Episode 4 Animal Park


Episode 4

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There are 1,000 animals and 100 different species at the park

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and each one of them needs just the right conditions to thrive.

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And it's vital that they do.

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These wonderful creatures are red pandas.

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There are fewer than 10,000 left in the wild

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and they've recently been classified as endangered.

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As you can see, the keepers here work incredibly hard

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to keep these guys in peak physical condition to give them

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the best chances of breeding success.

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We'll be finding out the extraordinary lengths they go to

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to ensure the future of this species,

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plus much more on today's Animal Park.

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A world-class team of experts is flown in

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to save a threatened species.

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This is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most of us.

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A vet is on red alert to save a wolf pack

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whose cubs are fading fast.

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He isn't going back to the pack,

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and we're not going to be able to save him anyway.

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And keepers risk it all to pull off

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their most daring enclosure extension yet.

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Our risk is that they actually get down off the tree

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and they're free, roaming.

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The reason the park opened back in 1966 was to help save the house here

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that was falling into costly disrepair.

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But over the years, the focus of the park has moved towards

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the conservation of wildlife.

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In the last 50 years,

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it's said that the world has lost more than 50% of its wildlife,

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and the park here have been doing their bit

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to help halt that terrifying decline.

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As a species, the southern white rhino

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has been on the very brink of extinction.

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And come back.

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They were hunted so ruthlessly

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that they were almost wiped off the face of the earth.

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There were less than 50 of them left in the wild.

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But thanks to controlled breeding schemes, the species survived.

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There are now over 20,000 white rhino.

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But in the wild, they are still under constant threat

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from illegal poaching.

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So captive breeding programmes around the world continue to be

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the species' best insurance policy.

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And that is where Longleat comes in.

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Nearly 15 years ago,

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the team went to South Africa to collect three white rhino,

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and I was lucky enough to be on that trip

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with deputy head warden Ian Turner

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to meet our new inhabitants - Njanu, Marashi and Razina.

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Grab some hay there.

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They'll actually eat out of your hands, it's unbelievable.

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Just watch your fingers.

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Really, really good. Better than I thought.

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You know, really excited.

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Hopefully they never have to come back to here again

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and they never get in the state in Africa

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that they need stuff to come back.

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But if it ever happens, then we've got rhinos to do that.

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But, you know, this is a big step for us and it's really exciting.

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It wasn't long before all three settled down

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to a quiet life on this country estate.

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In fact, it's been far too quiet.

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Here we are, 12 years later, and still no babies.

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Keeper Kevin Knibbs has been looking after the rhinos

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since they arrived all those years ago.

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He's got his own theories on why it just hasn't happened yet.

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This herd of rhino,

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they've not really done what we wanted them to do.

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When they arrived we were hoping we would...

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that they would breed within just a couple of years.

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Unfortunately that didn't happen.

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The main reason, really, is to do with Njanu. He's just...

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I think he's just too nice an animal, really.

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With rhinos it's normally quite a rough courtship,

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he has to chase the females around and kind of dominate them,

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and it's just not really in his nature.

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Don't touch that! Well done.

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But the park simply isn't prepared to give up

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and have decided to give it one last shot.

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And today is the big day.

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The park has called in two experts,

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Dr Robert Hermes and Dr Frank Goeritz from Germany,

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to assist vet Chris Mangham.

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It is really important. Rhinos in the wild are endangered.

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Breeding in captivity is really difficult, we all know that -

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we've tried for years and years here -

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and I think we're lucky enough

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to have a couple of experts who've come in.

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And if we can get a pregnancy and a baby rhino out of it,

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then that'll be brilliant news.

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The plan is to artificially inseminate both Razina and Marashi

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with a sperm sample taken from Njanu.

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There's a lot riding on it.

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This is a rare procedure for us.

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The chaps doing it, they've done it a lot before,

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they fly all round the world.

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So, you know, they are the top dogs for doing this sort of thing.

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But it's not guaranteed.

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You know, there's a lot of things that have got to go right.

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The first challenge is to sedate Njanu

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in order to successfully remove a sample from him.

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There is one keeper who's particularly anxious.

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I always worry about Njanu. He's my favourite rhino,

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so I'm very worried about Njanu.

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But with all the expertise - we've got Chris, our vet,

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the two German guys that are just phenomenal,

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we should be in safe hands.

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We are at the start of the anaesthesia.

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The male, he just went down,

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and Frank is going to stabilise the anaesthesia.

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They need Njanu to be completely unconscious

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in order to begin the process.

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But Njanu isn't quite ready yet.

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He's quite light at the moment,

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so we're just going to get some more drugs.

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He's where we'd expect him to be, but we just need to give...

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..some more so we can roll him over a bit.

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It does make me slightly apprehensive.

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Any general knock-down of an animal is always quite scary.

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Particularly when it's an animal that I'm quite fond of.

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It kind of doubles the pressure.

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Njanu is finally sedated enough for them to begin.

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Frank and Robert are going to try and get a sample now.

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So it's going to be a sperm sample.

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They might do it several times to make sure we get

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the best sample possible and then we can check that under the microscope

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to make sure it's viable.

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And then that's what we're going to use to put into the females.

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Rob has his sample, but the cause of Njanu's problem is becoming clear.

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We did not get a really good volume.

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Apparently, he's got two really nice ladies here on the paddock.

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They want to mate but he just doesn't.

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And why he doesn't, we don't know.

