Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: Trapped tourists saved from flooded caves

Episode Date: January 13, 2024

Five people were rescued from a system of underground lakes in southern Slovenia. Also: scientists say they've decoded a baby's cry. And, the mouse that's been caught tidying up a garden shed.

Hello, this is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, with reports and analysis from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are supported by advertising. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you. Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC podcasts. Hi, my name's Hal. I study Wales and there's nothing I like more than a happy pod. See what we did there.

This is the happy pod from the BBC World Service. I'm Jackie Leonard, and in this edition, uploaded on Saturday, January the 13th, rescuing a family from a flooded cave in Slovenia. It's like a birthday present. Usually we are rescuing one person, and now we managed to save five persons in one action. The men who've dedicated their lives to protecting lowland gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo,

from Canada, clans, culture and consensus among sperm whales, and work in Barcelona to help decode this. Also in this podcast... This is my nuts. You're not having them. The other thing I could think he's doing is just enjoying himself and a bit of fun every night. A very tidy mouse. And we begin with a rescue in southern Slovenia.

On Monday, five people were freed from a cave where they had been trapped since Saturday. A family of three adults and their two guides had been visiting a chain of underground lakes at the Krizhne Zama cave when water levels rose and blocked their way out. This was the moment when Max Marela, a member of Slovenia's cave rescue service, spoke to the BBC's James Reynolds right after the rescue was over. We just successfully finished the rescue operation. It was almost three days of efforts of our cave rescue service team and also the national team for technical cave rescue.

And we are really glad and happy that this scenario was finished in this way. Was it complicated to rescue these five people? Yeah, it was a very complex rescue operation because it was not just on us. Also, the nature has to be positive for this because we had some heavy rain in the last past days and the raising of water actually closed the cave in two parts. So at the entrance and also at the end of the cave, so these people were trapped inside. So it was technically demanding because cave rescuers,

they had to dive to manage to come to the trapped person. Do you know how the people are at the moment? Are they okay, the ones who were rescued? Because they had some first aid supplies with nutrition, actually water to drink, also some heating devices. And our first rescue team managed to come to their place yesterday and they bring them more things, also some dry clothes. So they came out from the cave alone, actually, with no medical help. And they are completely healthy and everything is okay.

So very positive. And it sounds like you're pretty happy. What is the mood among your fellow rescuers? Yeah, of course. This is like a birthday present. So usually we are rescuing one person, and now in this rescue operation, we managed to actually save five persons in one action and it was really successful.

Of course, we are glad that also the weather conditions enabled actually the rescue operation because it could last for days or even weeks like it was in the entire story. I think our audience would like me to say to you, well done on the rescue, Max Mirela. Thank you. Thank you very much. And we would echo that. Bravo, Max Mirela and Slovenia's cave rescue service. Apologies if you are struggling with sleepless nights and that sound yourself at the moment. But there's been a fascinating development from Spain where scientists at the Barcelona Hospital Clinic think they can decode a baby's cry

to work out exactly what it is he or she is unhappy about. And work is underway to develop software to help translate the cry too. This is Dr. Anna Lucia Paltrinieri. We recruited 38 healthy full-term newborn babies. And in a period between the first two weeks, we did a recording of their voice while they were crying. We did a video recording of their face and body movements. And at the same time, we recorded the brain electrical activity and the body saturation, which means the amount of oxygen inside the body and the amount of oxygen at brain level.

And we wanted to see if things that we were seeing at an acoustical level were matching differences in all these other variables we were analysing. So you spent a great deal of time listening to babies crying. How did you not go mad? Yes, correct. This is a good question. So the babies were not crying for a long period of time so actually we were setting up all the machines and then waiting for the babies to cry spontaneously obviously we didn't do anything to elicit good good i'm glad we clarified that but then after 15 20 seconds we were telling parents to do whatever they would do usually to just make baby comfortable. So they weren't really crying for a long period of time. Okay, what did you find?

