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There are 1,000 animals and 100 different species at the park | 0:00:02 | 0:00:04 | |
and each one of them needs just the right conditions to thrive. | 0:00:04 | 0:00:07 | |
And it's vital that they do. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:09 | |
These wonderful creatures are red pandas. | 0:00:09 | 0:00:12 | |
There are fewer than 10,000 left in the wild | 0:00:12 | 0:00:16 | |
and they've recently been classified as endangered. | 0:00:16 | 0:00:19 | |
As you can see, the keepers here work incredibly hard | 0:00:21 | 0:00:24 | |
to keep these guys in peak physical condition to give them | 0:00:24 | 0:00:28 | |
the best chances of breeding success. | 0:00:28 | 0:00:30 | |
We'll be finding out the extraordinary lengths they go to | 0:00:30 | 0:00:33 | |
to ensure the future of this species, | 0:00:33 | 0:00:36 | |
plus much more on today's Animal Park. | 0:00:36 | 0:00:39 | |
A world-class team of experts is flown in | 0:00:43 | 0:00:46 | |
to save a threatened species. | 0:00:46 | 0:00:47 | |
This is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most of us. | 0:00:49 | 0:00:52 | |
A vet is on red alert to save a wolf pack | 0:00:53 | 0:00:56 | |
whose cubs are fading fast. | 0:00:56 | 0:00:59 | |
He isn't going back to the pack, | 0:00:59 | 0:01:00 | |
and we're not going to be able to save him anyway. | 0:01:00 | 0:01:03 | |
And keepers risk it all to pull off | 0:01:03 | 0:01:05 | |
their most daring enclosure extension yet. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:08 | |
Our risk is that they actually get down off the tree | 0:01:08 | 0:01:11 | |
and they're free, roaming. | 0:01:11 | 0:01:14 | |
The reason the park opened back in 1966 was to help save the house here | 0:01:30 | 0:01:35 | |
that was falling into costly disrepair. | 0:01:35 | 0:01:37 | |
But over the years, the focus of the park has moved towards | 0:01:38 | 0:01:42 | |
the conservation of wildlife. | 0:01:42 | 0:01:44 | |
In the last 50 years, | 0:01:44 | 0:01:46 | |
it's said that the world has lost more than 50% of its wildlife, | 0:01:46 | 0:01:50 | |
and the park here have been doing their bit | 0:01:50 | 0:01:52 | |
to help halt that terrifying decline. | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
As a species, the southern white rhino | 0:01:58 | 0:02:01 | |
has been on the very brink of extinction. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
And come back. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:05 | |
They were hunted so ruthlessly | 0:02:06 | 0:02:08 | |
that they were almost wiped off the face of the earth. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:12 | |
There were less than 50 of them left in the wild. | 0:02:12 | 0:02:15 | |
But thanks to controlled breeding schemes, the species survived. | 0:02:16 | 0:02:21 | |
There are now over 20,000 white rhino. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:25 | |
But in the wild, they are still under constant threat | 0:02:25 | 0:02:28 | |
from illegal poaching. | 0:02:28 | 0:02:29 | |
So captive breeding programmes around the world continue to be | 0:02:31 | 0:02:34 | |
the species' best insurance policy. | 0:02:34 | 0:02:38 | |
And that is where Longleat comes in. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:39 | |
Nearly 15 years ago, | 0:02:41 | 0:02:42 | |
the team went to South Africa to collect three white rhino, | 0:02:42 | 0:02:46 | |
and I was lucky enough to be on that trip | 0:02:46 | 0:02:48 | |
with deputy head warden Ian Turner | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
to meet our new inhabitants - Njanu, Marashi and Razina. | 0:02:51 | 0:02:56 | |
Grab some hay there. | 0:02:56 | 0:02:57 | |
They'll actually eat out of your hands, it's unbelievable. | 0:02:57 | 0:03:00 | |
Just watch your fingers. | 0:03:00 | 0:03:01 | |
Really, really good. Better than I thought. | 0:03:03 | 0:03:05 | |
You know, really excited. | 0:03:05 | 0:03:06 | |
Hopefully they never have to come back to here again | 0:03:06 | 0:03:09 | |
and they never get in the state in Africa | 0:03:09 | 0:03:10 | |
that they need stuff to come back. | 0:03:10 | 0:03:12 | |
But if it ever happens, then we've got rhinos to do that. | 0:03:12 | 0:03:15 | |
But, you know, this is a big step for us and it's really exciting. | 0:03:16 | 0:03:19 | |
It wasn't long before all three settled down | 0:03:20 | 0:03:23 | |
to a quiet life on this country estate. | 0:03:23 | 0:03:26 | |
In fact, it's been far too quiet. | 0:03:26 | 0:03:29 | |
Here we are, 12 years later, and still no babies. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:34 | |
Keeper Kevin Knibbs has been looking after the rhinos | 0:03:34 | 0:03:37 | |
since they arrived all those years ago. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:40 | |
He's got his own theories on why it just hasn't happened yet. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:45 | |
This herd of rhino, | 0:03:46 | 0:03:48 | |
they've not really done what we wanted them to do. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:50 | |
When they arrived we were hoping we would... | 0:03:50 | 0:03:52 | |
that they would breed within just a couple of years. | 0:03:52 | 0:03:54 | |
Unfortunately that didn't happen. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:58 | |
The main reason, really, is to do with Njanu. He's just... | 0:03:58 | 0:04:02 | |
I think he's just too nice an animal, really. | 0:04:02 | 0:04:04 | |
With rhinos it's normally quite a rough courtship, | 0:04:04 | 0:04:08 | |
he has to chase the females around and kind of dominate them, | 0:04:08 | 0:04:11 | |
and it's just not really in his nature. | 0:04:11 | 0:04:13 | |
Don't touch that! Well done. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:16 | |
But the park simply isn't prepared to give up | 0:04:16 | 0:04:19 | |
and have decided to give it one last shot. | 0:04:19 | 0:04:21 | |
And today is the big day. | 0:04:23 | 0:04:26 | |
The park has called in two experts, | 0:04:27 | 0:04:29 | |
Dr Robert Hermes and Dr Frank Goeritz from Germany, | 0:04:29 | 0:04:33 | |
to assist vet Chris Mangham. | 0:04:33 | 0:04:35 | |
It is really important. Rhinos in the wild are endangered. | 0:04:35 | 0:04:39 | |
Breeding in captivity is really difficult, we all know that - | 0:04:39 | 0:04:43 | |
we've tried for years and years here - | 0:04:43 | 0:04:45 | |
and I think we're lucky enough | 0:04:45 | 0:04:46 | |
to have a couple of experts who've come in. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:48 | |
And if we can get a pregnancy and a baby rhino out of it, | 0:04:48 | 0:04:51 | |
then that'll be brilliant news. | 0:04:51 | 0:04:53 | |
The plan is to artificially inseminate both Razina and Marashi | 0:04:54 | 0:04:59 | |
with a sperm sample taken from Njanu. | 0:04:59 | 0:05:02 | |
There's a lot riding on it. | 0:05:02 | 0:05:04 | |
This is a rare procedure for us. | 0:05:04 | 0:05:06 | |
The chaps doing it, they've done it a lot before, | 0:05:06 | 0:05:08 | |
they fly all round the world. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:09 | |
So, you know, they are the top dogs for doing this sort of thing. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:13 | |
But it's not guaranteed. | 0:05:13 | 0:05:15 | |
You know, there's a lot of things that have got to go right. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