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But from the volume that he provides, in terms of semen volume,

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it is just too small for a rhino.

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Rob will examine the sample closely.

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If the quality is good, they could still be in with a chance.

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It's mid-morning and Jean is continuing her tour of the park,

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finding out what it's like to be a keeper.

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-Hi, Kelsey.

-Hi, come on in.

-Hello! Who are these two?

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We've got our two Asian short-clawed otters here with us today.

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They are lovely. What are they called?

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We've got Hamish over here -

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you can tell Hamish because he's got a black nose -

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and we've got Sumalee over here - she's the female.

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You can tell her - she's got a brown nose.

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OK, so what's the plan?

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-I've got some bamboo canes in here, which is very odd.

-You have.

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It is indeed. We've got some meat in there, we've got some fish in there.

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They have to use their paws, just like they would in the wild,

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to get that meat out of there.

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So it's good, it's like they can't see,

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just like in the wild, in those murky rivers.

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So they have to get in there and feel around and be really dextrous

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in order to gain the reward.

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Do you think they'll be quite quick at doing this?

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-He looks like he's ready already, doesn't he?

-In it goes.

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-Let's see what he does.

-So straight up to it,

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and his little hand is straight in there.

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We have made it a little bit more difficult for him.

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We've put meat in one side but not in the other.

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-He's going to have to work that out.

-You can see Sumalee,

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she's worked it out already.

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-There she goes.

-Sumalee has got her hand right inside there.

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Yeah, we can see she's got her paws right inside.

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She is actually about to gain her reward, I think.

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She's almost there.

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-That was super fast.

-Really dextrous.

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Yeah, they're super quick. Really mischievous.

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That's why we have to keep thinking all the time of

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lots of different enrichments we can do for these guys.

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And are they quite generous with each other?

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Will they share food, or will she allow her to have the treat?

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They do share food, yeah. They will share food together.

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They do in fact bring each other food at times as well,

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so they are quite sweet to each other.

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Just maybe not so much to us.

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They don't want to share their food with us.

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Let's give them some more treats. Why have you put this meat...?

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We've got some meat inside the shell.

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Again, this is a bit easier.

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This time the otters can see what's in there,

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so you'll find they're really quick at this.

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So this is not going to be so difficult for them.

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No, they can see exactly what's happening there.

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And they have to dive down to the bottom again,

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-so that's another skill, isn't it?

-Exactly.

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I'm noticing that they're very co-ordinated hand to mouth.

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They are indeed. Asian short-clawed otters are known

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-in captivity for doing what's called juggling.

-What's that?

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Basically, what they'll do is they will actually collect little stones

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and such and they'll just manipulate them with their paws.

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And it almost looks as if they are actually juggling.

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We've got one more treat for them here.

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-We do indeed.

-So is this treat to be on land or in the water?

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In the water, and this helps to simulate sort of

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a natural behaviour in these otters.

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So basically, when they are out in the wild,

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when they're fishing and foraging for their food,

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-they will be in sort of murky bodies of water.

-Yes.

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So they're going to feel around,

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almost as if they're blind in that murky water.

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-Almost like another set of eyes in their fingers.

-Exactly.

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So you can see they are really going for it just now

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with their little paws, really finding those treats

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and having a good forage.

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-They're really getting stuck into that hole there.

-Exactly.

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You can see those paws going right in that little hole just there.

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Well, you said you wanted them to work for their food,

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and it seems to me they're very happy to work for their food,

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so I would say that was a successful exercise.

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I would tend to agree, yep.

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And it seems they've made lots of enrichment for the keepers as well.

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We're going to clean all this up now, so that's nice.

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-I'll help you out with that.

-That'll be lovely.

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Back at the rhino house,

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specialist Robert Hermes is about to find out if the small sample

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they took contains enough sperm.

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We need to have swimmers.

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So the more swimming, the better.

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And the higher the number, the better too.

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A poor sample now and it's all over.

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We do get a lot of swimmers in here.

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It's a good sample.

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The team can now move onto inseminating Razina and Marashi,

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who only need a small dose of anaesthetic for this procedure.

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This is almost like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

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for most of us. The fact we can do two in the same day

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is doubling our chances of a baby rhino.

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So in six months' time we could have two beautiful baby rhinos

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running around, causing all sorts of mischief and trouble.

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Rhino don't have a set mating season

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and may only become sexually active twice a year,

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which is why procedures like this can become necessary

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to prevent losing an entire species.

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It is almost ready to put the specimen inside her.

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So this is really the magic moment.

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Rob and Frank are able to use their ultrasound equipment

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to monitor the insemination throughout.

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And for both ladies, it's a success.

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One of the vets came in on Saturday to give them an injection

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to make sure she'd ovulate, and the good news was that she has.

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So there's an egg somewhere...

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..making its way down.

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The guys are happy with where the DAI landed.

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So at this point, you know, a lot of hurdles to get over,

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but at this point, we couldn't be happier.

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Amazing. It's not every day you get to save a species.

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And this is kind of what we're doing, this is what we're here for.

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And these two now hopefully hold the key to babies in a few months' time.

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But it is going to be a tense waiting game for Kev and the team

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before they know if today's efforts have produced a pregnancy.

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The park is home to three red pandas.

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As a result of deforestation,

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the red panda has recently gone from vulnerable to endangered

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on the species conservation list.

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So it's up to parks like this to do everything they can

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to build the population and ensure the animals are kept

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to the highest standard possible.