So what we found is that actually there is a link and we can match what we see at an acoustic level with what we see in all the other variables that we analyse. And actually, there are significant differences depending on different cry types. We found different characteristics in a baby crying because he's hungry, because he's in distress, because he's needing to burp, because he's sleepy or fussy. So, obviously, you are working on Spanish babies, but they're pre-verbal. So your findings are useful for new parents everywhere around the world. What can you tell them that are simple things to look out for when their baby is crying and they don't know what's wrong? It's an interesting question. We have always to stay calm and try different strategies

at the beginning, as at the beginning we don't know what's happening. But then keep in mind that, for example, the cry for hungry is a cry that is more constant, is rhythmic, usually is of short duration. And it doesn't tend to be very high pitched. While the cry for sleepiness, which are the two cry types that more often happen, the cry for sleepiness is a cry that is more prolonged, that is monotonous, and the hit has a falling melody, let's say. They have differences, but that's why the company we have collaborated with to do this study, which is called Sound Dream,

which is a company that is leader in cryointerpretation, has developed a software through machine learning algorithms that automatically interprets infant cryotypes. It's not the same as mum, though, is it? It will never be the same. So the idea is that this technology might help first-time parents, but we have always to keep in mind that no technology can replace parents, and parents will always be the ones that know their babies best. We have a clip of a baby crying, and we were wondering if you could interpret it for us.

It's difficult to say, I think. It sounds to me more like a hungry, but I could be wrong. I find it still difficult to interpret without context. Yes, we probably weren't being fair there. That was Dr. Ana Lucia Paltrinieri in Barcelona. Now, to be honest, we hummed and hawed about whether this story belonged in the happy pod because it's bittersweet, but it's also beautiful and inspiring.

It's about people working to save lowland gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo from the effects of war, deforestation and poaching. The idea is to boost tourism. Once the gorillas feel safer around humans, supervised groups will be able to observe them in their natural habitat. But it's all down to acceptance by the dominant male silverback. Fiane Jenge is a wildlife filmmaker whose family comes from the DRC. He's documented his efforts to win over a 250 kilo silverback named Mpungwe. The goal is to arbitrate a family of gorillas. A process designed to gradually get them used to humans. But will the gorillas' highly protective alpha male

be willing to accept us? In the end, it's all down to him. I have two minds fighting each other. One is to see the gorillas being arbitrated. So they get used to humans. But one is to... ..after we remain wild. So what we're going to be doing is following habituation,

essentially a process of getting a group of wild gorillas used to a human presence, so tourists can safely enter their territory. But with primates, it's never easy. It's work that takes between two and ten years. It's very that takes between two and ten years. It's very hard work. To habituate a guerrilla family,

essentially you are trying to show them that you are a friend. And you do this by acting like them. Looking in the front. To help them to know that we're here, there are signs that we use. You do that and the baby goes, ha, ha, ha, ha. My friend has arrived to see us acting the same is to reassure them, to make them feel comfortable. These gorillas are wild. They don't know us.

They can't trust us, especially the silverback. He's very serious. He's got a job to do. The previous terrain, he was able to gauge the distance between his family and ours. So he would be more relaxed. This is very dangerous. This is very dangerous. Oh, my God! It's absolutely remarkable that he decided not to hurt me because he could if he wanted to.

And I can see it's a tough job for this eco-guard who devoted their lives to gorillas. It's really tough. I don't do this job for just a pleasure. I do it now because I want to get people engaged into what needs to be done to make sure that the gorillas are protected. And all of a sudden, through the habituation,

we became part of the group. And they start doing things naturally. And that's the moment, that's the moment when you start getting the best out of their behaviour. Look, we are surrounded by a Punggolese family. This whole place is peppered with gorillas. We are fully accepted. This is one of the sons.

Must be around six. And they want to play. The other time. The filmmaker Viene Jenge, and his documentary is called Silverback. We also heard from Papalon Bermongane, the chief guide in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park. To Mozambique now, a country working hard to recover from cyclone Idai five years ago. Our correspondent Nomsa Maseko has been back to the city of Beira. You might have heard one of her reports earlier in the week.