The first challenge is to sedate Njanu | 0:05:19 | 0:05:22 | |
in order to successfully remove a sample from him. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:26 | |
There is one keeper who's particularly anxious. | 0:05:26 | 0:05:29 | |
I always worry about Njanu. He's my favourite rhino, | 0:05:29 | 0:05:32 | |
so I'm very worried about Njanu. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:33 | |
But with all the expertise - we've got Chris, our vet, | 0:05:33 | 0:05:36 | |
the two German guys that are just phenomenal, | 0:05:36 | 0:05:39 | |
we should be in safe hands. | 0:05:39 | 0:05:41 | |
We are at the start of the anaesthesia. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:43 | |
The male, he just went down, | 0:05:43 | 0:05:46 | |
and Frank is going to stabilise the anaesthesia. | 0:05:46 | 0:05:49 | |
They need Njanu to be completely unconscious | 0:05:50 | 0:05:53 | |
in order to begin the process. | 0:05:53 | 0:05:55 | |
But Njanu isn't quite ready yet. | 0:05:55 | 0:05:57 | |
He's quite light at the moment, | 0:05:59 | 0:06:00 | |
so we're just going to get some more drugs. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:02 | |
He's where we'd expect him to be, but we just need to give... | 0:06:04 | 0:06:06 | |
..some more so we can roll him over a bit. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:09 | |
It does make me slightly apprehensive. | 0:06:11 | 0:06:13 | |
Any general knock-down of an animal is always quite scary. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:16 | |
Particularly when it's an animal that I'm quite fond of. | 0:06:17 | 0:06:20 | |
It kind of doubles the pressure. | 0:06:20 | 0:06:23 | |
Njanu is finally sedated enough for them to begin. | 0:06:23 | 0:06:26 | |
Frank and Robert are going to try and get a sample now. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
So it's going to be a sperm sample. | 0:06:33 | 0:06:35 | |
They might do it several times to make sure we get | 0:06:35 | 0:06:37 | |
the best sample possible and then we can check that under the microscope | 0:06:37 | 0:06:40 | |
to make sure it's viable. | 0:06:40 | 0:06:42 | |
And then that's what we're going to use to put into the females. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
Rob has his sample, but the cause of Njanu's problem is becoming clear. | 0:06:48 | 0:06:53 | |
We did not get a really good volume. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:57 | |
Apparently, he's got two really nice ladies here on the paddock. | 0:06:58 | 0:07:04 | |
They want to mate but he just doesn't. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:07 | |
And why he doesn't, we don't know. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:10 | |
But from the volume that he provides, in terms of semen volume, | 0:07:10 | 0:07:14 | |
it is just too small for a rhino. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:15 | |
Rob will examine the sample closely. | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
If the quality is good, they could still be in with a chance. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:23 | |
It's mid-morning and Jean is continuing her tour of the park, | 0:07:33 | 0:07:37 | |
finding out what it's like to be a keeper. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:39 | |
-Hi, Kelsey. -Hi, come on in. -Hello! Who are these two? | 0:07:39 | 0:07:43 | |
We've got our two Asian short-clawed otters here with us today. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:46 | |
They are lovely. What are they called? | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
We've got Hamish over here - | 0:07:48 | 0:07:49 | |
you can tell Hamish because he's got a black nose - | 0:07:49 | 0:07:52 | |
and we've got Sumalee over here - she's the female. | 0:07:52 | 0:07:54 | |
You can tell her - she's got a brown nose. | 0:07:54 | 0:07:56 | |
OK, so what's the plan? | 0:07:56 | 0:07:57 | |
-I've got some bamboo canes in here, which is very odd. -You have. | 0:07:57 | 0:08:00 | |
It is indeed. We've got some meat in there, we've got some fish in there. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:03 | |
They have to use their paws, just like they would in the wild, | 0:08:03 | 0:08:06 | |
to get that meat out of there. | 0:08:06 | 0:08:08 | |
So it's good, it's like they can't see, | 0:08:08 | 0:08:10 | |
just like in the wild, in those murky rivers. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:12 | |
So they have to get in there and feel around and be really dextrous | 0:08:12 | 0:08:15 | |
in order to gain the reward. | 0:08:15 | 0:08:16 | |
Do you think they'll be quite quick at doing this? | 0:08:16 | 0:08:19 | |
-He looks like he's ready already, doesn't he? -In it goes. | 0:08:19 | 0:08:21 | |
-Let's see what he does. -So straight up to it, | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
and his little hand is straight in there. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:26 | |
We have made it a little bit more difficult for him. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:28 | |
We've put meat in one side but not in the other. | 0:08:28 | 0:08:30 | |
-He's going to have to work that out. -You can see Sumalee, | 0:08:30 | 0:08:33 | |
she's worked it out already. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:35 | |
-There she goes. -Sumalee has got her hand right inside there. | 0:08:35 | 0:08:38 | |
Yeah, we can see she's got her paws right inside. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:41 | |
She is actually about to gain her reward, I think. | 0:08:41 | 0:08:43 | |
She's almost there. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:45 | |
-That was super fast. -Really dextrous. | 0:08:45 | 0:08:46 | |
Yeah, they're super quick. Really mischievous. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:49 | |
That's why we have to keep thinking all the time of | 0:08:49 | 0:08:51 | |
lots of different enrichments we can do for these guys. | 0:08:51 | 0:08:53 | |
And are they quite generous with each other? | 0:08:53 | 0:08:55 | |
Will they share food, or will she allow her to have the treat? | 0:08:55 | 0:08:58 | |
They do share food, yeah. They will share food together. | 0:08:58 | 0:09:01 | |
They do in fact bring each other food at times as well, | 0:09:01 | 0:09:04 | |
so they are quite sweet to each other. | 0:09:04 | 0:09:06 | |
Just maybe not so much to us. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:07 | |
They don't want to share their food with us. | 0:09:07 | 0:09:09 | |
Let's give them some more treats. Why have you put this meat...? | 0:09:09 | 0:09:12 | |
We've got some meat inside the shell. | 0:09:12 | 0:09:13 | |
Again, this is a bit easier. | 0:09:13 | 0:09:15 | |
This time the otters can see what's in there, | 0:09:15 | 0:09:16 | |
so you'll find they're really quick at this. | 0:09:16 | 0:09:18 | |
So this is not going to be so difficult for them. | 0:09:18 | 0:09:21 | |
No, they can see exactly what's happening there. | 0:09:21 | 0:09:23 | |
And they have to dive down to the bottom again, | 0:09:23 | 0:09:25 | |
-so that's another skill, isn't it? -Exactly. | 0:09:25 | 0:09:28 | |
I'm noticing that they're very co-ordinated hand to mouth. | 0:09:28 | 0:09:31 | |
They are indeed. Asian short-clawed otters are known | 0:09:31 | 0:09:34 | |