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Keeper Sam is particularly passionate about her little family

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of red pandas.

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There is thought to be less than 10,000 individuals now,

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which is obviously quite sad.

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We're very lucky to have three of them here.

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Dad Ajendra and Mum Rufina,

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gave birth to their son, Leo, just over a year ago.

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This is Leo, this is our baby.

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I say baby, he's absolutely huge now.

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He's definitely still a big baby.

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He likes to play a lot.

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Always likes to get involved, as you can see. Loves the food.

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To accommodate this growing family

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and to encourage them to raise yet more clubs in the future,

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keepers have come up with some big plans.

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Head of section, Cat, has an idea to build a giant walkway

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into a nearby tree.

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This tree is huge, it's absolutely massive.

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I can't see the top of it, it is well over 20 metres.

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So really, really good for the pandas because they absolutely adore

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climbing and they love being at a height -

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they feel really, really secure.

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But there's one huge risk.

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That big tree is outside the enclosure.

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I think it is one of those projects that will work.

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But it's one that makes us very nervous at the same time.

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Head of animal operations, Darren Beasley, is equally concerned.

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The scenario we won't think about, we'll breeze over,

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is they trot along, they find a weak spot and they decide

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to drop to the floor.

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And then we need to look at how we're going to get them back.

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I'm a bit sweaty-palmed, a bit nervous now.

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The keepers have put an enormous amount of research into this plan

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and are determined to push ahead.

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We've got to do it. You can't stand still.

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I want the best, and I think this is the way forward.

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Let's break a few bits of ground rules,

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let's see what we can do and come up with.

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It's crucial that the red panda team

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make sure Ajendra and Rufina have the best possible habitat

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in the future and that they might one day become parents once more.

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But could this new venture end up losing more red pandas

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than protecting?

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From fruit-loving herbivores at the Animal Adventure

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to carnivorous cats on safari...

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..it's critical that each and every animal

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gets exactly the right amount of food...

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Come on, Ellie!

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..at every feed...

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..as Jean is about to find out.

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-Hi, Georgia.

-Hi, Jean.

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Look at this lot!

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I'm super excited, I've never been this close to penguins before.

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So what are we doing today?

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-Today we are going to be feeding our baby penguins.

-Hello!

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To check that each chick is getting enough food,

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Jean and Georgia carefully catch and must weigh each one.

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So they're the ones with the yellow tags.

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You'll notice Ant coming up to us here.

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Hi, Ant. So just go for it, just grab him?

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Just put your hands underneath, under the wing like that.

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-And then...

-Up he comes. Oh! There you go.

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-We're going to pop him in the bucket.

-Really feathery.

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-So we'll turn that off.

-Hi! In you pop.

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So we need to make sure that they're eating enough food

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-and that they're a good weight.

-And how's the weight on this?

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This is absolutely fine.

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So he's 3.5kg, so that's a good weight.

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Right, let's weigh another one.

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At this age, the chicks need weighing once every two weeks.

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Just going to take you in and make sure you've had enough to eat.

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Only after they've reached 2kg can it become less regular.

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I have to admit they do all kind of look the same.

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I think he's been stealing fish because he's a little bit fatter

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than the other penguins. Would I be right?

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The chicks are in good shape.

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So who's next?

0:18:110:18:12

But there's one penguin, called Rhianna,

0:18:120:18:15

who could do with some help to grow some new feathers.

0:18:150:18:17

It's called a catastrophic moult, so they drop all their feathers

0:18:190:18:22

and they get a brand-new coat.

0:18:220:18:23

But we want her to put on probably an extra half a kilo to a kilo

0:18:230:18:26

to kick-start that moult.

0:18:260:18:28

And what's the best way to feed?

0:18:280:18:30

So we are going to feed her by hand here now.

0:18:300:18:32

So basically, what we'll do is we'll take this...few fish

0:18:320:18:35

and we'll just hold the tail and present the head.

0:18:350:18:37

Oh, she likes that. There you go.

0:18:370:18:40

And spending some time with them,

0:18:400:18:42

I'm seeing that they all have personalities.

0:18:420:18:44

It's like a little gang in here, isn't it?

0:18:440:18:45

It is, yep. It's a drama every day.

0:18:450:18:48

Boyfriends splitting up with girlfriends

0:18:480:18:50

and getting new girlfriends, and having multiple girlfriends.

0:18:500:18:52

Well, they've been very welcoming to me today and I've fulfilled

0:18:540:18:57

a lifelong dream of picking up a penguin.

0:18:570:19:00

Since the park opened in '66, there have been countless dramas.

0:19:120:19:16

Oi!

0:19:160:19:17

Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa.

0:19:180:19:20

Hey! Go on...

0:19:220:19:23

But eight years ago,

0:19:240:19:26

we were there to witness one of the most devastating events

0:19:260:19:29

to hit Wolf Wood.

0:19:290:19:30

Two of the wolf pups had fallen dangerously ill.

0:19:360:19:40

The keepers were forced to rush the pair to the vets.

0:19:400:19:43

This is incredibly rare,

0:19:430:19:45

as wolves are pack animals and so they're never separated.

0:19:450:19:49

But this was life or death.

0:19:490:19:52

The future of the wolf pups was now in the hands of vet Paul Higgs,

0:19:520:19:56

who believed the problem may be worms.

0:19:560:19:59

How long can we keep them away from the pack, realistically?

0:19:590:20:03

I'd really like to put them back as soon as you can, to be honest.