And she's been talking to people trying to help their communities adapt. Jose Joaquim has learnt new skills to build a cyclone-resistant house for his family. We're still under construction. We only cook in here. We're still living in the old house next door because we're still under construction. We only cook in here. We're still living in the old house next door because we're still working here. So when the next storm comes, you think that you are in a better position

to make sure that your family is protected? Yeah, in a good position. Me and my family will be safe because of the resilient techniques I used here, we'll be safe. José Joaquim, and you can listen to Nomsa Maseiko's documentary by downloading the documentary podcast. Still to come in this podcast... With the sperm whales, it looks like there isn't a big mama who's telling everyone else what to do. A kind of democracy among sperm whales. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening

to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story, plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. Now to a story of sporting triumph

that proves that age really is just a number. Marjorie Curtin has won a club medal in a qualifier for the England golf competition at the age of 93. With a net score of two under par, and I'm assured that golfers among you will know what that means, she beat players many years younger than her. The BBC's Molly Brewer has been to meet Marjorie at the Caris Green Golf Club in Cumbria in the north of England.

Four! meet Marjorie at the Caris Green Golf Club in Cumbria in the north of England. So Marjorie I believe a congratulations are in order. Firstly you have won one of your club medals at the age of 93 which is amazing congratulations. Yeah, 93. I don't feel any different than I did when I was 29, just the same. And how was it to win that medal? Because you certainly don't look 93. Well, I didn't realise I'd won it, really. When I got there, I was so surprised. And it was just one of those games. Everything went perfect.

I couldn't... If I'd have closed my eyes, it would have gone in the hole. And I had't have a close to my eyes it would have gone in the hole and I had just had a good round never thought anything about being a medal or anything like that and came in and it wasn't until we had the the presentation evening and I was sitting there and I heard of the name mrs. curtain I thought that's not me because I haven't won anything thinking it was my daughter-in-law because she's Mrs Curtin and kept saying Mrs Curtin Mrs Curtin so I haven't won anything yes she did he won the medal so that was how it how it all came about quite out of the I heard it ping down the middle. It went zing down the middle.

You've been beating people that are much younger than you, actually, so you are a dark horse. Well, I have more practice than they have had. I know you love the sport, you love golf. Tell us what it is that you love about it so much. I like the company, I like the friendship. I like the challenge. And it just keeps me fit and keeps me going,

keeps me out of mischief. I know you like playing with your grandchildren as well. Tell us a little bit about that. It's for the family. It's for fun. It's for friendliness. I love watching them. Yeah.

So what more could you wish for? We've just entered 2024. Have you got any more medals in your sights, do you think, this year? Are you going to be winning any more? You never know. Molly Brewer with Marjorie Curtin in the north of England and with a little bit of help from Bing Crosby. Now, a couple of other things we liked the look of this week.

In Warsaw in Poland, where temperatures were forecast to drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius, an animal shelter launched Operation Frost, sending out an urgent appeal for people to adopt or at least temporarily shelter some of its dogs until the cold spell passes. And the response was overwhelming. People arrived in droves, stood in queues in the cold for hours and reportedly took home 120 dogs, meaning all of them got somewhere warm to stay.

And some promising reports on cancer care as well. In the biggest study of its kind, it was found that combining DNA evidence with clinical data can actually help tailor care and improve which drugs are given to which patients. And news of the discovery last year of 74 previously unknown plants and 15 fungi, including an underground forest and spectacular orchids. Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew say many of the mysterious species were found in unlikely places, such as on the top of a volcano or clinging to Antarctic rocks. Plenty more on that on the BBC News website on our science pages. Now, we found out this week how much whales and humans have in

common. Researchers in Canada discovered that sperm whales, one of the most common, operate a kind of democracy and live in clans with distinctive cultures, much like humans do. Hal Whitehead of Dalhousie University told us more about the study. It's pretty fascinating. The clans are really important to the Spermwells' lives. Even though there may be two or more clans in an area, they don't associate with one another and they have characteristic clan-specific behaviours. So this clan does this and that clan does that. And then we figured out that this is all cultural. They're learning it all from each other, how to speak their dialect, as well as the particular behaviors of the clans. Also, even though they will mostly not meet most other members of their clan,

they would know if they did meet them that they were from their clan or they were from a different clan. This is a big structure of their lives. And it's a huge structure. So there may be 20,000 female sperm whales in a clan. You did actually specifically say female sperm whales. Why is that? Well, because the males lead a kind of very different life. They come down to the tropics from time to time and mate with the females. They provide sperm, but not much else. Anyway, that's the pattern we were getting with a few really interesting twists. You also discovered a form of democracy in these clans? Indeed. One of the more contentious aspects of recent writing about human prehistory is that the old picture was that we were pretty democratic as hunter-gatherer groups.

