. And how a human could ever join a pack of hyenas without being harmed. There's probably a reason why a lot of people don't work with these guys. I'm going to meet some of the most profound and extreme pairings to find out what lies at the heart of these surprising human-animal relationships. Millions of us have close bonds with animals and for most people that means our pets like cats or dogs like Ernie here. Not right. But some people have made friends with animals that you'd normally avoid. So how have they done this? I'm going to try and find out how these relationships have formed, why they work and what's in it for both the humans and the animals. I'm starting by tracking down three remarkable relationships that seem to defy logic. To try and discover how these bonds form. And I'm beginning my extraordinary journey in Canada, just outside Vancouver near the small town of Abbotsford. I've come here to meet Mark Dumas. More than 16 million people have watched a clip of him swimming with a rather unexpected female companion. Her name is Aggie. She's 18 years of age. And she weighs around 60 stone or so. Aggie is a polar bear. And Mark has been her guardian, provider and playmate since she was eight weeks old. Mark is the only person in the world who has this kind of bond with a fully grown polar bear. And apparently with anyone other than Mark or his wife Dawn, Aggie can get a bit cranky. What do I need to know, Dawn? She's jealous of other women. So... Seriously. When someone starts talking to me, takes my attention away from her, she gets upset about it. Dawn can take my attention as much as she wants because Aggie doesn't mind Dawn. She's used to me talking all the time. So she's super protective of you, do you think? Is that what this behaviour is about or what? I think she's just possessive. Possessive. I need to see this with my own eyes. Getting close to a jealous and potentially dangerous polar bear is a little disconcerting. But Dawn tells me I'll be fine as long as I let Aggie have all of Mark's attention. I give him a little bit of time to get through the gate. She's already very curious, isn't she? Hi, honey. And then we stay about three feet away from... So the gate's open. Have all the gates open so we can travel. All right, so we're actually not behind a closed fence. Yeah, come on in. Are you sure? I'm positive. Come on in. This is what I do for a day job. She's right behind you, Dawn. Hi, honey. Hi. That's her fence. She knows that's her fence. Hi, sweetheart. I was just taking stock of what exactly is going on because I didn't realise we weren't going to be behind a closed fence and I'm staring at a polar bear who is smelling the air, figuring out who we are. And you are utterly confident that you can predict her behaviour? Absolutely. We've known her since she was a baby and we also know they do not view electricity the way we do. They don't logically think, oh, I can step over it or get under it. They view it as a wall. Can you hear it? What sound? Her noo-noo. She's... if you're quiet, you can hear it. Oh. Do you hear that low rumble? Yes. What is that? That's her... it's almost like a purring noise for a cat, but it's her n-n-n-n that she makes because she's super content and she's sucking on her tongue right now. I thought it was an engine somewhere or something. That is actually coming from the polar bear. That's coming from her. She's clearly really close to Mark. How do you think Aggie sees him? Aggie sees him as her mother and father together, really, and companion. So this is all about Aggie thinking of him as kin. Right. Since eight weeks of age. Which would be as long as she can remember. Listen to that. Is that your daddy? Are you happy? Oh, happy girl. Mark trains animals for the movie industry and 18 years ago he was asked to find a polar bear for a film. He'd heard about a cub that was being hand-reared by staff at a zoo as her mother was getting too old. Aggie was the 11th baby born with this mother, so this mother couldn't properly care for her. So Mark took her on and trained her for the film, but he didn't expect their relationship to develop in the way it did. It's my job and it's what I had to do and then as I'm doing it, I became very, very attached to her. So tell me what you feel about your relationship with Aggie. It's just a really special bond. I love her a lot. I can't say she loves me. She really is bonded to me. She loves him. There you go. So we have a really wonderful relationship and I would never change that for anything. We knew when we got her that it's a commitment we make for the rest of her life. Mark became a parental figure for Aggie from a very early age. When she's two months old, she barely is walking and I became the middle of the night, wake up because she's yelling and go down and fed her and spend time with her and then she'd go back to sleep and then I'd go back to sleep and then I'd wake up again early in the morning and do the same thing over again. So I spent a lot of time with her. And do you think that was the key to having her bond with you? Oh, absolutely. The more time you spend with them, the closer their bond is. What would you say, because I've got to ask you, does she not belong in the wild? She couldn't be in the wild if she wanted to. She was born in captivity. It's very difficult to take an animal in captivity and then turn it loose in the wild. It doesn't seem to work very well. Whatever you think of this situation, Mark has an incredibly close bond with Aggie. And even though she is a fully grown polar bear