0:20:030:20:06

Start keeping them away, then you're going to have other problems,

0:20:060:20:10

really, getting them back in.

0:20:100:20:11

This one is looking pretty bad, really, Brian, I think.

0:20:110:20:16

WOLF PUP WHIMPERS

0:20:160:20:18

A series of tests are needed.

0:20:180:20:21

Brian can only wait for the results.

0:20:210:20:23

Upsetting, really, to see him like this.

0:20:240:20:27

The worrying thing is, I don't know if the rest of them

0:20:280:20:30

will go the same way.

0:20:300:20:31

Paul put the sickest one on an ECG machine to check its heart-rate.

0:20:340:20:38

Certainly doesn't look normal.

0:20:400:20:43

The results of the blood test appear to confirm those of the ECG machine.

0:20:430:20:47

So we've had our blood results, which are here.

0:20:480:20:52

A couple of the important ones.

0:20:520:20:54

This one particularly, low calcium,

0:20:540:20:57

can really make animals go really weak, really twitchy,

0:20:570:21:00

possibly have full-blown seizures.

0:21:000:21:02

But I would expect to see other signs on the bloods,

0:21:020:21:04

which we haven't seen,

0:21:040:21:05

so I'm not 100% sure this is what's going on,

0:21:050:21:07

but we don't have anything else to play with at the moment.

0:21:070:21:10

And we're at a fairly critical stage.

0:21:100:21:12

If we don't turn him around now and he doesn't go back to the pack,

0:21:120:21:15

then we're not going to be able to save him anyway.

0:21:150:21:18

A calcium injection should replenish the pup with essential minerals.

0:21:180:21:23

But too much will kill it.

0:21:230:21:24

Paul is taking a risk, but this pup is critically ill.

0:21:270:21:30

The problem with this stuff, Brian, is it's pretty dangerous.

0:21:310:21:35

If we give it too quickly,

0:21:350:21:36

it's going to stop his heart all by itself.

0:21:360:21:39

So we'll put the ECG back on him and we'll watch as he goes.

0:21:390:21:43

If we start seeing problems with the ECG, then we'll stop.

0:21:430:21:47

As the calcium goes in, the ECG will show if it has any effect.

0:21:490:21:53

No, it's the same as it was just before we injected,

0:21:540:21:57

-but it's worse than it was before.

-Yeah.

0:21:570:21:59

The calcium hasn't worked.

0:22:010:22:03

Time was running out.

0:22:030:22:05

If the pups don't go back to their mother tonight,

0:22:050:22:08

she'll probably just abandon them to die.

0:22:080:22:10

We've tried everything we can at the moment.

0:22:120:22:14

This one is still completely comatose and really non-responsive.

0:22:140:22:19

The problem is we've got two in this state,

0:22:190:22:21

and if they're going to go back, they've got to get back tonight,

0:22:210:22:24

and I can't see this one recovering.

0:22:240:22:26

Paul and Brian are left with a heartbreaking decision.

0:22:280:22:30

In a way, Brian, I think it might be sensible to put this one to sleep

0:22:320:22:37

and focus on the other one, make sure the other one survives.

0:22:370:22:41

Because at the moment, the other one's not getting any of our time,

0:22:410:22:44

and this one is getting all of our time.

0:22:440:22:46

And unless we find out what's going on,

0:22:470:22:50

we're going to lose both of them.

0:22:500:22:52

So I think, you know, in a way it's going to be fairer

0:22:520:22:56

to let this one go,

0:22:560:22:57

because he's pretty past pulling back at the moment,

0:22:570:23:03

and seeing whether or not he can give us any more information

0:23:030:23:05

about what's going on so we can try and save the other one.

0:23:050:23:09

It's a terrible choice to have to make,

0:23:090:23:12

but the team have done everything they can.

0:23:120:23:15

Now unconscious, weak and not responding to treatment,

0:23:150:23:19

they choose to sacrifice one wolf pup to try and save the other.

0:23:190:23:23

Poor little thing.

0:23:230:23:24

Can its death reveal a vital clue to

0:23:260:23:28

keeping the rest of the pups alive?

0:23:280:23:30

They were doing so well and suddenly, bang, you lose one.

0:23:400:23:44

Possibly may lose all of them, I don't know.

0:23:450:23:48

That's the worrying thing.

0:23:480:23:49

I'm hoping Paul may find something in this one to help the others.

0:23:490:23:54

We'll be back to find out whether

0:23:570:23:59

the team managed to save the other pup,

0:23:590:24:01

and potentially the whole pack, from disaster.

0:24:010:24:04

'In this series, we've been catching up with old friends...'

0:24:190:24:23

We're racing along here!

0:24:230:24:25

You stay still, I'll do the steering.

0:24:250:24:27

Don't be patronising,

0:24:270:24:28

because I haven't seen you for a bit.

0:24:280:24:30

'..and meeting new ones.'

0:24:320:24:33

While I head out into the park,

0:24:360:24:38

Ben has a special appointment at Animal Adventure.

0:24:380:24:42

In 2013, Emma McQuiston married Lord Bath's son, Ceawlin Thynn,

0:24:420:24:48

to become Lord and Lady Weymouth.

0:24:480:24:50

Their son John will one day inherit the estate and the title.

0:24:500:24:55

We are down here today because John loves the donkeys, is that right?

0:24:550:24:59

They're his favourite, really.