But then as we got agriculture and bureaucracy and all that, we became much more top-down. With the sperm whales, it looks like there isn't a big mama who's telling everyone else what to do. Instead, a lot of the time, they're making important decisions for them. So you might have 40 sperm whales together swimming across the ocean, and the ocean is broad. They've got to decide where to go. And it's important to them because there's good food in some places, not so good in other places. And there may be dangers as well in different areas. So they've got to make these decisions. And when we watch them make the decisions, they tend to do it slowly and messily. So a group of 40 sperm whales taking a couple of hours to turn 90

degrees. And that looks much more like a democratic business. And it's slow, it's messy. But in common with other democracy and other formats, it is more likely to produce the right answer than someone telling us, this is what you should do. Now, you have been studying whales since 1985, I gather. What is it about whales that drew you in and made you devote your professional life to their study? Well, I've been fascinated by the ocean. And as I talked to you, I'm actually looking out my window at the ocean, which is, you know, it's riveting. In the deep ocean is this extraordinary creature, which has the

largest brain on earth. It has the largest nose on earth. It makes the most powerful sound of any animal. It is incredibly social. It has these huge, large-scale social structures. It just captivated me, and I love being out there with it. Yeah. Hal Whitehead of Dalhousie University in Canada. And from one of the biggest creatures to a very small one, you might have seen a lovely bit of video during the social media rounds of a mouse apparently tidying up a work surface in a shed. If you haven't, I will be sharing it again. The shed belongs to Rodney Holbrook from Wales, and my colleague Sarah Montague asked him how he first discovered he had a little helper. Well, the first time was in the box I got, where I got some peanuts in for feeding the birds outside in the garden.

I went in one morning, early October, and the nuts that was in there was gone. And I thought, well, I haven't taken the nuts. So the next morning, I put more in and they was gone again. So I thought, there's so much strange going on here. So I put the nuts back in. And the next morning, I had bits and pieces put on top of the nuts. I thought, I've got to set a night camera up here. So I put the nuts back in and the next morning I had bits and pieces put on top of the nuts. I thought I've got to set a night camera up here. So I set it up on a tripod in my shed and lo and behold, there's the videos I got. What seems phenomenal about it is, well,

how many pieces this mouse is picking up and putting in. Well, it's water, like it looks almost like a dish. Did you deliberately put more things out for it to tidy up? I added a couple of things, but not much really, because I want it to be as natural as possible. But it goes to quite a lot of effort to pick things up and it does look like it's tidying. It does. That's why I call it tidying.

But you're going to ask me why I reckon it does it? Of course I am. Why do you reckon? I think it's just covering the nuts up to hide them away from any other mouse that might venture past. This is my nuts. You're not having them, so it's hiding them. And the other thing I could think he's doing is just enjoying himself

and a bit of fun every night, but I can't imagine that. He takes it out every day. Tonight and through in the morning, it'll all be put back in again. Well, when I say all of it, it varies sometimes between lots of it being put in and sort of half of it being put in. And there was one occasion where there was none put in. I thought, ah, he's gone. But the next day

he was back again. You say he. Oh, I don't know. I ain't sure. I really ain't sure. I says he. We've got to be clear what size. I mean, this is, we're talking a very small mouse. How big are the things it's picking up? There was one, it picked up a long, I must have had a stick of some sort on there, out there. You see it on the video, I think. It's a long stick, which is about six times the length of it. I just wonder, given you've got this mouth to do the clearing up after you,

has it stopped you tidying up? Yeah. That was Rodney Holbrook. And that's it from us for now. Do get in touch if you have any suggestions or indeed a moderate praise. As ever, the address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. This edition was mixed by Pat Sissons. The producers were Anna Murphy and Harry Bly.

Our editor is Karen Martin. I'm Jackie Leonard, and until next time, goodbye. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you.