-in captivity for doing what's called juggling. -What's that? | 0:09:34 | 0:09:36 | |
Basically, what they'll do is they will actually collect little stones | 0:09:36 | 0:09:40 | |
and such and they'll just manipulate them with their paws. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:43 | |
And it almost looks as if they are actually juggling. | 0:09:43 | 0:09:45 | |
We've got one more treat for them here. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:48 | |
-We do indeed. -So is this treat to be on land or in the water? | 0:09:48 | 0:09:51 | |
In the water, and this helps to simulate sort of | 0:09:51 | 0:09:54 | |
a natural behaviour in these otters. | 0:09:54 | 0:09:56 | |
So basically, when they are out in the wild, | 0:09:56 | 0:09:58 | |
when they're fishing and foraging for their food, | 0:09:58 | 0:10:01 | |
-they will be in sort of murky bodies of water. -Yes. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:03 | |
So they're going to feel around, | 0:10:03 | 0:10:04 | |
almost as if they're blind in that murky water. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:07 | |
-Almost like another set of eyes in their fingers. -Exactly. | 0:10:07 | 0:10:09 | |
So you can see they are really going for it just now | 0:10:09 | 0:10:12 | |
with their little paws, really finding those treats | 0:10:12 | 0:10:14 | |
and having a good forage. | 0:10:14 | 0:10:16 | |
-They're really getting stuck into that hole there. -Exactly. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:18 | |
You can see those paws going right in that little hole just there. | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
Well, you said you wanted them to work for their food, | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
and it seems to me they're very happy to work for their food, | 0:10:24 | 0:10:27 | |
so I would say that was a successful exercise. | 0:10:27 | 0:10:29 | |
I would tend to agree, yep. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:31 | |
And it seems they've made lots of enrichment for the keepers as well. | 0:10:31 | 0:10:34 | |
We're going to clean all this up now, so that's nice. | 0:10:34 | 0:10:36 | |
-I'll help you out with that. -That'll be lovely. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:38 | |
Back at the rhino house, | 0:11:02 | 0:11:03 | |
specialist Robert Hermes is about to find out if the small sample | 0:11:03 | 0:11:07 | |
they took contains enough sperm. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:10 | |
We need to have swimmers. | 0:11:10 | 0:11:12 | |
So the more swimming, the better. | 0:11:12 | 0:11:15 | |
And the higher the number, the better too. | 0:11:15 | 0:11:18 | |
A poor sample now and it's all over. | 0:11:20 | 0:11:23 | |
We do get a lot of swimmers in here. | 0:11:26 | 0:11:28 | |
It's a good sample. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:31 | |
The team can now move onto inseminating Razina and Marashi, | 0:11:32 | 0:11:37 | |
who only need a small dose of anaesthetic for this procedure. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:40 | |
This is almost like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity | 0:11:46 | 0:11:48 | |
for most of us. The fact we can do two in the same day | 0:11:48 | 0:11:51 | |
is doubling our chances of a baby rhino. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:53 | |
So in six months' time we could have two beautiful baby rhinos | 0:11:53 | 0:11:57 | |
running around, causing all sorts of mischief and trouble. | 0:11:57 | 0:12:01 | |
Rhino don't have a set mating season | 0:12:01 | 0:12:03 | |
and may only become sexually active twice a year, | 0:12:03 | 0:12:07 | |
which is why procedures like this can become necessary | 0:12:07 | 0:12:10 | |
to prevent losing an entire species. | 0:12:10 | 0:12:14 | |
It is almost ready to put the specimen inside her. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:17 | |
So this is really the magic moment. | 0:12:17 | 0:12:19 | |
Rob and Frank are able to use their ultrasound equipment | 0:12:21 | 0:12:24 | |
to monitor the insemination throughout. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:27 | |
And for both ladies, it's a success. | 0:12:27 | 0:12:30 | |
One of the vets came in on Saturday to give them an injection | 0:12:31 | 0:12:33 | |
to make sure she'd ovulate, and the good news was that she has. | 0:12:33 | 0:12:37 | |
So there's an egg somewhere... | 0:12:37 | 0:12:39 | |
..making its way down. | 0:12:40 | 0:12:42 | |
The guys are happy with where the DAI landed. | 0:12:42 | 0:12:45 | |
So at this point, you know, a lot of hurdles to get over, | 0:12:45 | 0:12:50 | |
but at this point, we couldn't be happier. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:52 | |
Amazing. It's not every day you get to save a species. | 0:12:57 | 0:13:00 | |
And this is kind of what we're doing, this is what we're here for. | 0:13:00 | 0:13:04 | |
And these two now hopefully hold the key to babies in a few months' time. | 0:13:04 | 0:13:08 | |
But it is going to be a tense waiting game for Kev and the team | 0:13:11 | 0:13:14 | |
before they know if today's efforts have produced a pregnancy. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:18 | |
The park is home to three red pandas. | 0:13:30 | 0:13:32 | |
As a result of deforestation, | 0:13:35 | 0:13:38 | |
the red panda has recently gone from vulnerable to endangered | 0:13:38 | 0:13:41 | |
on the species conservation list. | 0:13:41 | 0:13:43 | |
So it's up to parks like this to do everything they can | 0:13:46 | 0:13:49 | |
to build the population and ensure the animals are kept | 0:13:49 | 0:13:52 | |
to the highest standard possible. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:54 | |
Keeper Sam is particularly passionate about her little family | 0:13:56 | 0:13:59 | |
of red pandas. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
There is thought to be less than 10,000 individuals now, | 0:14:03 | 0:14:05 | |
which is obviously quite sad. | 0:14:05 | 0:14:07 | |
We're very lucky to have three of them here. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:10 | |
Dad Ajendra and Mum Rufina, | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
gave birth to their son, Leo, just over a year ago. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:16 | |
This is Leo, this is our baby. | 0:14:16 | 0:14:18 | |
I say baby, he's absolutely huge now. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:21 | |
He's definitely still a big baby. | 0:14:21 | 0:14:23 | |
He likes to play a lot. | 0:14:23 | 0:14:25 | |
Always likes to get involved, as you can see. Loves the food. | 0:14:25 | 0:14:28 | |
To accommodate this growing family | 0:14:30 | 0:14:32 | |
and to encourage them to raise yet more clubs in the future, | 0:14:32 | 0:14:36 | |
keepers have come up with some big plans. | 0:14:36 | 0:14:39 | |
Head of section, Cat, has an idea to build a giant walkway | 0:14:44 | 0:14:47 | |
into a nearby tree. | 0:14:47 | 0:14:49 | |
This tree is huge, it's absolutely massive. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:55 | |
I can't see the top of it, it is well over 20 metres. | 0:14:55 | 0:14:58 | |
So really, really good for the pandas because they absolutely adore | 0:14:58 | 0:15:02 | |
climbing and they love being at a height - | 0:15:02 | 0:15:04 | |
they feel really, really secure. | 0:15:04 | 0:15:05 | |