with the strength to kill with one blow, he's never felt in danger around her. And it seems this has all been made possible because he hand-reared her from a very young age. To find out how this works, I'm meeting Jason Goldman from the University of Southern California. Certainly for a mammal like a bear, you know, we're not necessarily born with an expectation of what mom is supposed to look like or what sort of other members of our species are supposed to look like. Or even if we are, it's probably very, very easily sort of overridden. So if this young polar bear, for example, only had experience with other humans, particularly with this one human, then it stands to reason that they would develop this kind of relationship, that it would look to this human as a parental figure. But if you took a mature polar bear who perhaps had never had any experience with humans, then you'd probably get a different kind of a pattern. Probably, I'd say definitely. So hand-rearing and training a dangerous animal from a young age can result in a close bond, and it's likely Aggie's temperament plays a part. But occasionally, this kind of connection can happen entirely by accident. To meet my next odd couple, I've travelled to South Africa and a small farm near Here at her home on the banks of the Blyde River, Shirley Joubert is making tea for Jessica, who she looks after like a daughter. Shirley, what kind of tea are you making her? I'm making a rooibos tea with lukewarm water and some brown sugar. So why rooibos tea with sugar? Rooibos tea is very healthy for her, so she has 20 litres of this a day. 20 litres of this stuff every day. You're kept busy, aren't you? Yes, yes, but it's like doing it for a baby, you know. And in my eyes, Jessica has never grown up. Because she's 13, is that right? She's 13, but she's still the baby girl. Something tells me you love it though. Oh, it's my life. The bond there is just so strong, and I haven't got kids of my own. So the bond between us is so strong. Can I keep you company while you feed her the rooibos tea? Yes. And you see, there's Jessica. Yeah, she's an absolute beauty, isn't she? She's rather good looking. Look at her. So this is Jess. This is Jess. Yes, Jessica is a hippopotamus. Shirley and her husband, Tony, took her in when she was separated from her mother as a newborn. Oh, you're so thirsty, Jess. She's 13 and she's drinking from a bottle. Look at those teeth. She definitely likes rooibos tea, huh? Oh, she loves it. That's it. Do you want me to do it? Yes, please. Oh, good Lord. Okay, here you go. Now, do I squeeze it or should she just go for it? Wow, weasels. The relationship that Tony and Shirley have with Jessica is unique. This is the only place in the world I could ever get this close to a hippo. The hairs on her snout are ridiculous. Look at that. Can you feel you're actually relaxing? I've never experienced anything like this. I'm just a little bit cautious, I guess. Hippos can be extremely dangerous and they kill more people than any other mammal in Africa. So tell me about how you came to have Jessica in the first place. How did it happen? Well, we found her in the year 2000 with the floods and she was washed away from her mother. And well, she washed out just in front of her house. So I ran down and I touched her. How small was she? She was premature and she still had on her umbilical cord. Okay, so she literally had been born, the floods happened and she got washed up. What happened then? We took her into the house and Tony with his game ranging experience, he actually knew the formula to make it like a mother's milk. And that was the first thing that we actually gave to her. So you didn't have a chance to reunite her with her mother. Obviously, she was washed up, you couldn't. No, she never reunited with her mom. What probably makes this relationship work is a process called imprinting, where an animal forms a very strong bond with the first living thing it sees. As Jessica was washed away from her mother as soon as she was born, it's likely that Tony and Shirley were the first thing she saw. So do you think she's imprinted on you or on Tony? I think, well, it's 50-50, definitely. She sees us as her parents. Yeah, your bond is stronger than I expected it to be. You know, I don't see Jessica as a hippo. I've actually got a psychological problem with her. Oh, you're so in love with her, is it? I can't see her as that. I mean, when I want to hug her, I just hug her. Wherever I go, she'll be following me. And wherever she goes, I'll be following her. Jessica also regularly wanders off back into the wild. She's not in captivity at all. If Jessica wanted to leave, she could be in Mozambique now. But she always comes home and she always comes back. Sometimes she sleeps on the porch with the dog. And Tony and Shirley will even give her a massage. But at dinnertime, she pops into the kitchen to eat with the family. Oh, good grief. This is unbelievable. On the menu tonight, it's green beans. So you've got the knack, huh? Baki? I'm feeding a hippo. This is hilarious. Oh my gosh, she's so pretty. She wants to go out now. When she's finished eating, she goes on her way. Tony, an ex-game ranger, has enough experience to know not to try and stop her. You read the signs, didn't you, Tony? You were like, right, she wants to go out. There's no keeping her in. Yes. Because at the end of the day, you do see her as a wild animal still? I see Jessica as a wild animal. I don't keep her in. I do whatever she wants to do. Can we be out with her here? Not at the