never would have gone on a trip i would not have put myself in my paris or that dangerous part of the deal to get a slave. to the other one it would give them i have serious problems on a personal level and i was unable to live there wasn't going to. want to know their story in for a great stir fighting and reliable information for more grants. to get rid of the. year after year they're drawn back to this place by the millions. these terrible us better known as responsible flying foxes frock to a little forest in zambia. it's thought to be the world's largest mammal migration. and one of africa's greatest unsolved mysteries.

researchers from germany are trying to learn more about these mega bats to do that and they're hoping to catch a few of them with a net the scientists are setting up the trap at 2 am because it must be ready before sunrise although flying foxes are not turned off they can still see better by day than at night because unlike other bats flying foxes don't echolocate that use their sense of sight to navigate. it's an instant isn't it's we must always keep the net off the ground and then open up the compartments so it hangs

completely straight at the top so the bats don't see it already and it deflate them well as it is not seen as a work in complete silence with no light and only night vision goggles see them and then we hope will catch them but you never know. these are the images from the night vision goggles at night the flying foxes leave the trees where they've spent their day sleeping and set off in search of food many fruits and berries. the researchers wait for 2 hours and then they have a stroke of luck for flying foxes get caught in an nets. carefully they are untangle them. each of these sacks contains one flying fox this keeps them from getting injured until the researchers have time to examine them now in the early morning light it becomes evident why these animals are flying foxes. and

fascinating about this animal is that it's probably flown 2000 kilometers to get here to meet with millions of others but we don't know where it's come from nor if it will return to the same place or go elsewhere. but that could soon change for the 1st time researchers are trying to follow the mega bats flight path by attaching transmitters to them the devices look big but wait just a few grams. in an incredible feat of strength the flying foxes make their way to zambia each year covering thousands of kilometers on seemingly fragile wings with their nightly search for food is impressive to fruit bats travel up to 200 kilometers each night in a few months time the scientists hope they'll know more about the exact right path of the largest mammal migration the flying foxes given

a piece of apple to give it strength then it's allowed to return to the forest. the forest measures just 505-1000 metres its small size makes it hugely vulnerable . to gamekeeper's patrol here regularly to protect both the forest and the animals and these men have been doing this job for close to 30 years but they still look forward to each november and the flying foxes come and stay for 4 weeks where once 200 species of flying fox but days have become extinct and another 22 are endangered. and are to blame for cutting down the forests and destroying their natural habitat. so this little forest in zambia is important to the animals survival hugh.

every year and north even a year in between permit me to think. that you. will say it will be very difficult for they are finding a place if it's mainly poachers who are threatening than natural habitat the poachers keep setting fires around the little forest they figured with the trees gone grass will grow in this one attract antelopes all then be easy prey and open terrain theories and i did go bending her at the for them with can be he thought that through through the end with and a quarter to hoof foot this can be easy for him this way they do benny in the park. because. they're using sophisticated weapons some very very well or other criminals

they can even shoot at as before seeing as him that's one of the risks of my job. while the coaches do pose a great danger to the flying foxes what they're really often is the animal who's drax the 2 game keepers are now following. the cuckoo antelope. hunters could strike at any time. movie ana and columbus say that if they can prevent them from setting fires then the flying foxes will survive. that's why park relies on higgle in one sarka the man known here as the education officer. he pays regular visits to the surrounding villages because that's where most of the

poachers live. with people like joseph. is actually a farmer who grows corn peanuts and vegetables. yams are growing in these mounds of earth. a. while ya tells the education officer that most of his harvest goes towards feeding his family so he has little left to sell. the. i had to pay my children's school fees and hunting seemed like the easiest way. out snares and the next day i'd usually cotton and. i sell it so much children could go to school now. joseph has 10 children to feed. he's like many here driven to poach out of sheer desperation not greed. a community should see to it that they protect what we have in the uk

so that we have a lot of people being employed in the back a lot of blokes will be buying from them when they're going to do a lot of funny and that the same time if we are going to have a lot of 20 scamming to the back they brought it to the environment. farmers like joseph are now being told more efficient farming methods so they can better their incomes. without resorting to punching. after 3. that. brought along an instructor. and his wife how to get rid of. and how to fertilize their fields naturally. you know it seems to be working well. joseph while your

senses are all through with poaching he's even willing to put up with a flying fox is eating fruit from his trees. some villagers used to be. the trees and skin them. today that rarely happens though sometimes children still catch and kill them for their grandparents. but if you want. even today the education officer still encounters prejudices and age old to booze well flying foxes are concerned they want provided a reliable source of meat each november for families in the villages and myths and superstitions still surround these maggots. we pay a visit to the villages traditional healer. you