But there's one huge risk. | 0:15:05 | 0:15:07 | |
That big tree is outside the enclosure. | 0:15:10 | 0:15:13 | |
I think it is one of those projects that will work. | 0:15:14 | 0:15:17 | |
But it's one that makes us very nervous at the same time. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:22 | |
Head of animal operations, Darren Beasley, is equally concerned. | 0:15:23 | 0:15:28 | |
The scenario we won't think about, we'll breeze over, | 0:15:28 | 0:15:31 | |
is they trot along, they find a weak spot and they decide | 0:15:31 | 0:15:34 | |
to drop to the floor. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:36 | |
And then we need to look at how we're going to get them back. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:39 | |
I'm a bit sweaty-palmed, a bit nervous now. | 0:15:39 | 0:15:42 | |
The keepers have put an enormous amount of research into this plan | 0:15:42 | 0:15:45 | |
and are determined to push ahead. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:47 | |
We've got to do it. You can't stand still. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:50 | |
I want the best, and I think this is the way forward. | 0:15:50 | 0:15:53 | |
Let's break a few bits of ground rules, | 0:15:53 | 0:15:54 | |
let's see what we can do and come up with. | 0:15:54 | 0:15:57 | |
It's crucial that the red panda team | 0:15:58 | 0:16:00 | |
make sure Ajendra and Rufina have the best possible habitat | 0:16:00 | 0:16:04 | |
in the future and that they might one day become parents once more. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:09 | |
But could this new venture end up losing more red pandas | 0:16:09 | 0:16:12 | |
than protecting? | 0:16:12 | 0:16:13 | |
From fruit-loving herbivores at the Animal Adventure | 0:16:24 | 0:16:28 | |
to carnivorous cats on safari... | 0:16:28 | 0:16:30 | |
..it's critical that each and every animal | 0:16:32 | 0:16:35 | |
gets exactly the right amount of food... | 0:16:35 | 0:16:37 | |
Come on, Ellie! | 0:16:37 | 0:16:38 | |
..at every feed... | 0:16:38 | 0:16:40 | |
..as Jean is about to find out. | 0:16:41 | 0:16:43 | |
-Hi, Georgia. -Hi, Jean. | 0:16:49 | 0:16:51 | |
Look at this lot! | 0:16:51 | 0:16:52 | |
I'm super excited, I've never been this close to penguins before. | 0:16:54 | 0:16:58 | |
So what are we doing today? | 0:16:59 | 0:17:00 | |
-Today we are going to be feeding our baby penguins. -Hello! | 0:17:00 | 0:17:03 | |
To check that each chick is getting enough food, | 0:17:03 | 0:17:06 | |
Jean and Georgia carefully catch and must weigh each one. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:11 | |
So they're the ones with the yellow tags. | 0:17:11 | 0:17:13 | |
You'll notice Ant coming up to us here. | 0:17:13 | 0:17:15 | |
Hi, Ant. So just go for it, just grab him? | 0:17:15 | 0:17:18 | |
Just put your hands underneath, under the wing like that. | 0:17:18 | 0:17:21 | |
-And then... -Up he comes. Oh! There you go. | 0:17:21 | 0:17:24 | |
-We're going to pop him in the bucket. -Really feathery. | 0:17:24 | 0:17:26 | |
-So we'll turn that off. -Hi! In you pop. | 0:17:26 | 0:17:29 | |
So we need to make sure that they're eating enough food | 0:17:29 | 0:17:32 | |
-and that they're a good weight. -And how's the weight on this? | 0:17:32 | 0:17:35 | |
This is absolutely fine. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:36 | |
So he's 3.5kg, so that's a good weight. | 0:17:36 | 0:17:39 | |
Right, let's weigh another one. | 0:17:39 | 0:17:41 | |
At this age, the chicks need weighing once every two weeks. | 0:17:44 | 0:17:47 | |
Just going to take you in and make sure you've had enough to eat. | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
Only after they've reached 2kg can it become less regular. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:56 | |
I have to admit they do all kind of look the same. | 0:17:57 | 0:18:00 | |
I think he's been stealing fish because he's a little bit fatter | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
than the other penguins. Would I be right? | 0:18:06 | 0:18:09 | |
The chicks are in good shape. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:11 | |
So who's next? | 0:18:11 | 0:18:12 | |
But there's one penguin, called Rhianna, | 0:18:12 | 0:18:15 | |
who could do with some help to grow some new feathers. | 0:18:15 | 0:18:17 | |
It's called a catastrophic moult, so they drop all their feathers | 0:18:19 | 0:18:22 | |
and they get a brand-new coat. | 0:18:22 | 0:18:23 | |
But we want her to put on probably an extra half a kilo to a kilo | 0:18:23 | 0:18:26 | |
to kick-start that moult. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:28 | |
And what's the best way to feed? | 0:18:28 | 0:18:30 | |
So we are going to feed her by hand here now. | 0:18:30 | 0:18:32 | |
So basically, what we'll do is we'll take this...few fish | 0:18:32 | 0:18:35 | |
and we'll just hold the tail and present the head. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:37 | |
Oh, she likes that. There you go. | 0:18:37 | 0:18:40 | |
And spending some time with them, | 0:18:40 | 0:18:42 | |
I'm seeing that they all have personalities. | 0:18:42 | 0:18:44 | |
It's like a little gang in here, isn't it? | 0:18:44 | 0:18:45 | |
It is, yep. It's a drama every day. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:48 | |
Boyfriends splitting up with girlfriends | 0:18:48 | 0:18:50 | |
and getting new girlfriends, and having multiple girlfriends. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:52 | |
Well, they've been very welcoming to me today and I've fulfilled | 0:18:54 | 0:18:57 | |
a lifelong dream of picking up a penguin. | 0:18:57 | 0:19:00 | |
Since the park opened in '66, there have been countless dramas. | 0:19:12 | 0:19:16 | |
Oi! | 0:19:16 | 0:19:17 | |
Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa. | 0:19:18 | 0:19:20 | |
Hey! Go on... | 0:19:22 | 0:19:23 | |
But eight years ago, | 0:19:24 | 0:19:26 | |
we were there to witness one of the most devastating events | 0:19:26 | 0:19:29 | |
to hit Wolf Wood. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:30 | |
Two of the wolf pups had fallen dangerously ill. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:40 | |
The keepers were forced to rush the pair to the vets. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:43 | |
This is incredibly rare, | 0:19:43 | 0:19:45 | |
as wolves are pack animals and so they're never separated. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:49 | |
But this was life or death. | 0:19:49 | 0:19:52 | |
The future of the wolf pups was now in the hands of vet Paul Higgs, | 0:19:52 | 0:19:56 | |
who believed the problem may be worms. | 0:19:56 | 0:19:59 | |
How long can we keep them away from the pack, realistically? | 0:19:59 | 0:20:03 | |
I'd really like to put them back as soon as you can, to be honest. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
Start keeping them away, then you're going to have other problems, | 0:20:06 | 0:20:10 | |
really, getting them back in. | 0:20:10 | 0:20:11 | |
This one is looking pretty bad, really, Brian, I think. | 0:20:11 | 0:20:16 | |
WOLF PUP WHIMPERS | 0:20:16 | 0:20:18 | |
A series of tests are needed. | 0:20:18 | 0:20:21 | |
Brian can only wait for the results. | 0:20:21 | 0:20:23 | |
Upsetting, really, to see him like this. | 0:20:24 | 0:20:27 | |