moment. Let her just sort her thing out there. Although Jessica is happy to let me feed her from behind the counter, she is still capable of charging if I get too close. She lives a normal hippo life, but she shares her life with us as well. She goes to them, they come to her. She has a normal life. So she still goes out with the wild hippos that are further down the river? That's correct. And upstream as well. So do you think this beauty is going to be able to mate with wild male hippos and have a calf of her own? Do you think that's possible? I don't think it's possible. Jessica will mate. You know it's possible. It will happen. Within two years, Jessica will have a calf of her own. And I will contact you. No, you better. I'm inviting you to come down again. You better, Tony. You'll see her with a calf. I need to see this young lady with a calf. Thank you. I think she agrees. I say yes. It seems that Jessica imprinted on Tony and Shirley when she appeared on their riverbank just after she was born. And that's why she's still so attached to them, even as a 13-year-old adult hippo. Our next story is of a human-animal bond that seems to be something completely different, as they were both fully grown when they met in Los Angeles, California. I've come here to meet Dominic Erler. Three years ago, he was befriended by a goose named Maria. Hello. Did you get a good night's sleep? Okay. Maria always seems pleased to see him. How are you? Are you going to take a walk? Are they going to have a little moment by themselves? Want to meet my friends? Hi. But is a little less enamored of strangers. Maria's going to check you out. That's fine. You can check me out all you like. The secret is just stand there until she gets a sense of you. What a cutie. The crew need checking out too, you know. Come. Hi. Come. Definitely listens to you, doesn't she? Maria didn't always live here in the zoo. Up until two years ago, her home was a park in central LA where Dominic used to go for his regular morning walk. So how did you first meet? I'm walking around Echo Park Lake. I'm just about finished and coming in to leave. One of the park employees by the office, they're attached to me on the shoulder. He says, hey, Dominic, you know you're being stalked when you're walking around the lake. And I said, like, you know, what are you talking about? Because this is a big city park. There's gangs and stuff hanging around there. So he points to this goose about 50 feet away and he just says, her name's Maria. He laughed. He thought it was funny. But I looked at Maria and Maria was just glaring at me, just glaring at me. And I just waved and said, hi, Maria. How are you doing, Maria? And I thought it was kind of cute. I left, came back the next morning and Maria came right to me, right in front of me and just looked up so innocently. And I just fell in love just like that. You're my friend. And within a matter of just a few days from her just circling around me as I'd go, I took the lead position. So Maria would always walk in front, leading the way. The pair quickly became inseparable. When you fall in love with a goose, you've got to be aware of what you're getting involved with. Their loyalty is phenomenal. Remember, they bond for life. So I basically feel like I have a certain sense of responsibility. For the local residents, they became something of a celebrity couple. One time we had 100 people marching behind us as we're walking around the lake and we're singing Maria songs. And I mean, it became such a festive thing. It was really remarkable. Maria was like the Michael Jackson of the goose world. In 2011, the park authorities decided to drain Echo Park Lake, part of a two-year renovation program. For her safety and survival, Maria was moved to the zoo, where staff soon discovered that she may have been misnamed. We did a little Valentine's thing on one of the local TV channels or something. And it was a perfect relationship, unusual relationship, a man and a goose, Dominic and Maria. And I think like a week or two after that, the head vet here calls me up, humorously says, hey, Dominic, you got a problem. And I said, what's that? He says, well, your girlfriend's a boy. So Maria became Mario. Oh, Mario. Is he showing off? He's showing off. But the bond is as strong as ever. You visit him every day, is that right? Every day. So it's part of my daily schedule. I love coming up here and hearing him. You know, it's nice to have an animal wag its tail and go caw, caw, caw. You know, it's great. That's the great thing about animals. They want to be our friends. Right, Mario? But why did Mario want to be Dominic's friend? Geese are well known for being a species that imprints. In fact, they were the first animals scientists studied when they were trying to understand the phenomenon. But Dominic definitely wasn't the first thing Mario saw when he hatched. Dominic suspects that Mario was a domestic goose that had been abandoned at the lake and so was looking for a new companion. And he found me. And he determined I'm always safe to be with. When he's with me, he feels safe. He knows I'm one of him. Jason believes that even though Mario didn't imprint on Dominic, those crucial few hours for the goose after it hatched were significant. Imprinting has what's called a sensitive period. It's some, you know, so many hours, 13 to 16 hours or so after birth. And then it gets locked in. So that sort of representation of what mom is supposed to look like doesn't change. OK. So you imprint and then that's your representation for the rest of your