0:24:590:25:01

Which in some ways, you know, when you have basically

0:25:010:25:03

the most extraordinary collection of animals on your doorstep,

0:25:030:25:07

people might assume that his favourite animal would be,

0:25:070:25:10

I don't know, a lion or a zebra or a giraffe.

0:25:100:25:13

He has fed the other animals, but I think,

0:25:130:25:15

every night when I say goodnight and he goes to bed,

0:25:150:25:18

he asks for the donkeys.

0:25:180:25:19

So that's sort of on his list of things to do every day

0:25:190:25:22

is come down and feed the donkeys.

0:25:220:25:23

-And do you come down here every day?

-Pretty much, yeah.

0:25:230:25:26

So I always text the girls and see, if I can't find the donkeys,

0:25:260:25:29

if they've moved to another enclosure.

0:25:290:25:31

But it's amazing to live here. I love animals so much,

0:25:310:25:34

and I just feel very lucky to be around so many amazing...

0:25:340:25:37

-Another donkey.

-Another donkey?

0:25:370:25:39

And living here, what's it like waking up to the sound of lions

0:25:390:25:43

or wolves in the morning?

0:25:430:25:44

Is that very special, or is that something you get used to?

0:25:440:25:47

It's incredible, of course.

0:25:470:25:49

Sea lions are pretty loud.

0:25:490:25:50

You hear them. You do hear the wolves.

0:25:500:25:52

It's a good alarm clock, usually.

0:25:520:25:54

And there's a bird in the...

0:25:550:25:57

African Village that's very loud.

0:25:570:25:58

So that's one that I hear all the time.

0:25:580:26:01

But it's great fun. Obviously, bringing John up here,

0:26:010:26:04

you couldn't ask for a more incredible place.

0:26:040:26:07

We can see just John with the animals now -

0:26:070:26:08

do you think he has a great affinity with animals?

0:26:080:26:11

Definitely, definitely.

0:26:110:26:12

The other day he said, "Little tiny monkey," so we fed the marmosets.

0:26:120:26:15

-Very good.

-They're quite fun.

0:26:150:26:17

Which one do you want? A piece of apple?

0:26:170:26:20

-No, you want the carrot?

-Carrots.

-The carrot. That's a good idea.

0:26:200:26:23

Well, I have to say,

0:26:230:26:24

I am very envious of you both having all of this on your doorstep.

0:26:240:26:28

You're very, very lucky.

0:26:280:26:29

Well, come any time.

0:26:290:26:30

A few years ago,

0:26:420:26:44

we followed the dramatic tale of events down at Wolf Wood

0:26:440:26:47

when two young pups fell mysteriously ill.

0:26:470:26:50

The team made the difficult decision

0:26:510:26:53

to put one pup down

0:26:530:26:54

to find out what was going wrong in order to save the rest.

0:26:540:26:58

But has their gamble paid off?

0:27:000:27:02

We've done a postmortem now

0:27:020:27:04

and, as soon as you went into the stomach and the intestines,

0:27:040:27:07

there were just hundreds and hundreds of worms all there,

0:27:070:27:11

and there was nothing else actually in the gut apart from worms.

0:27:110:27:14

The worms are living off the energy that the pup is eating,

0:27:140:27:18

the cub is eating, and so there is nothing left for the cub to absorb.

0:27:180:27:22

Now they know the problem, Paul can treat the pup.

0:27:240:27:27

For this other one, treatment is going to be try and get some glucose

0:27:300:27:32

into him, which means putting some glucose fluids under his skin.

0:27:320:27:36

And then he's going to go back to the pack today,

0:27:360:27:38

and the rest of the pack, the rest of the cubs are going to have to be

0:27:380:27:41

wormed again, you know, over the next couple of days,

0:27:410:27:44

which is going to be hard work for Brian.

0:27:440:27:47

With the poorly pup returned to the pack,

0:27:470:27:50

Brian and Bob must catch the rest of the pups.

0:27:500:27:52

But these animals live a wild existence,

0:27:540:27:57

so the keepers have to invade the wolves' territory,

0:27:570:28:00

putting their own lives at risk.

0:28:000:28:02

-WOLVES BARK

-As you can hear...

0:28:020:28:05

The adults we've got to contend with as well.

0:28:050:28:07

It's not the easiest job, when you've got

0:28:070:28:09

eight adult wolves running around you.

0:28:090:28:11

They managed to catch four of the pups,

0:28:220:28:24

but the final one was hiding deep in the den the wolves have made.

0:28:240:28:28

Hey, there it is. Bit more.

0:28:320:28:34

You're almost lighting him. There, you've got the light on him now.

0:28:360:28:39

It's too far to grab, though.

0:28:390:28:40

If they can't reach it, the pup will surely die.

0:28:400:28:43

The team start treating the rest of the pups and wait to see

0:28:460:28:49

what happens with the final one.

0:28:490:28:51

(Here it comes.)

0:28:580:28:59

That's it, its head's coming out.

0:28:590:29:01

And it's now or never for the keepers.

0:29:080:29:10

Ah... Got it.

0:29:180:29:20

The final one.

0:29:200:29:21

With all the pups and Mum safely in the wolf house,

0:29:230:29:27

the team also got proof that it wasn't all in vain.

0:29:270:29:30

Well, we've got the last one, finally.

0:29:300:29:33

It's not a very pretty sight, but you can see what the problem is.

0:29:340:29:38

It's pooing, and it's pooing worms.

