Real Life in the Zoo

A bonobo family arrives from a zoo in Germany. How will mother Eja guide her family safely into this new world? African elephant Duna killed her own calf three years ago, now she’s about to give birth again. Can she finally prove that there’s a good mother inside her after all? And we meet a very special animal that only leaves its hiding place among the leaves in the dead of night: the spotted cuscus.

Trouble among the polar bears, Yuka has always been at the bottom of the hierarchy beneath his sister, mother, and grandmother. But he’s growing up and no longer wants to wait his turn. Brown bear Wolke misses her twin sister Tory, who passed away just before winter, and she’s struggling to find her place in the forest. And how are giant panda Wu Wen and her son Fan Xing doing? Wu Wen turns out to have quite a strict parenting style.

Bonobo mother Eja and her family are disturbed in the middle of the night, a group of nine bonobos arrives, led by female Lisala. What will this mean for Eja’s position? Orangutan Minggu is two years old and takes every chance to slip away from her mother Tjintah, but Tjintah thinks it’s far too soon for that. And what do a millipede and a giant African land snail actually have in common?

Brown bears Ljalja and Malysh embark on the journey of a lifetime, from a rundown amusement park in Ukraine to the bear forest in the Netherlands. Young elephant Bumi is becoming increasingly cheeky toward his neighbors, the red river hogs, but they turn out to be tougher than he expected. And four young giant tortoises are now big enough to move in with the real giants, but they’re all females, and the males Sjaak and Baba waste no time making their move.

Chevrotains are extremely shy animals, they’re rarely seen. But that changes when female Noedel notices a new male among the bushes. Mandrill Valentino, the undisputed leader of his group, is getting old, and younger male Ayo senses it, he’s ready to challenge for the throne. And flamingo Ciske leaves the nest, but will the other flamingos allow him a place in the group?

Giant panda Fan Xing is almost two years old, what does his future look like? Ukrainian bears Ljalja and Malysh meet the other inhabitants of the forest: the bears and the wolves. And spring brings baby news among the bonobos!