life. OK. For the rest of your life, you know what mom looks like. But Mario met Dominic when it was already an adult goose. So what does that suggest? So it's possible if this is a case of imprinting, it's possible that Mario imprinted onto someone who looked a lot like Dominic when he was very young. And Dominic may have certain facial characteristics or color of his hair or the shape of his facial hair, whatever, something that Mario recognizes as familiar. Mario has found in Dominic a companion he can rely on. And like all geese, he's protective of what he's got. His little nips are getting a little stronger every time. But it's that's OK when he attacks someone. It's not so much that he's trying to attack them to defend me, but really he's trying to keep me. In other words, I'm his property. Ow. So if you would see his behavior, he was basically showing all the other geese, keep your distance, this is mine. Any goose that would get near, there'd be feathers flying. That's where he would show the most aggressiveness. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. We're never going to find out exactly what happened in the early stages of Mario's life. But my money's on the fact that he probably did imprint on an elderly gentleman that looks suspiciously like Dominic over there. It just goes to show how strong an influence your early life experiences will have on how you behave as an adult. So the early life of an animal plays a huge role in how it might bond with us. That first human it sees or lives with will impact on how it behaves in later life. But in the next stage of my journey, I'm going to meet three people who've managed to form lasting relationships with the most unpredictable animals by becoming part of the pack. Here at this privately owned wildlife park in South Africa, the staff are using a unique method to try and inspire the public to care more about animals. Or Lasmi has managed to integrate herself with not one, but four lions. She's known these animals since they were cubs, and she's so confident they'll be well behaved that at this park, they'll even allow people into the enclosure with them. It's a controversial setup, even though there's always other members of her team keeping watch. But I'm intrigued to know how this relationship works and what she does to keep her lions in check. Gotta say, I never thought I'd get this close to male lions in my life. Do I say hello or do I just stand here? I can't see his eyes. No, you can say hello. He's being good. Can you smell my hand? The fact that she needs to see their eyes points to just how unpredictable these animals can be. I like feeling your breath on my hand. That's nice. So three males and one female over there. You know them very well. I take it. Yeah. From this behavior. What does he want to do with his paw there to kind of hold onto my arm? Yeah, he's looking to play. You want to play? It's a bit too big for that guy. Yeah, a little bit bigger than me, dude. These lions are just 17 months old, but they are big enough to do some serious damage if they choose to. Obviously, if I was in here without you. That would be a totally different story. That's why it is important to us to remember they are wild animals, so their instincts can stay there. When they're younger, we take them on walks around the park. That's Judith. We have a very strong bond with this group. How is it possible that you can have such a close relationship with essentially wild animals? We respect them as wild animals to start off with. I think that's one of the key points. We don't train them. We don't do anything like that. So you basically need to earn their trust and the respect. They've known me as a constant dominant figure in their life since they were babies, and that's why I'm able to go so up close to them now. OK, so you're mentioning a dominant figure, which means that hierarchy is at play here, understanding how these animals would normally behave in the wild. So where are you in the pecking order and how do you establish that? I think it's just because we've been there since they were babies, and I've always been the grown-up, so I'm stronger in their eyes, I think. And obviously, they needed to have a figure that would put them back in place, and they are put back in place when they misbehave. How do you learn how to do that? Just from interacting with them. Over time, you learn their behavior. You learn to read their looks and mood swings and their different personalities. And then as a human, you need to understand those in order not to get a swipe taken out of you. He got me not too long ago. What happened? It was a really hot day and he picked up on me feeling weaker, and he grabbed me for a second, nothing serious, but I have a nice little scratch. And a few minutes later, I fainted. So he was obviously able to pick up on it before it happened. So I should not be feeling a little bit weak right now or a little bit scared. I need to kind of let them know that I'm not feeling threatened by them, because instinctively then they could react on that. Jeepers, I wish I'd been told that before, but hopefully I'm good to go. After you telling me that anecdote about you feeling weak, I'm now feeling a little bit more, oh, so... He knows what he's allowed and not allowed to do, and he's definitely trying out. He's not lying down now because he's tired. No, I know this. I'm aware of this. Try to just breathe. What do you get out of this relationship, out of being so close with these lions? I just feel privileged. Every single day, you