know what i want to do what i want to. this world is full of worries and sorrow she said. the villages concert. party for she talks about the flying fox is she 1st wanted to get a sense of what's troubling higgle in masaka to get an appointment with you must agree to undergo treatment. some people burn flying foxes then they have the ashes tattooed under their skin in the hopes of acquiring the mega bats abilities. like being able to see better at night. but of course that's not ok. if you. know. she doesn't use any flying foxes in her medicines she prescribe the powder which she says will help him with his biggest problem janice colleagues. take it morning

noon and night 3 times a day. she says the powder is a purely remedy. but. people who make medicine from flying foxes catch them with a sticky substance that they smear on the branches of fruit trees the animals become attached to it like magnets that's what these sorcerers do but some of them also know how to call the animals then they come flying and let themselves be caught easily that's how they do it. in the field and. tradition is to play a major role here even those who reject medicines made from flying foxes still seem to believe him sorceress in the magical powers of mag about it doesn't make it any easier to protect the terror.

saka has another apartment in the village today he says there's only one way to combat superstition by educating young people if the next generation understands that flying fox is don't possess supernatural powers that will help to ensure the animal's survival. is 16 and one of the best pupils in the village saga takes a look at her homework and her grandmother beams with pride. salon won a place in a scholarship program financed by the national park. it destroys it for these 2 teams then from the district we conduct sealand was that this and that this image we selected and the deformation that she's given it has been in my day sometime back in mind that their

mother died when she was 3 years or led to the school i love going to school because i learn new things the city and i hope that one day i can lead a life like people elsewhere and become a teacher or a doctor. that's why i like going to school most of all. others ended up just let them go through it so long school uniform tuition and books and all paid for. educating young people like is an investment in natural conservation. grasshopper soup is on the menu today salons grandmother has 11 months to feed but things are looking up since salon want her scholarship. to. be that if she actually finishes her education then maybe she can contribute some money to help me then i could hire a farm hand to help with the work and buy some food if you actually.

got a salon has become an environmental ambassador just like a mental you can run soccer today he's a guest in salons class at school. a few of you say the soles of your grandparents will return as flying foxes. but the truth is they're god's creation and have no magical powers we know. now it's time for an expression when santa is taking so long and some classmates on a trip to the national park. it's an opportunity for us to see animals that we don't know yes he said that big ones to me that we learn why it's important to protect the bush. most of the use have never been taken sanka national park before though it's just 10 kilometers from their village. in

the park there's a museum designed specially for visits from school groups on display ask uls of crocodiles hippos and of course bones from flying foxes them mainly what the children are here to learn about educating schoolchildren is part of the fight against poaching and prejudice. against. collaborators here today to ensure the children's safety he's painting is hopes on this younger generation. when they grow maybe i'd be bored again said to combine the work with some dog which we which i'm doing. what i did maybe did in oregon is over i said it was. after 3 hours of theoretical instruction they're heading for the bush. children from other classes are also riding in the truck. a total of 40 young people profit from the cars some kind of scholarship

program salaam isn't the only one the park is training to be an environmental ambassador thank. my so the national park lies in a swamp for it's a natural habitat for animals that are rarely seen elsewhere in the region so rangers on soccer and colomba want to show the young people one of these creatures extremely rare. until. tourists come from far and wide to see them this is the 1st time these local children have cited one. so you can see appreciate it he said i think. it's it's well if you say so traditionally and what does he say so i think a story steve that i'd be so interested in that day or the education which is going to so. is that so lon can hardly tab south

away from the antelope found there is no time to waste so it's getting dark and a few kilometers away the 1st flying foxes have already woken up and left the words . i'm so glad i get to see this. day and night foals in the flying foxes take flight. 11 hours later the don't want is breaking and the flying fox colony returns just before sunrise. the scientist from germany are here watching them and i hope that their research will

help people to realize how vital these mega bats are to the ecosystem. many people fear flying foxes because they're suspected of transmitting ebola virus and other diseases. of the max planck institute considers that unlikely. to be firmer. in their eating in vast quantities in many countries people use lead shot to shoot them down and pick up the bats while they're bleeding in biting if that was so dangerous we'd be seeing constant outbreaks in hospitals but that's not the case. then they take the road out of the words. the scientists hope to prove that flying foxes are necessary for the bush is very survival. thanks to their droppings flying foxes describes large amounts of seeds throughout the region promoting the growth of bushes and fruit trees.