The worrying thing is, I don't know if the rest of them | 0:20:28 | 0:20:30 | |
will go the same way. | 0:20:30 | 0:20:31 | |
Paul put the sickest one on an ECG machine to check its heart-rate. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:38 | |
Certainly doesn't look normal. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:43 | |
The results of the blood test appear to confirm those of the ECG machine. | 0:20:43 | 0:20:47 | |
So we've had our blood results, which are here. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:52 | |
A couple of the important ones. | 0:20:52 | 0:20:54 | |
This one particularly, low calcium, | 0:20:54 | 0:20:57 | |
can really make animals go really weak, really twitchy, | 0:20:57 | 0:21:00 | |
possibly have full-blown seizures. | 0:21:00 | 0:21:02 | |
But I would expect to see other signs on the bloods, | 0:21:02 | 0:21:04 | |
which we haven't seen, | 0:21:04 | 0:21:05 | |
so I'm not 100% sure this is what's going on, | 0:21:05 | 0:21:07 | |
but we don't have anything else to play with at the moment. | 0:21:07 | 0:21:10 | |
And we're at a fairly critical stage. | 0:21:10 | 0:21:12 | |
If we don't turn him around now and he doesn't go back to the pack, | 0:21:12 | 0:21:15 | |
then we're not going to be able to save him anyway. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:18 | |
A calcium injection should replenish the pup with essential minerals. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:23 | |
But too much will kill it. | 0:21:23 | 0:21:24 | |
Paul is taking a risk, but this pup is critically ill. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:30 | |
The problem with this stuff, Brian, is it's pretty dangerous. | 0:21:31 | 0:21:35 | |
If we give it too quickly, | 0:21:35 | 0:21:36 | |
it's going to stop his heart all by itself. | 0:21:36 | 0:21:39 | |
So we'll put the ECG back on him and we'll watch as he goes. | 0:21:39 | 0:21:43 | |
If we start seeing problems with the ECG, then we'll stop. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:47 | |
As the calcium goes in, the ECG will show if it has any effect. | 0:21:49 | 0:21:53 | |
No, it's the same as it was just before we injected, | 0:21:54 | 0:21:57 | |
-but it's worse than it was before. -Yeah. | 0:21:57 | 0:21:59 | |
The calcium hasn't worked. | 0:22:01 | 0:22:03 | |
Time was running out. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:05 | |
If the pups don't go back to their mother tonight, | 0:22:05 | 0:22:08 | |
she'll probably just abandon them to die. | 0:22:08 | 0:22:10 | |
We've tried everything we can at the moment. | 0:22:12 | 0:22:14 | |
This one is still completely comatose and really non-responsive. | 0:22:14 | 0:22:19 | |
The problem is we've got two in this state, | 0:22:19 | 0:22:21 | |
and if they're going to go back, they've got to get back tonight, | 0:22:21 | 0:22:24 | |
and I can't see this one recovering. | 0:22:24 | 0:22:26 | |
Paul and Brian are left with a heartbreaking decision. | 0:22:28 | 0:22:30 | |
In a way, Brian, I think it might be sensible to put this one to sleep | 0:22:32 | 0:22:37 | |
and focus on the other one, make sure the other one survives. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:41 | |
Because at the moment, the other one's not getting any of our time, | 0:22:41 | 0:22:44 | |
and this one is getting all of our time. | 0:22:44 | 0:22:46 | |
And unless we find out what's going on, | 0:22:47 | 0:22:50 | |
we're going to lose both of them. | 0:22:50 | 0:22:52 | |
So I think, you know, in a way it's going to be fairer | 0:22:52 | 0:22:56 | |
to let this one go, | 0:22:56 | 0:22:57 | |
because he's pretty past pulling back at the moment, | 0:22:57 | 0:23:03 | |
and seeing whether or not he can give us any more information | 0:23:03 | 0:23:05 | |
about what's going on so we can try and save the other one. | 0:23:05 | 0:23:09 | |
It's a terrible choice to have to make, | 0:23:09 | 0:23:12 | |
but the team have done everything they can. | 0:23:12 | 0:23:15 | |
Now unconscious, weak and not responding to treatment, | 0:23:15 | 0:23:19 | |
they choose to sacrifice one wolf pup to try and save the other. | 0:23:19 | 0:23:23 | |
Poor little thing. | 0:23:23 | 0:23:24 | |
Can its death reveal a vital clue to | 0:23:26 | 0:23:28 | |
keeping the rest of the pups alive? | 0:23:28 | 0:23:30 | |
They were doing so well and suddenly, bang, you lose one. | 0:23:40 | 0:23:44 | |
Possibly may lose all of them, I don't know. | 0:23:45 | 0:23:48 | |
That's the worrying thing. | 0:23:48 | 0:23:49 | |
I'm hoping Paul may find something in this one to help the others. | 0:23:49 | 0:23:54 | |
We'll be back to find out whether | 0:23:57 | 0:23:59 | |
the team managed to save the other pup, | 0:23:59 | 0:24:01 | |
and potentially the whole pack, from disaster. | 0:24:01 | 0:24:04 | |
'In this series, we've been catching up with old friends...' | 0:24:19 | 0:24:23 | |
We're racing along here! | 0:24:23 | 0:24:25 | |
You stay still, I'll do the steering. | 0:24:25 | 0:24:27 | |
Don't be patronising, | 0:24:27 | 0:24:28 | |
because I haven't seen you for a bit. | 0:24:28 | 0:24:30 | |
'..and meeting new ones.' | 0:24:32 | 0:24:33 | |
While I head out into the park, | 0:24:36 | 0:24:38 | |
Ben has a special appointment at Animal Adventure. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:42 | |
In 2013, Emma McQuiston married Lord Bath's son, Ceawlin Thynn, | 0:24:42 | 0:24:48 | |
to become Lord and Lady Weymouth. | 0:24:48 | 0:24:50 | |
Their son John will one day inherit the estate and the title. | 0:24:50 | 0:24:55 | |
We are down here today because John loves the donkeys, is that right? | 0:24:55 | 0:24:59 | |
They're his favourite, really. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:01 | |
Which in some ways, you know, when you have basically | 0:25:01 | 0:25:03 | |
the most extraordinary collection of animals on your doorstep, | 0:25:03 | 0:25:07 | |
people might assume that his favourite animal would be, | 0:25:07 | 0:25:10 | |
I don't know, a lion or a zebra or a giraffe. | 0:25:10 | 0:25:13 | |
He has fed the other animals, but I think, | 0:25:13 | 0:25:15 | |
every night when I say goodnight and he goes to bed, | 0:25:15 | 0:25:18 | |
he asks for the donkeys. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:19 | |
So that's sort of on his list of things to do every day | 0:25:19 | 0:25:22 | |
is come down and feed the donkeys. | 0:25:22 | 0:25:23 | |
-And do you come down here every day? -Pretty much, yeah. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:26 | |
So I always text the girls and see, if I can't find the donkeys, | 0:25:26 | 0:25:29 | |
if they've moved to another enclosure. | 0:25:29 | 0:25:31 | |
But it's amazing to live here. I love animals so much, | 0:25:31 | 0:25:34 | |
and I just feel very lucky to be around so many amazing... | 0:25:34 | 0:25:37 | |
-Another donkey. -Another donkey? | 0:25:37 | 0:25:39 | |
And living here, what's it like waking up to the sound of lions | 0:25:39 | 0:25:43 | |
or wolves in the morning? | 0:25:43 | 0:25:44 | |
Is that very special, or is that something you get used to? | 0:25:44 | 0:25:47 | |
It's incredible, of course. | 0:25:47 | 0:25:49 | |
Sea lions are pretty loud. | 0:25:49 | 0:25:50 | |
You hear them. You do hear the wolves. | 0:25:50 | 0:25:52 | |
It's a good alarm clock, usually. | 0:25:52 | 0:25:54 | |
And there's a bird in the... | 0:25:55 | 0:25:57 | |