0:29:380:29:39

And a few days later the family were finally back to normal,

0:29:410:29:44

and all thanks to the determination of the keepers.

0:29:440:29:48

In a lot of ways, I think it's turned out a hell of a lot better

0:29:480:29:51

than it really could have done. We could have lost, you know,

0:29:510:29:54

two or three more pups, if not the whole lot.

0:29:540:29:56

Well, it's still early days,

0:29:560:29:58

but let's hope they're out of the woods now,

0:29:580:30:00

and, you know, that we can look forward to...

0:30:000:30:04

..more positive days.

0:30:050:30:06

Back in Animal Adventure,

0:30:180:30:20

it's all hands on deck as work on the new red panda enclosure begins.

0:30:200:30:25

Everybody come to the right.

0:30:250:30:26

Section manager Cat is feeling the pressure.

0:30:280:30:31

There are some big uncertainties with the whole project.

0:30:310:30:34

Basically, if our pandas do get quite comfortable in the tree,

0:30:340:30:39

our risk is that they actually get down off the tree and they're free,

0:30:390:30:44

roaming.

0:30:440:30:45

But the first challenge is actually building the new structure.

0:30:490:30:53

That's down to on-site technician Mark.

0:30:530:30:56

The space here at the minute for the telehandler is extremely tight.

0:30:580:31:01

He has got just enough room to manoeuvre,

0:31:010:31:04

but it takes a lot of pre-planning and preparation to make sure

0:31:040:31:07

that nothing untoward is going to happen or go wrong.

0:31:070:31:10

I'm feeling very nervous.

0:31:100:31:12

The design involves securing a log across from the existing

0:31:120:31:16

climbing frame and into the oak tree outside,

0:31:160:31:19

but in a space this tight

0:31:190:31:21

it's a logistical nightmare.

0:31:210:31:24

Correct, and now up.

0:31:240:31:26

The issue is this telehandler's right in the way, isn't it?

0:31:260:31:30

No, back, directly back. So boom down, maybe.

0:31:300:31:32

That's it.

0:31:320:31:34

Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...

0:31:340:31:35

Finally the bridge is in place and the new extension complete.

0:31:380:31:42

That looks wicked.

0:31:420:31:44

Oh, they're going to absolutely love it, that's incredible.

0:31:440:31:48

And Cat has come up with a gentle trick

0:31:480:31:51

to ensure there are no runaway red pandas.

0:31:510:31:54

Up the tree right now we've actually put electric round our platform.

0:31:540:31:58

We know it keeps tigers in,

0:31:580:32:00

so I'm pretty sure it will keep red pandas in.

0:32:000:32:02

An electric fence is utterly harmless for the red pandas,

0:32:030:32:06

but will deter them from taking the leap off the tree

0:32:060:32:10

and into the rest of the park.

0:32:100:32:12

So now there's only one thing left to do -

0:32:120:32:15

release the red pandas.

0:32:150:32:17

My butterflies are...

0:32:170:32:19

off the chart, to be quite honest.

0:32:190:32:21

I'm really, really excited.

0:32:210:32:22

And my mind kind of overplays things anyway, so, yeah,

0:32:220:32:26

the thinking of what may happen... But right now

0:32:260:32:28

I'm thinking really positive

0:32:280:32:30

and I'm just thinking everything's going to be fine.

0:32:300:32:33

But it looks like the pandas are feeling a bit cautious.

0:32:330:32:37

Oh, he's coming back out!

0:32:370:32:39

Neither Mum nor Dad want to come out.

0:32:430:32:46

Are they scared?

0:32:460:32:48

Or could there be another reason?

0:32:480:32:51

So we've got some really exciting news.

0:32:510:32:54

Rufina, our female panda, we haven't seen her for a few days.

0:32:540:32:57

She's been very, very busy.

0:32:570:32:59

We're pretty sure we have two little baby pandas,

0:32:590:33:02

which is really exciting.

0:33:020:33:04

Mum is hiding in the nest.

0:33:050:33:07

But rather than disturb her,

0:33:100:33:11

Sam is installing an infrared camera to confirm whether

0:33:110:33:15

this incredible news is true.

0:33:150:33:17

Seeing footage of Mum and babies in the den would be absolutely amazing.

0:33:200:33:24

It's not something that's done very often,

0:33:240:33:25

so it'll give us a really valuable insight into how they're behaving,

0:33:250:33:29

and hopefully a good check that the cub, or cubs if there is a few,

0:33:290:33:33

are happy and healthy.

0:33:330:33:34

But what if anything will the footage reveal?

0:33:430:33:46

Well, there's definitely two.

0:33:460:33:48

There's two little faces there, which is really nice.

0:33:480:33:51

Mum's just giving them a really good clean.

0:33:510:33:53

They're both wiggling around as well, which is really exciting.

0:33:580:34:01

Means they're both alive and healthy,

0:34:010:34:02

which is really, really good.

0:34:020:34:05

Baby red pandas remain in their nest for their first 90 days

0:34:050:34:09

and are looked after by their mother.

0:34:090:34:11

They're very, very tiny at the moment.

0:34:140:34:16

By my guesstimation, this footage,

0:34:160:34:19

they're only about four or five days old.

0:34:190:34:21

So they probably won't come out for the visitors to be able to see

0:34:210:34:24

until they're about three months old.

0:34:240:34:26

With such a severe threat to the red panda population,

0:34:260:34:29

having two new babies is an unbelievable success story.

0:34:290:34:34

We're so excited about these cubs.