don't get used to it. Big ones or small ones, it's just an animal you need to appreciate. And we definitely do. Orr has clearly grown attached to these lions. But if things go according to plan, she won't have this relationship with them forever. The staff at the park are planning a very ambitious and untested project to do something that most people would consider impossible. They want to release these hand-reared lions into the wild when they're older. I was under the impression that if any individuals are for release, you must have absolutely no contact with them. That's what we're hoping to prove wrong, because you have, right now in South Africa, more lions in captivity than in the wild. So if we can take the animals from this situation and prove that you can turn them wild again, then we can be saving quite a few of them. We believe it's possible, and we believe our intimate knowledge of these ones will help us achieve that goal. And hopefully they'll be our first ambassadors. They're amazing animals. They really are. Perfect. By behaving in a dominant manner, Orr has found a way to sit amongst lions. But as we're only just beginning to understand these unpredictable animals, I'd rather not repeat this experience anytime soon. The next person I'm meeting has had to find even more unusual methods to make sure his companion knows who's boss. This odd couple live in the heart of Texas, near the town of Quinlan. And they consist of a ton of buffalo named Wild Thing, and his owner, a retired rodeo cowboy called R.C. Bridges. Ten years ago, R.C. lost his sight in one eye, forcing him to give up running his buffalo ranch. He sold his herd, but decided to keep one of the calves whose mother had struggled to suckle him. And it wasn't long before the young calf's behavior led to R.C. calling him Wild Thing. Are you serious? Luckily, R.C. knows how to calm Wild Thing down. Do you ever get a little bit nervous going in with him? Not at all. No, you're totally used to it now? I don't think he'd hurt me. If he does hurt me, it'll be an accident. Really? You're that sure of sort of your relationship with him? I'm positive. How on earth is it possible for you to even be in here with this huge animal? A lot of training, a lot of hours. If I was to come in with you, what would happen? He'd attack you. Oh, good Lord. What do I do with my hands right now? Just don't put them in here. That's a good rule. He likes to be brushed. Oh, he loves brushing. And the rougher you get, the better he likes it. Now, R.C., you know, it is a domesticated buffalo. He'll never domesticate a buffalo. Really? No, they're a wild animal. And this one's probably a little more dangerous for you than a wild one because he would probably go out of his way to get you. Why? On my property. Now, if we're on somebody else's property, he probably won't bother you. Buffalo live in large herds and will aggressively defend themselves and members of their group when threatened. But they also battle within the herd for status, with a strict hierarchy at play and only the top males getting a chance to mate. As R.C. found out, this jostling for position starts when they are very young. When he was a baby, every morning I'd get up and he would attack me. So I told my wife, I've tried all my cattle tricks, I've tried all my horse tricks, nothing working. I said, I'm going to get up in the morning, I don't care how much he kicks me and how much he horns me, I'm going to act like nothing's happening. I was bruised up from one end to the other. But by the end of the day, and it took me the whole day, by the end of the day, he was bored. Then he wanted to get everybody but me. OK, so it was almost sort of like eventually he just gave up on beating you around the place. Yeah. But also, you know, they do live in very strict linear hierarchy. So does that mean that he eventually saw you as the dominant male and that's why he gave up? Oh, I'm the dominant male, yeah. How do you establish dominance over a buffalo and how do you maintain that? By not having fear. You can't have any fear in you. You know, I don't have a choice about being the dominant one. If I'm not the dominant one, I'm in trouble. So you've established dominance. So we know that in herds, linear hierarchies. Don't do that. You understand me? Go ahead. He scared the bejesus out of me just now. Maintaining dominance over a calf was hard enough. But now that Wild Thing weighs over a ton, Arcee wouldn't survive a beating. So he's had to find new ways to remind Wild Thing who's the boss. If Wild Thing's out here tearing up a gate or something and trying to get through it, he can't get out most of the time. I can go over there and open it with one hand because I unlock it. And I open it and he thinks I'm really strong. Because he might have been there an hour or two trying to get through that gate. But I go over there and I just do it like it's nothing to it. And he really believes. He'll look at me and he'll go, wow. I can grab him by the horns and he thinks I got him. You know I don't have him, but he thinks I have him. Oh, good lord. This is where I'm dominant right here. They don't like their horns messed with. It is amazing that you can achieve that and even touch him the way you just did. Without him retaliating. I can't help thinking that every time he rams the gate, it's like you are hogging too much of my time with Arcee back off. He has a lot of love. I would have never thought this type of animal could feel love. But he feels love. He's a spectacular animal, no question. And like