Born in China

In the vast and diverse country that is China, five animal species that are unique to the wilds of the country are profiled, individual animals in three species, and the collective herd or flock in the remaining two, each over the course of a year from spring to spring, generally defining the cycle of mating and birth. The significance of these species to Chinese culture is also discussed. A female snow leopard, territorial as a species, is caring for her two offspring on her own high in the mountains. In the push and pull between caring for her young, which primarily entails hunting other animals for food, and guarding her territory from other snow leopards who may covet that space, the former will usually prevail, but sometimes at a cost. A two year old male golden snub-nosed monkey is testing his allegiance to the family, in his case his parents and his newborn baby sister, against his friendship with other monkeys his age. He may choose one over the other at different times, but it may not be as easy as his own want for what happens. A female giant panda is overprotective of her cub, they who will eventually part company for good when the cub is old enough to be able to climb a tree on her own without falling, it signifying her ability to evade predators. The mother may not leave without some proverbial tears. A herd of chiru antelopes work together as a team, the females who care for their offspring as a group in the spring, in the process abandoning the adult males, who they will not see again until it is time to start the mating ritual. Having no idea which male may have fathered their previous offspring, they begin the mating ritual again from square one. And a flock of crane are seen only in the spring, legend being that they carry away the spirit of the dead of all animals as a means of rebirth.