0:34:360:34:38

They're endangered in the wild, so every cub matters.

0:34:380:34:40

There haven't been elephants at the park since 2003.

0:34:480:34:51

But when news broke that a circus elephant named Anne was being

0:34:530:34:57

horribly mistreated by a keeper,

0:34:570:34:59

the park, aided by a wave of public donations,

0:34:590:35:02

stepped in to give her a new home.

0:35:020:35:04

As a special treat, Jean has been invited in to meet her.

0:35:070:35:11

Now, I have to say, of all the animals on the park,

0:35:140:35:16

I've been most looking forward to meeting Anne.

0:35:160:35:19

And you guys, too, but I'm not here to see you.

0:35:190:35:22

And there she is.

0:35:230:35:25

Hi, Anne. Nice to meet you.

0:35:250:35:27

-That's really cool.

-Wow.

-Feel free to give her some fruit if you wish.

0:35:270:35:30

Right, so I place it down there on her trunk.

0:35:300:35:32

-There you go.

-Bit of mango.

0:35:320:35:34

Nice.

0:35:340:35:35

So she's just loving every single one of these fruits.

0:35:350:35:38

-Does she have a favourite?

-Yeah, she does have favourites.

0:35:380:35:41

We treat her to the little things like doughnuts and stuff like that,

0:35:410:35:45

but generally speaking we try and keep that as rare as possible.

0:35:450:35:48

But she can't stand parsnips,

0:35:480:35:49

quite finicky with oranges, but loves a carrot,

0:35:490:35:52

loves a banana and loves a melon.

0:35:520:35:54

Oh, so she's a fussy eater!

0:35:540:35:56

And she's really hairy as well, which I didn't expect.

0:35:560:35:58

A lot of people don't realise that elephants are actually quite hairy.

0:35:580:36:01

They're born with the same amount of hair follicles

0:36:010:36:04

throughout their whole life.

0:36:040:36:05

When they're young they're really, really fuzzy

0:36:050:36:08

and as they grow older their follicles part.

0:36:080:36:11

So they don't look as hairy from a distance as they grow up,

0:36:110:36:13

but it's not until you're close like we are with Anne

0:36:130:36:15

you can see she's got this really nice sort of auburny colour hair

0:36:150:36:20

all over her back, and most of her body, really.

0:36:200:36:22

I can see a huge tongue in there.

0:36:220:36:25

What's happening inside that mouth?

0:36:250:36:26

Well, elephants have got about four teeth at a time

0:36:260:36:29

and they go through six sets in their lifetime.

0:36:290:36:31

-So they're constantly falling out.

-Push the old ones out,

0:36:310:36:33

and they're like the house brick, size-wise.

0:36:330:36:35

At around about 45-ish is when their last set of teeth come through.

0:36:350:36:39

Anne being 60-odd, she's definitely on her last teeth.

0:36:390:36:42

So, basically, what she does is she just uses her tongue.

0:36:420:36:44

It's doubled-jointed,

0:36:440:36:46

so the tongue kind of just moves stuff rather than roll stuff around

0:36:460:36:49

and then those big house-brick teeth just crush anything.

0:36:490:36:52

I'm fascinated by her crew.

0:36:520:36:54

This is Costa, Sugar and Coffee,

0:36:540:36:57

and what's the connection between elephants and goats?

0:36:570:37:00

It's not as simple to just get another elephant.

0:37:000:37:02

There's a lot of work to it. So we've got these goats...

0:37:020:37:04

-And they get on really well?

-And they get on well.

0:37:040:37:07

To begin with, they were very pushy.

0:37:070:37:08

Apart from them stealing her food, of course.

0:37:080:37:10

They're very, like, get into your personal space.

0:37:100:37:13

But they learnt pretty quick that Anne is a lot bigger

0:37:130:37:15

than them and if Anne wants something, she'll have it first.

0:37:150:37:18

So they say an elephant never forgets.

0:37:200:37:23

So, Anne, I hope you're never going to forget the time you met me.

0:37:230:37:26

I'll never forget you.

0:37:260:37:28

We're racing back to Animal Adventure now,

0:37:360:37:39

where baby Leo has been spotted

0:37:390:37:41

making his way across the wooden bridge.

0:37:410:37:43

Now, this is incredibly exciting.

0:37:500:37:53

You can see that oak tree is outside the enclosure -

0:37:530:37:56

that will be a red panda on the loose.

0:37:560:37:59

I don't know if they're going to get him back if he goes up there.

0:37:590:38:02

Oh, look, he's heading across.

0:38:020:38:04

He's certainly very confident up there.

0:38:040:38:06

That is the furthest he's been to date.

0:38:090:38:11

These animals are amazing climbers.

0:38:160:38:19

And they look like little cuddly teddy bears,

0:38:190:38:21

but actually, when you see their feet and claws,

0:38:210:38:25

they are perfectly adapted for a life in the trees.

0:38:250:38:29

Very brave thing for the keepers to do cos there's nowhere else

0:38:290:38:33

in the country that has a tree outside an enclosure for red pandas.

0:38:330:38:38

Where have you gone? Come here.

0:38:380:38:40

If this was my child, I'd go up there and show them how to do it.

0:38:400:38:43

You clever boy, you were so brave.

0:38:430:38:46

We definitely need to reward him.

0:38:460:38:48

You're so brave.

0:38:480:38:49

Something tells me the next time he goes up there he'll be in the tree.