African Village that's very loud. | 0:25:57 | 0:25:58 | |
So that's one that I hear all the time. | 0:25:58 | 0:26:01 | |
But it's great fun. Obviously, bringing John up here, | 0:26:01 | 0:26:04 | |
you couldn't ask for a more incredible place. | 0:26:04 | 0:26:07 | |
We can see just John with the animals now - | 0:26:07 | 0:26:08 | |
do you think he has a great affinity with animals? | 0:26:08 | 0:26:11 | |
Definitely, definitely. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:12 | |
The other day he said, "Little tiny monkey," so we fed the marmosets. | 0:26:12 | 0:26:15 | |
-Very good. -They're quite fun. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:17 | |
Which one do you want? A piece of apple? | 0:26:17 | 0:26:20 | |
-No, you want the carrot? -Carrots. -The carrot. That's a good idea. | 0:26:20 | 0:26:23 | |
Well, I have to say, | 0:26:23 | 0:26:24 | |
I am very envious of you both having all of this on your doorstep. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:28 | |
You're very, very lucky. | 0:26:28 | 0:26:29 | |
Well, come any time. | 0:26:29 | 0:26:30 | |
A few years ago, | 0:26:42 | 0:26:44 | |
we followed the dramatic tale of events down at Wolf Wood | 0:26:44 | 0:26:47 | |
when two young pups fell mysteriously ill. | 0:26:47 | 0:26:50 | |
The team made the difficult decision | 0:26:51 | 0:26:53 | |
to put one pup down | 0:26:53 | 0:26:54 | |
to find out what was going wrong in order to save the rest. | 0:26:54 | 0:26:58 | |
But has their gamble paid off? | 0:27:00 | 0:27:02 | |
We've done a postmortem now | 0:27:02 | 0:27:04 | |
and, as soon as you went into the stomach and the intestines, | 0:27:04 | 0:27:07 | |
there were just hundreds and hundreds of worms all there, | 0:27:07 | 0:27:11 | |
and there was nothing else actually in the gut apart from worms. | 0:27:11 | 0:27:14 | |
The worms are living off the energy that the pup is eating, | 0:27:14 | 0:27:18 | |
the cub is eating, and so there is nothing left for the cub to absorb. | 0:27:18 | 0:27:22 | |
Now they know the problem, Paul can treat the pup. | 0:27:24 | 0:27:27 | |
For this other one, treatment is going to be try and get some glucose | 0:27:30 | 0:27:32 | |
into him, which means putting some glucose fluids under his skin. | 0:27:32 | 0:27:36 | |
And then he's going to go back to the pack today, | 0:27:36 | 0:27:38 | |
and the rest of the pack, the rest of the cubs are going to have to be | 0:27:38 | 0:27:41 | |
wormed again, you know, over the next couple of days, | 0:27:41 | 0:27:44 | |
which is going to be hard work for Brian. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:47 | |
With the poorly pup returned to the pack, | 0:27:47 | 0:27:50 | |
Brian and Bob must catch the rest of the pups. | 0:27:50 | 0:27:52 | |
But these animals live a wild existence, | 0:27:54 | 0:27:57 | |
so the keepers have to invade the wolves' territory, | 0:27:57 | 0:28:00 | |
putting their own lives at risk. | 0:28:00 | 0:28:02 | |
-WOLVES BARK -As you can hear... | 0:28:02 | 0:28:05 | |
The adults we've got to contend with as well. | 0:28:05 | 0:28:07 | |
It's not the easiest job, when you've got | 0:28:07 | 0:28:09 | |
eight adult wolves running around you. | 0:28:09 | 0:28:11 | |
They managed to catch four of the pups, | 0:28:22 | 0:28:24 | |
but the final one was hiding deep in the den the wolves have made. | 0:28:24 | 0:28:28 | |
Hey, there it is. Bit more. | 0:28:32 | 0:28:34 | |
You're almost lighting him. There, you've got the light on him now. | 0:28:36 | 0:28:39 | |
It's too far to grab, though. | 0:28:39 | 0:28:40 | |
If they can't reach it, the pup will surely die. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:43 | |
The team start treating the rest of the pups and wait to see | 0:28:46 | 0:28:49 | |
what happens with the final one. | 0:28:49 | 0:28:51 | |
(Here it comes.) | 0:28:58 | 0:28:59 | |
That's it, its head's coming out. | 0:28:59 | 0:29:01 | |
And it's now or never for the keepers. | 0:29:08 | 0:29:10 | |
Ah... Got it. | 0:29:18 | 0:29:20 | |
The final one. | 0:29:20 | 0:29:21 | |
With all the pups and Mum safely in the wolf house, | 0:29:23 | 0:29:27 | |
the team also got proof that it wasn't all in vain. | 0:29:27 | 0:29:30 | |
Well, we've got the last one, finally. | 0:29:30 | 0:29:33 | |
It's not a very pretty sight, but you can see what the problem is. | 0:29:34 | 0:29:38 | |
It's pooing, and it's pooing worms. | 0:29:38 | 0:29:39 | |
And a few days later the family were finally back to normal, | 0:29:41 | 0:29:44 | |
and all thanks to the determination of the keepers. | 0:29:44 | 0:29:48 | |
In a lot of ways, I think it's turned out a hell of a lot better | 0:29:48 | 0:29:51 | |
than it really could have done. We could have lost, you know, | 0:29:51 | 0:29:54 | |
two or three more pups, if not the whole lot. | 0:29:54 | 0:29:56 | |
Well, it's still early days, | 0:29:56 | 0:29:58 | |
but let's hope they're out of the woods now, | 0:29:58 | 0:30:00 | |
and, you know, that we can look forward to... | 0:30:00 | 0:30:04 | |
..more positive days. | 0:30:05 | 0:30:06 | |
Back in Animal Adventure, | 0:30:18 | 0:30:20 | |
it's all hands on deck as work on the new red panda enclosure begins. | 0:30:20 | 0:30:25 | |
Everybody come to the right. | 0:30:25 | 0:30:26 | |
Section manager Cat is feeling the pressure. | 0:30:28 | 0:30:31 | |
There are some big uncertainties with the whole project. | 0:30:31 | 0:30:34 | |
Basically, if our pandas do get quite comfortable in the tree, | 0:30:34 | 0:30:39 | |
our risk is that they actually get down off the tree and they're free, | 0:30:39 | 0:30:44 | |
roaming. | 0:30:44 | 0:30:45 | |
But the first challenge is actually building the new structure. | 0:30:49 | 0:30:53 | |
That's down to on-site technician Mark. | 0:30:53 | 0:30:56 | |
The space here at the minute for the telehandler is extremely tight. | 0:30:58 | 0:31:01 | |
He has got just enough room to manoeuvre, | 0:31:01 | 0:31:04 | |
but it takes a lot of pre-planning and preparation to make sure | 0:31:04 | 0:31:07 | |
that nothing untoward is going to happen or go wrong. | 0:31:07 | 0:31:10 | |
I'm feeling very nervous. | 0:31:10 | 0:31:12 | |
The design involves securing a log across from the existing | 0:31:12 | 0:31:16 | |
climbing frame and into the oak tree outside, | 0:31:16 | 0:31:19 | |
but in a space this tight | 0:31:19 | 0:31:21 | |
it's a logistical nightmare. | 0:31:21 | 0:31:24 | |
Correct, and now up. | 0:31:24 | 0:31:26 | |
The issue is this telehandler's right in the way, isn't it? | 0:31:26 | 0:31:30 | |
No, back, directly back. So boom down, maybe. | 0:31:30 | 0:31:32 | |
That's it. | 0:31:32 | 0:31:34 | |
Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa... | 0:31:34 | 0:31:35 | |
Finally the bridge is in place and the new extension complete. | 0:31:38 | 0:31:42 | |
That looks wicked. | 0:31:42 | 0:31:44 | |
Oh, they're going to absolutely love it, that's incredible. | 0:31:44 | 0:31:48 | |
And Cat has come up with a gentle trick | 0:31:48 | 0:31:51 | |
to ensure there are no runaway red pandas. | 0:31:51 | 0:31:54 | |
Up the tree right now we've actually put electric round our platform. | 0:31:54 | 0:31:58 | |
We know it keeps tigers in, | 0:31:58 | 0:32:00 | |
so I'm pretty sure it will keep red pandas in. | 0:32:00 | 0:32:02 | |
An electric fence is utterly harmless for the red pandas, | 0:32:03 | 0:32:06 | |