now the researchers hope to learn just how many of these mega bats are flying around every night until now they've only been able to estimate their numbers the scientists have begun to set up cameras around the forest in order to count them later they'll use specialized software to analyze the ideas. just. the great thing is it gives us much more than just their numbers so we can see when the winds coming from the north do they they're off myself and we want to find out if they communicate with one another when they make these tornadoes is back tornadoes. joseph receives another visit from the national parks education officer. is here to show the farmer how he can more money without having to resort to poaching by extracting honey. the smoke from the fire is supposed to calm the base. the national park is training farmers

like walia to become beekeepers some 4000 hives and plant about bali a is still a bit unsure of himself he's only been a beekeeper for 2 weeks. this visit you have seen here. of but in it as they are going to put in a debt they help nobody made for its roots this year but it's hard for this family re-open to support their population over the number of which will be many of the same time they will be able to move in that evening from there and there they have this thing from living here that while yet is working with our plants as he translates in effectiveness of the smoke right away he gets 5 times but monsanto says that won't happen once the new beekeeper comes down. he heads home

batts the work of an education officer is never really done on the way he meets a man making charcoal in a pot of. many people do this here to and some extra cash on government and on us and at the bill if i sell the charcoal my wife can use the money to buy fish for the family. but that doesn't convince a girl in months he knows that every tree felled by chunk old burners is one tree less for the ecosystem one less for flying foxes and other creatures 3 stakes so many years 42 and i thought i doubt the states had a friend in a short period of time that too will be destroyed so they sometimes there's a month of conservation is there more that we have come up to sale and destroy one graphical brand for. months are going to try and persuade the charcoal burner to join the beekeepers in training where the man doesn't know condensed said. chuang

call home is a quicker way to end catch. us her was. back at the village school salons big moment has arrived. i want to caution you know she doesn't just tell her fellow pupils about flying foxes she also explains that you don't always have to chop down trees to make a fire and that sometimes the reflection from a light isn't after ignite one providing you use the right combustible material salon recommends using dead leaves and rotten tree bark a national park awarded salon and her classmates an award for coming up with this idea. of whatever it is local to this event it's important to protect the environment especially the bush team that's because the trees that produce oxygen for us and of course the bush is also a habitat for animals of 0 it's.

going to save our flying foxes sing the children. lower down. most of the schoolchildren in the village of long understood what some adults here still fail to comprehend that week was. the gamekeeper's move beyond and colomba had discovered the site of another fire located not far from the rangers camp the poachers are growing ever bolder fresh green grass is now running here but that's not the only draw of antelopes no money even the owner was there is one way the legatee they come when the a he's off the benny they come with the they come one who don't lay on the ashes so as

a last resort the gang people. themselves chopped down bushes and trees. this creates a fire break around the words to prevent a blaze from spreading to the forest where the flying foxes congregate their environmental ists sacrifice trees to protect other trees. meanwhile night is falling and the flying foxes take to the skies again. the german scientists as to mate that there are around 10000000 food bats here but they also believe that their numbers have been declining for years and that this could have dramatic consequences. but i'd be good enough because if you extrapolate it that means each night they spread millions of seeds and therefore plant trees

and if that stopped happening it would be an incredible loss to the environment because the induced lies don't follow and the fate of the flying foxes lies in the hands of the people in the surrounding villages. and salon's generation promises to play a major role. each night she reads a few verses from the bible before she goes to sleep she says it's even written in the holy scripture that people must protect nature. i'll tell you telling people about start have evil power was that good for some species even eaten such that would bite. so long says that gaunt created flying foxes and it's our responsibility to ensure the discreation survives she hopes to convince everyone to do that.

this is how she's known to the whole week but actress knows she sounds completely different. start the onus come on things his favorite christmas challenge. is

a good streak for the festive season jingle bells jingle bell here with. a little work 30 minutes w. . at christmas time you can hear it in dozens of languages. and countries all over the world. this song come from and how did it become such a part of christmas. song for the world. in 75 minutes on d w. we're all set to go beyond the obvious. that we're muslims.

as we take on the world. we're all about is the stories that matter to you to feel something to fight back to see what ever it takes if you are running. become an. exchange you know that w. . made for mines. just. emigrants. they know the police will stop the. they know that the road is not a solution. they know their flights could be sailing. going back to using not an option. i'm on and are stuck in the spanish border area. along side other young people there is leaving for

a chance that will probably never come. shattered dreams starts january 18th on d w. play . this is state of being is alive from europe kicks off its mass vaccination program 19 a 101 year old woman is the 1st person in charge many to get the vaccine as an unprecedented in your eyes asian campaign is now underway across the hero also coming up on the show we talk to survivors of cope at 19 who are as well after struggling.