0:38:490:38:52

'It's only a matter of time before the rest of the family learn to love

0:38:550:38:58

'their new enclosure as much as baby Leo.'

0:38:580:39:01

Sadly, it's almost time to end another show.

0:39:150:39:18

But before we go, Kate couldn't resist a visit to the rhino house

0:39:200:39:24

to catch up with old friends.

0:39:240:39:26

It's a month since the procedure took place to try and produce

0:39:280:39:31

some new babies.

0:39:310:39:32

News of any new pregnancy here in the park is always greeted

0:39:330:39:38

with much excitement, but there is one animal that so far has kept

0:39:380:39:44

everybody on tenterhooks.

0:39:440:39:46

It is the white rhinos and, Ian, I mean, I remember,

0:39:460:39:49

was it back in...was it 2002?

0:39:490:39:50

-2002, yeah.

-We went out to Africa to pick up these very girls

0:39:500:39:54

and they are looking fantastic, aren't they?

0:39:540:39:58

-But so far...

-So far nothing, no.

0:39:580:40:02

No little pitter patter of rhino feet.

0:40:020:40:05

I know you and I talked about this and I had a little theory,

0:40:050:40:10

and I've no idea whether this is going to work,

0:40:100:40:13

but I thought we would try, if you don't mind,

0:40:130:40:17

a human pregnancy test just to see.

0:40:170:40:20

I mean, we don't know whether it's going to give an accurate result

0:40:200:40:23

-or not, do we?

-No.

-But shall we give it a go?

0:40:230:40:25

Have you got the necessary that we need to test it?

0:40:250:40:27

What do you think we'd need?

0:40:270:40:29

-I need a little... That is...

-A little pot of rhino wee.

0:40:290:40:32

-Of rhino wee. Ian, you see...

-It was collected fresh this morning.

0:40:320:40:35

You know how to treat a girl, so let's just see.

0:40:350:40:38

Now, the vet...

0:40:380:40:40

..who administered the AI did say this might be able to work.

0:40:410:40:45

I think the theory is if it becomes positive

0:40:450:40:48

-and a real sign of positive, it is.

-Yep.

0:40:480:40:50

But if it doesn't do anything, it doesn't mean she isn't.

0:40:500:40:54

It's not, OK.

0:40:540:40:55

So, "Collect a urine sample in a clean, dry container."

0:40:550:40:58

-You've done that.

-Done.

0:40:580:41:00

"Place the strip vertically into the urine sample to make sure

0:41:000:41:03

"the arrows are pointing downwards.

0:41:030:41:05

"Don't let it go above the max line." OK, hold on, hold on.

0:41:050:41:08

OK, now what do I have to do?

0:41:090:41:10

"Remove the strip and place the strip on a clean, dry surface.

0:41:100:41:15

"Wait for the coloured bands to appear."

0:41:150:41:19

So let's just not look at this for a bit, cos look at you,

0:41:190:41:21

you're all tense.

0:41:210:41:22

This is obviously a little bit of an experiment, a human pregnancy test.

0:41:240:41:28

But how are the vets going to establish

0:41:280:41:30

that she is actually pregnant?

0:41:300:41:32

What are you doing?

0:41:320:41:34

-We can collect dung.

-Right.

0:41:340:41:35

Because we obviously can't collect this every day,

0:41:350:41:37

but we can collect dung every day.

0:41:370:41:39

-Right.

-And once a month, we'll send a batch over for them to test

0:41:390:41:42

and they'll be able to tell from the samples.

0:41:420:41:44

Right. So too early yet.

0:41:440:41:46

You haven't had any results yet?

0:41:460:41:48

-No, too early yet.

-Well, according to this, it's negative.

0:41:480:41:51

But I am going to be positive and say that it's four weeks,

0:41:520:41:56

-it's rhino, it's not human.

-That's right, yeah.

0:41:560:41:59

And I think we've got to wait for the German vets, don't you?

0:41:590:42:02

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

0:42:020:42:03

Cos I think Razina, as you said, she loves you.

0:42:030:42:07

If she can do anything for you, it will be to have a little Razina.

0:42:070:42:11

-That's correct, yes.

-Don't you think?

0:42:110:42:13

-Definitely.

-Yeah, yeah.

0:42:130:42:14

Well, let's just forget that. That was a silly idea of mine.

0:42:140:42:17

I'm very, very sorry.

0:42:170:42:18

It's always lovely just to come up here and see the rhinos anyway.

0:42:200:42:23

-That's fine.

-It was just an excuse, it was just an excuse.

0:42:230:42:26

Join us next time on Animal Park.

0:42:260:42:28

'We'll be bringing you the park's most daring lion move ever.'

0:42:300:42:33

'Ben becomes a tree for a long line of lorikeets.'

0:42:340:42:38

-Have I got something on my head?

-I'm afraid so!

0:42:380:42:41

'Kate gets extremely close to some creepy-crawlies.'

0:42:410:42:44

I'm worried I've lost some. I feel like they...

0:42:440:42:46

Until you have one come crawling up the back of your shirt.

0:42:460:42:48

'And the lake animals go wild for their first visitors.'

0:42:480:42:51

Somebody on the left would say,

0:42:510:42:53

"Oh, we've seen the sea lion rush over and the boat would tilt."

0:42:530:42:56

And we've got more action-packed tales from the last 50 years.

0:42:570:43:01

So join us tomorrow as we continue the celebrations.

0:43:010:43:04

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