but will deter them from taking the leap off the tree | 0:32:06 | 0:32:10 | |
and into the rest of the park. | 0:32:10 | 0:32:12 | |
So now there's only one thing left to do - | 0:32:12 | 0:32:15 | |
release the red pandas. | 0:32:15 | 0:32:17 | |
My butterflies are... | 0:32:17 | 0:32:19 | |
off the chart, to be quite honest. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:21 | |
I'm really, really excited. | 0:32:21 | 0:32:22 | |
And my mind kind of overplays things anyway, so, yeah, | 0:32:22 | 0:32:26 | |
the thinking of what may happen... But right now | 0:32:26 | 0:32:28 | |
I'm thinking really positive | 0:32:28 | 0:32:30 | |
and I'm just thinking everything's going to be fine. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:33 | |
But it looks like the pandas are feeling a bit cautious. | 0:32:33 | 0:32:37 | |
Oh, he's coming back out! | 0:32:37 | 0:32:39 | |
Neither Mum nor Dad want to come out. | 0:32:43 | 0:32:46 | |
Are they scared? | 0:32:46 | 0:32:48 | |
Or could there be another reason? | 0:32:48 | 0:32:51 | |
So we've got some really exciting news. | 0:32:51 | 0:32:54 | |
Rufina, our female panda, we haven't seen her for a few days. | 0:32:54 | 0:32:57 | |
She's been very, very busy. | 0:32:57 | 0:32:59 | |
We're pretty sure we have two little baby pandas, | 0:32:59 | 0:33:02 | |
which is really exciting. | 0:33:02 | 0:33:04 | |
Mum is hiding in the nest. | 0:33:05 | 0:33:07 | |
But rather than disturb her, | 0:33:10 | 0:33:11 | |
Sam is installing an infrared camera to confirm whether | 0:33:11 | 0:33:15 | |
this incredible news is true. | 0:33:15 | 0:33:17 | |
Seeing footage of Mum and babies in the den would be absolutely amazing. | 0:33:20 | 0:33:24 | |
It's not something that's done very often, | 0:33:24 | 0:33:25 | |
so it'll give us a really valuable insight into how they're behaving, | 0:33:25 | 0:33:29 | |
and hopefully a good check that the cub, or cubs if there is a few, | 0:33:29 | 0:33:33 | |
are happy and healthy. | 0:33:33 | 0:33:34 | |
But what if anything will the footage reveal? | 0:33:43 | 0:33:46 | |
Well, there's definitely two. | 0:33:46 | 0:33:48 | |
There's two little faces there, which is really nice. | 0:33:48 | 0:33:51 | |
Mum's just giving them a really good clean. | 0:33:51 | 0:33:53 | |
They're both wiggling around as well, which is really exciting. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:01 | |
Means they're both alive and healthy, | 0:34:01 | 0:34:02 | |
which is really, really good. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:05 | |
Baby red pandas remain in their nest for their first 90 days | 0:34:05 | 0:34:09 | |
and are looked after by their mother. | 0:34:09 | 0:34:11 | |
They're very, very tiny at the moment. | 0:34:14 | 0:34:16 | |
By my guesstimation, this footage, | 0:34:16 | 0:34:19 | |
they're only about four or five days old. | 0:34:19 | 0:34:21 | |
So they probably won't come out for the visitors to be able to see | 0:34:21 | 0:34:24 | |
until they're about three months old. | 0:34:24 | 0:34:26 | |
With such a severe threat to the red panda population, | 0:34:26 | 0:34:29 | |
having two new babies is an unbelievable success story. | 0:34:29 | 0:34:34 | |
We're so excited about these cubs. | 0:34:36 | 0:34:38 | |
They're endangered in the wild, so every cub matters. | 0:34:38 | 0:34:40 | |
There haven't been elephants at the park since 2003. | 0:34:48 | 0:34:51 | |
But when news broke that a circus elephant named Anne was being | 0:34:53 | 0:34:57 | |
horribly mistreated by a keeper, | 0:34:57 | 0:34:59 | |
the park, aided by a wave of public donations, | 0:34:59 | 0:35:02 | |
stepped in to give her a new home. | 0:35:02 | 0:35:04 | |
As a special treat, Jean has been invited in to meet her. | 0:35:07 | 0:35:11 | |
Now, I have to say, of all the animals on the park, | 0:35:14 | 0:35:16 | |
I've been most looking forward to meeting Anne. | 0:35:16 | 0:35:19 | |
And you guys, too, but I'm not here to see you. | 0:35:19 | 0:35:22 | |
And there she is. | 0:35:23 | 0:35:25 | |
Hi, Anne. Nice to meet you. | 0:35:25 | 0:35:27 | |
-That's really cool. -Wow. -Feel free to give her some fruit if you wish. | 0:35:27 | 0:35:30 | |
Right, so I place it down there on her trunk. | 0:35:30 | 0:35:32 | |
-There you go. -Bit of mango. | 0:35:32 | 0:35:34 | |
Nice. | 0:35:34 | 0:35:35 | |
So she's just loving every single one of these fruits. | 0:35:35 | 0:35:38 | |
-Does she have a favourite? -Yeah, she does have favourites. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:41 | |
We treat her to the little things like doughnuts and stuff like that, | 0:35:41 | 0:35:45 | |
but generally speaking we try and keep that as rare as possible. | 0:35:45 | 0:35:48 | |
But she can't stand parsnips, | 0:35:48 | 0:35:49 | |
quite finicky with oranges, but loves a carrot, | 0:35:49 | 0:35:52 | |
loves a banana and loves a melon. | 0:35:52 | 0:35:54 | |
Oh, so she's a fussy eater! | 0:35:54 | 0:35:56 | |
And she's really hairy as well, which I didn't expect. | 0:35:56 | 0:35:58 | |
A lot of people don't realise that elephants are actually quite hairy. | 0:35:58 | 0:36:01 | |
They're born with the same amount of hair follicles | 0:36:01 | 0:36:04 | |
throughout their whole life. | 0:36:04 | 0:36:05 | |
When they're young they're really, really fuzzy | 0:36:05 | 0:36:08 | |
and as they grow older their follicles part. | 0:36:08 | 0:36:11 | |
So they don't look as hairy from a distance as they grow up, | 0:36:11 | 0:36:13 | |
but it's not until you're close like we are with Anne | 0:36:13 | 0:36:15 | |
you can see she's got this really nice sort of auburny colour hair | 0:36:15 | 0:36:20 | |
all over her back, and most of her body, really. | 0:36:20 | 0:36:22 | |
I can see a huge tongue in there. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:25 | |
What's happening inside that mouth? | 0:36:25 | 0:36:26 | |
Well, elephants have got about four teeth at a time | 0:36:26 | 0:36:29 | |
and they go through six sets in their lifetime. | 0:36:29 | 0:36:31 | |
-So they're constantly falling out. -Push the old ones out, | 0:36:31 | 0:36:33 | |
and they're like the house brick, size-wise. | 0:36:33 | 0:36:35 | |
At around about 45-ish is when their last set of teeth come through. | 0:36:35 | 0:36:39 | |
Anne being 60-odd, she's definitely on her last teeth. | 0:36:39 | 0:36:42 | |
So, basically, what she does is she just uses her tongue. | 0:36:42 | 0:36:44 | |
It's doubled-jointed, | 0:36:44 | 0:36:46 | |
so the tongue kind of just moves stuff rather than roll stuff around | 0:36:46 | 0:36:49 | |
and then those big house-brick teeth just crush anything. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:52 | |
I'm fascinated by her crew. | 0:36:52 | 0:36:54 | |
This is Costa, Sugar and Coffee, | 0:36:54 | 0:36:57 | |
and what's the connection between elephants and goats? | 0:36:57 | 0:37:00 | |
It's not as simple to just get another elephant. | 0:37:00 | 0:37:02 | |
There's a lot of work to it. So we've got these goats... | 0:37:02 | 0:37:04 | |
-And they get on really well? -And they get on well. | 0:37:04 | 0:37:07 | |
To begin with, they were very pushy. | 0:37:07 | 0:37:08 | |
Apart from them stealing her food, of course. | 0:37:08 | 0:37:10 | |
They're very, like, get into your personal space. | 0:37:10 | 0:37:13 | |
But they learnt pretty quick that Anne is a lot bigger | 0:37:13 | 0:37:15 | |