if he's in the house and he needs to go to the bathroom, he'll go to the door. If he's in the what? If he's in the house. He goes into your house? Yeah, and if he's in the house and needs to go to the bathroom, then he won't use the bathroom in the house. I need to see this. Go for it. Open their gate. If you have to, shut the door. This is definitely the most stupid thing I've ever done, ever. This is insane. He's definitely coming in the house. Oh my gosh. Mind yourself. That is hilarious. He could still reach up to me and sniff me, you know. I'm a little bit scared. Wow. He's got really beautiful eyes. I can't get over how gentle he is with everything, Orsi. Well, that's what amazes me about him because I didn't teach him to be gentle. He just happens to be real gentle in the house and very aggressive and very mean on the outside of the house. Does this all boil down to sort of territory? The paddock is his territory and he knows that you, this is your territory and you're the dominant male, so he needs to be respectful of that? Does that work with both of those? I think that's what it is. I think when he's in the house, he knows this is my area and he needs to respect my area. I heard something get knocked over, you see. So the minute he went outside again, he was trashing the place. Can I follow you or is that too dangerous? You can follow me as long as I can be between you. Are you sure? You never taught him to be potty trained for want of a better expression? Never had it. I have no clue to how you would potty train a buffalo. So you got to realize, he knows that everything I do is for him. I never do anything that's against him. It's always for his protection or for his happiness. He's an exceptional buffalo. Then he's going to come in here and eat with me. Come on. Okay, he's following him with the food. Oh, you got to have a look. I would have thought that I would see such a huge, powerful, unpredictable animal. Behaves so gingerly in a home. All the ornaments around, he sniffs gently. He's literally tiptoeing around RC's home. It's just completely surreal to watch. RC manages to maintain a bizarre appearance of domestic bliss with Wild Thing. Spending time watching TV, mowing the lawn and even going for a swim with him. And because Wild Thing thinks RC is the dominant male in his little herd, it certainly looks like he'll always tread softly around him. Strong leadership can enable you to maintain a close bond with some unpredictable animals. But I've come to South Africa to meet a man who's worked his way into an incredibly sophisticated animal hierarchy by doing it the animal's way. I want to find out what he's learned about animal behavior from his close interactions with some of the most intimidating animals yet. Hyenas. Renowned for their brutal, scavenging ways, hyenas can weigh twice as much as an adult wolf. So I'm quite relieved to have a cage between me and this clan of spotted hyenas. A whole load of stuff going on right here. Jeepers. Hi. You know what, it is easy to see how hyenas can be a little bit unnerving. I mean, they're built for power with their strange top-heavy postures. And when you think about their high-pitched screeches and laughs and the way they scavenge aggressively, they can seem quite sly and cunning. But actually, all of these traits point to a highly intelligent animal. And that's why what Kevin Richardson does is all the more surprising. Kevin has worked with large predators for most of his adult life. But a few years ago, he set up his own private reserve so that he could fully integrate himself into this clan of hyenas. He did this to study their behavior and change people's perceptions of what is a much-feared animal. The hyenas live in a large enclosure, but they're far from tame. These animals have a very complex and fluid social structure, all governed by dominance and how each one finds its place in the pecking order. If Kevin isn't careful, there's always an individual that'll try and get one over on him. How on earth did this come about, this relationship you clearly have with these hyenas? My career actually started with hyenas quite a long time ago. You know, they became my passion. And pretty much, yeah, I wanted to know everything about them. OK, let's just let them get over their whole thing. Is this important for you to keep an eye on this? Yeah, very important. Because they're dominating this individual. OK. They're trying to get him away. And his posture is submissive there. Yeah, he's submissive. Yeah. He's fine. I didn't notice anything different. And immediately, you're chatting away and you stop. And you're like, OK, something has changed. Did you learn from your mistakes? Did you get... I've learned the hard way. Did you? Yes. I've learned with hyenas, it's always the hard way. They react, they bite you, and then they ask questions later. Let's put it into perspective for you. I've been working with large carnivores for 15 years. I've been hospitalized five times by hyena and none by lion. I got bitten very badly about six weeks ago. The one hyena thought it was a good opportunity to try and jostle for status in this clan. So he went for me in a very aggressive way. Bit me on my arm and on my leg. And that triggered the rest of the clan to want to participate in the whole thing. There's probably a reason why a lot of people around the world don't work with these guys. I wanted to ask you about, you know, where they see you in their clan. Are you a hyena in their eyes? Their behavior with me is treating me as an individual in their