than them and if Anne wants something, she'll have it first. | 0:37:15 | 0:37:18 | |
So they say an elephant never forgets. | 0:37:20 | 0:37:23 | |
So, Anne, I hope you're never going to forget the time you met me. | 0:37:23 | 0:37:26 | |
I'll never forget you. | 0:37:26 | 0:37:28 | |
We're racing back to Animal Adventure now, | 0:37:36 | 0:37:39 | |
where baby Leo has been spotted | 0:37:39 | 0:37:41 | |
making his way across the wooden bridge. | 0:37:41 | 0:37:43 | |
Now, this is incredibly exciting. | 0:37:50 | 0:37:53 | |
You can see that oak tree is outside the enclosure - | 0:37:53 | 0:37:56 | |
that will be a red panda on the loose. | 0:37:56 | 0:37:59 | |
I don't know if they're going to get him back if he goes up there. | 0:37:59 | 0:38:02 | |
Oh, look, he's heading across. | 0:38:02 | 0:38:04 | |
He's certainly very confident up there. | 0:38:04 | 0:38:06 | |
That is the furthest he's been to date. | 0:38:09 | 0:38:11 | |
These animals are amazing climbers. | 0:38:16 | 0:38:19 | |
And they look like little cuddly teddy bears, | 0:38:19 | 0:38:21 | |
but actually, when you see their feet and claws, | 0:38:21 | 0:38:25 | |
they are perfectly adapted for a life in the trees. | 0:38:25 | 0:38:29 | |
Very brave thing for the keepers to do cos there's nowhere else | 0:38:29 | 0:38:33 | |
in the country that has a tree outside an enclosure for red pandas. | 0:38:33 | 0:38:38 | |
Where have you gone? Come here. | 0:38:38 | 0:38:40 | |
If this was my child, I'd go up there and show them how to do it. | 0:38:40 | 0:38:43 | |
You clever boy, you were so brave. | 0:38:43 | 0:38:46 | |
We definitely need to reward him. | 0:38:46 | 0:38:48 | |
You're so brave. | 0:38:48 | 0:38:49 | |
Something tells me the next time he goes up there he'll be in the tree. | 0:38:49 | 0:38:52 | |
'It's only a matter of time before the rest of the family learn to love | 0:38:55 | 0:38:58 | |
'their new enclosure as much as baby Leo.' | 0:38:58 | 0:39:01 | |
Sadly, it's almost time to end another show. | 0:39:15 | 0:39:18 | |
But before we go, Kate couldn't resist a visit to the rhino house | 0:39:20 | 0:39:24 | |
to catch up with old friends. | 0:39:24 | 0:39:26 | |
It's a month since the procedure took place to try and produce | 0:39:28 | 0:39:31 | |
some new babies. | 0:39:31 | 0:39:32 | |
News of any new pregnancy here in the park is always greeted | 0:39:33 | 0:39:38 | |
with much excitement, but there is one animal that so far has kept | 0:39:38 | 0:39:44 | |
everybody on tenterhooks. | 0:39:44 | 0:39:46 | |
It is the white rhinos and, Ian, I mean, I remember, | 0:39:46 | 0:39:49 | |
was it back in...was it 2002? | 0:39:49 | 0:39:50 | |
-2002, yeah. -We went out to Africa to pick up these very girls | 0:39:50 | 0:39:54 | |
and they are looking fantastic, aren't they? | 0:39:54 | 0:39:58 | |
-But so far... -So far nothing, no. | 0:39:58 | 0:40:02 | |
No little pitter patter of rhino feet. | 0:40:02 | 0:40:05 | |
I know you and I talked about this and I had a little theory, | 0:40:05 | 0:40:10 | |
and I've no idea whether this is going to work, | 0:40:10 | 0:40:13 | |
but I thought we would try, if you don't mind, | 0:40:13 | 0:40:17 | |
a human pregnancy test just to see. | 0:40:17 | 0:40:20 | |
I mean, we don't know whether it's going to give an accurate result | 0:40:20 | 0:40:23 | |
-or not, do we? -No. -But shall we give it a go? | 0:40:23 | 0:40:25 | |
Have you got the necessary that we need to test it? | 0:40:25 | 0:40:27 | |
What do you think we'd need? | 0:40:27 | 0:40:29 | |
-I need a little... That is... -A little pot of rhino wee. | 0:40:29 | 0:40:32 | |
-Of rhino wee. Ian, you see... -It was collected fresh this morning. | 0:40:32 | 0:40:35 | |
You know how to treat a girl, so let's just see. | 0:40:35 | 0:40:38 | |
Now, the vet... | 0:40:38 | 0:40:40 | |
..who administered the AI did say this might be able to work. | 0:40:41 | 0:40:45 | |
I think the theory is if it becomes positive | 0:40:45 | 0:40:48 | |
-and a real sign of positive, it is. -Yep. | 0:40:48 | 0:40:50 | |
But if it doesn't do anything, it doesn't mean she isn't. | 0:40:50 | 0:40:54 | |
It's not, OK. | 0:40:54 | 0:40:55 | |
So, "Collect a urine sample in a clean, dry container." | 0:40:55 | 0:40:58 | |
-You've done that. -Done. | 0:40:58 | 0:41:00 | |
"Place the strip vertically into the urine sample to make sure | 0:41:00 | 0:41:03 | |
"the arrows are pointing downwards. | 0:41:03 | 0:41:05 | |
"Don't let it go above the max line." OK, hold on, hold on. | 0:41:05 | 0:41:08 | |
OK, now what do I have to do? | 0:41:09 | 0:41:10 | |
"Remove the strip and place the strip on a clean, dry surface. | 0:41:10 | 0:41:15 | |
"Wait for the coloured bands to appear." | 0:41:15 | 0:41:19 | |
So let's just not look at this for a bit, cos look at you, | 0:41:19 | 0:41:21 | |
you're all tense. | 0:41:21 | 0:41:22 | |
This is obviously a little bit of an experiment, a human pregnancy test. | 0:41:24 | 0:41:28 | |
But how are the vets going to establish | 0:41:28 | 0:41:30 | |
that she is actually pregnant? | 0:41:30 | 0:41:32 | |
What are you doing? | 0:41:32 | 0:41:34 | |
-We can collect dung. -Right. | 0:41:34 | 0:41:35 | |
Because we obviously can't collect this every day, | 0:41:35 | 0:41:37 | |
but we can collect dung every day. | 0:41:37 | 0:41:39 | |
-Right. -And once a month, we'll send a batch over for them to test | 0:41:39 | 0:41:42 | |
and they'll be able to tell from the samples. | 0:41:42 | 0:41:44 | |
Right. So too early yet. | 0:41:44 | 0:41:46 | |
You haven't had any results yet? | 0:41:46 | 0:41:48 | |
-No, too early yet. -Well, according to this, it's negative. | 0:41:48 | 0:41:51 | |
But I am going to be positive and say that it's four weeks, | 0:41:52 | 0:41:56 | |
-it's rhino, it's not human. -That's right, yeah. | 0:41:56 | 0:41:59 | |
And I think we've got to wait for the German vets, don't you? | 0:41:59 | 0:42:02 | |
Yeah, yeah, for sure. | 0:42:02 | 0:42:03 | |
Cos I think Razina, as you said, she loves you. | 0:42:03 | 0:42:07 | |
If she can do anything for you, it will be to have a little Razina. | 0:42:07 | 0:42:11 | |
-That's correct, yes. -Don't you think? | 0:42:11 | 0:42:13 | |
-Definitely. -Yeah, yeah. | 0:42:13 | 0:42:14 | |
Well, let's just forget that. That was a silly idea of mine. | 0:42:14 | 0:42:17 | |
I'm very, very sorry. | 0:42:17 | 0:42:18 | |
It's always lovely just to come up here and see the rhinos anyway. | 0:42:20 | 0:42:23 | |
-That's fine. -It was just an excuse, it was just an excuse. | 0:42:23 | 0:42:26 | |
Join us next time on Animal Park. | 0:42:26 | 0:42:28 | |
'We'll be bringing you the park's most daring lion move ever.' | 0:42:30 | 0:42:33 | |
'Ben becomes a tree for a long line of lorikeets.' | 0:42:34 | 0:42:38 | |
-Have I got something on my head? -I'm afraid so! | 0:42:38 | 0:42:41 | |
'Kate gets extremely close to some creepy-crawlies.' | 0:42:41 | 0:42:44 | |
I'm worried I've lost some. I feel like they... | 0:42:44 | 0:42:46 | |
Until you have one come crawling up the back of your shirt. | 0:42:46 | 0:42:48 | |
'And the lake animals go wild for their first visitors.' | 0:42:48 | 0:42:51 | |
Somebody on the left would say, | 0:42:51 | 0:42:53 | |
"Oh, we've seen the sea lion rush over and the boat would tilt." | 0:42:53 | 0:42:56 | |
And we've got more action-packed tales from the last 50 years. | 0:42:57 | 0:43:01 | |
So join us tomorrow as we continue the celebrations. | 0:43:01 | 0:43:04 |