clan is exactly how they treat one another. And that's why I get my fair share of bites. Because they don't hold back. So why on earth would you want to do this when you're aware that it can be dangerous? What I feel is the risk has actually been mitigated over the years by knowing the individuals. And by no means do I just say, hey, I'm the hyena whisperer. I can go in with any hyena group and do what I do with these guys. This is a relationship that's been developing with some individuals over 14 years. Where are you going? No, you're not going there. Don't even, yes. Stay for the camera. Yes, look at that. Tina, that's just ridiculous. Look at that teddy bear. I mean, come on. It's like if you're behaving with him like if he's a dog, you know? Once all the energy dissipates, and once they're OK with you guys, and now they've smelt you out, and they see that you're not a threat. And they calm down. These animals are just, it's just, it's incredible what you can do with them. I mean, this guy will drag him. He desperately wants his chin scratched. I can see that already. Kevin has worked very hard to earn the hyena's trust. And it allows him to play with them in a way I never thought was possible. But even this time spent playing together gives him a chance to learn about their social structure and how he can maintain his position within it. OK, so, I mean, all this kind of thing that I'm doing here is asserting my dominance. So it does look like play, but he's also feeling that I'm not, you know, submitting to something he does. And that I'm actually playing with him in a dominant way. So I'm doing things to him that he wouldn't normally allow other individuals to do to him, that he was more dominant, who he was more dominant of. So it is interesting. I'm using affection because he's coming to me for love, and a tickle, and a chin scratch, and all of the above. But I'm dominating him. And I'm not hitting him, you know. I don't have to. It's a bit of a psychological game. What do you get out of it, then, do you think? Why were you driven to do this with these hyenas? Well, I'll tell you what. I mean, this is enriching for me, as it is for them. I mean, the fact that I'm tickling this hyena on his chin, and I'm using him as a resting place. It's bonkers, Kevin. Yeah, it's awesome. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still get a kick out of seeing my buddies. However, the other thing that I really hope it does is it shows people a different side of them. And hopefully, people watching a program like this would go away and say, you know what? I never knew hyenas were like that. I actually like them. They're actually very similar to my dog, in a way. It's fascinating watching you interacting with these kind of animals, you know, as you said, that do have such a sort of creepy reputation, fearsome reputation. And they are absolutely docile with you, and so affectionate. And they don't seem to mind at all. It's quite surreal to watch that. Come, boy. He's fine. You just let me know when, at any point, something like this is just a little... I cannot believe I'm that close to a hyena. No, he's fine. He's completely fine. I know you're a captive hyena, but this is ridiculous. That's completely fine. It's thrilling for me. I can't believe I'm so close to one. And they're so gentle. Hello. Can I touch noses with you? Hello. Oh, come on. Seeing the good side. Oh, I really am. I don't want to be lulled into a cruel sense of security, but you're just adorable right now. Kevin has an extraordinary relationship with these hyenas. By combining his knowledge of each individual and their position in the hierarchy, and with his ability to assert his dominance where needed, it seems that Kevin has truly become one of the gang. And in doing so, he's proving that hyenas are not as intimidating as many people would have you believe. There is definitely another side to these animals. They are incredibly gentle. I get a real feeling of affection from this particular one, who's liking the good back of the ear scratch right now. But they're also quite timid. They're quite shy. Some of them, when they approach the cage, you know, their eyes are really wide, and they approach very cautiously. But every now and then, they will bear their canines again, and I guess that's another instinctual behaviour to remind me, hey, I'm quite fearsome too, you know, I'm quite tough. But they are fantastic animals, and you really get a sense of their individual personalities. This is just thrilling, it really is. The nature of the human-animal couples I've met so far is complex. But the people involved are attempting to fulfil a very human instinct to care for others, find companions, and better understand the world around us. But to find out what we can learn from looking at all these odd couples, I'm speaking to Professor Hal Herzog, who studied human-animal relationships for more than two decades. What do you think we can learn about cross-species relationships in all their shapes and sizes? I think what they tell us is the commonality that we have with other species, that at a deep level, animals have the same sorts of abilities to form relationships, to form attachments, to play, and they have the same abilities that we have. The bottom line for me is this, I think in our relationships with other species, what we see is a reflection of human nature in some ways its purest form. And the best of human nature and the worst of human nature, that to me is the thing that's really fascinating about this whole area of study. There is one last partnership I want to investigate because for me it truly reflects the best of what the human-animal bond can be like. Not only do both sides benefit, but here wild animals have chosen to instigate a relationship with us. I've travelled all the way to the south of Brazil and the coastal town of Laguna to see it for myself. Here in this inlet on the Atlantic coast, the locals have formed a relationship over many generations with one specific group of wild dolphins. The dolphins help the fishermen catch their fish. In fact, the fishermen in this bay don't even throw their nets unless the dolphins are present. It just looks so odd, a whole bunch of men standing in their waders, doing absolutely nothing, just standing there. There's a dolphin. There's two dolphins there definitely surfacing, but they're just standing there doing nothing still. This is extremely peculiar. What is going on? Makes me think that something's going to happen over here. Oh, amazing. OK, OK, I'm beginning to get what's going on. For one month of the year, schools of mullet migrate up the coast. The dolphins herd the schools into the shoreline, exactly where the fishermen are. Then at the right moment, the dolphins make a signal, usually a distinctive dive. And the fishermen throw their nets to catch the fish beneath. It's absolutely clear that the dolphins are calling the shots here. These lads are doing absolutely nothing. They just stand there with their nets. And it's only when the dolphin makes a very clear signal that they deploy them. So the dolphins are telling the fishermen how to fish. That's novel and completely crazy. I've never seen anything like this. This is the most intricate type of interaction between two completely different species I have ever seen. And it's just wonderful to watch because the fishermen are absolutely focused on getting their cue from a dolphin. And they have fun while they're at it, don't they? There's a fabulous energy on this beach. They really enjoy working with the dolphin. With the help of the dolphins, these fishermen are extremely successful. Just a few miles down the coast, the same mullet schools migrate. But because no dolphins help the fishermen there, they hardly catch any fish. Here, the dolphins have developed a relationship over generations that's resulted in a thriving local industry. I meet up with local scientist Fabio Dara Jorge from the University of Santa Catarina to find out exactly what's going on. This is such a surreal scene. Yeah. There's a real energy to this, isn't there? There's a dolphin. That's Caroba. Caroba. It's a well-known individual. Yeah, yeah. It's the most famous dolphin we have here. Fabio, watching this from the shore, it is absolutely mind-boggling. Yeah, it's fascinating. What exactly is going on here? Yeah, actually, the dolphin are bringing the mullets close to the fishermen. So... Is that what he's doing right now? Exactly. He's in the middle of the channel and probably the mullet is here. Then when the dolphin make a specific signal, the fishermen know that's the right moment to throw the net. The fishermen are benefiting. Where on earth are the dolphins doing this? We expect that when the fishermen throw the nets in the water, he's also pushing the mullets to the dolphins. Much easier for dolphins to get the mullets. When the net's descending, some mullets are inevitably going to be escaping and that's the bounty that the dolphin can enjoy. Exactly, exactly. So it's a mutual, symbiotic relationship going on, dictated by the dolphin, right? Yeah. I mean, they call the shots. Exactly, exactly. Yeah, come on, I want to go. I mean, how hard could it be, really? It's a bit slippy. But in your teeth. In my mouth. Yeah, exactly. Dolphin! Oh, I'm scared. Go, go, go, go! Thank you, thank you. Autographs later. I can't believe they cheered at that. That was utter rubbish. Great. Did I catch a mullet? Good job. There is something so incredibly special going on here. I mean, we've known for a long time that dolphins are intelligent and we have so many accounts of dolphin-human interactions of all sorts. But this, this dolphin-human interaction is very real and it's very genuine and it's incredibly complex on both sides. There's a whole series of intricate behavioural cues going on and these are wild dolphins. They've chosen to come here and form a relationship with these fishermen. That's mind-blowing. I've been on a remarkable journey in these two programmes and I've encountered relationships between different species that have truly amazed me. Many of them have been formed as a result of powerful, natural instincts that seem to endure no matter what the circumstances. Or they've come about through a growing understanding some people have of the animal kingdom. And what's clear is that animals relate to one another and to us in a far more complex way than was previously thought possible. But it's also been an extraordinary reminder of how compelled we humans are to have animals in our lives. I think the reason we're so fascinated by other animals could be down to the fact that in all these unfamiliar shapes and sizes, in all these different species, we recognise familiar traits and behaviours. And I think that's what feeds our fascination and compels us to want to know more. So if we're lucky enough to share a mutualistic bond with another species, so two animals that took billions of years to evolve, finding a common ground, respectful of each other, even communicating with each other, well, that's pretty remarkable, isn't it?