Prathida Elephant Orchestra Animals at Work

Welcome to Animals At Work,

the show that brings you animals at work.

Around the world, there are millions of animals that have jobs.

Ah. Ah.

This show brings you the most extraordinary,

bizarre and unusual animals at work.

Coming up...

Prathida the elephant drummer gets ready for her big gig.

Ginny the cat rescuer gives a home to an abandoned kitten.

And Dr Neme the fish eats his patients alive.

They're actually picking at my skin there, nipping at it.

Honestly, who writes this?

Hi, and welcome to the show.

Some people have a natural ear for music,

but it seems animals do too and the ears I'm talking about

are pretty big. At the National Elephant Institute

of Thailand, there's an orchestra of jumbo proportions,

and one very unlikely musician has proven herself a hit on percussion.

Ready for this? Animals At Work is packing its trunk and travelling

to Asia to find out a little more about this big band.

-Ready to go to Asia, buddy?

-HE GROWLS

First we're off to Lampang Province in Thailand.

The Thai Elephant Conservation Centre is home to 50 elephants,

including its star attraction, 16-year-old Prathida.

DRUMS BEAT

Prathida is a drummer in possibly

the strangest orchestra in the world.

She's incredibly good natured, incredibly safe.

She's popular amongst our staff, well-liked

amongst the other elephants, a huge favourite

amongst our tourist visitors.

For the past eight years, Prathida and the elephant orchestra

have been drumming up a huge fan base all over the world.

Visitors to the centre can't believe their eyes or ears

when they see the band for the first time.

She's a great musician, keeps a rock steady beat on her drums.

She's just got an incredible sense of rhythm,

and can keep going for the longest time without losing attention.

She's really quite amazing.

The Thai Elephant Conservation Centre was set up in 1993

and is a popular tourist attraction, but it also does important work

protecting elephants, and giving them somewhere to live safely.

It's a family home for Prathida, she lives here with her mum and sister.

Elephants used to be put to work collecting trees cut down for wood

until logging was banned 20 years ago.

Now tourism is the only legal work elephants are allowed to do.

As well as being a favourite with visitors,

Prathida is famous for her music.

Her name means "princess of the forest" in English.

She is very intelligent. She's got a wonderful sense of rhythm.

I think what sets her apart from

all the other elephants is that she is sponsored by the King's sister

and was one of the first elephants to be in the Elephant Orchestra.

The orchestra has just recorded its third and last CD.

Richard organised for Thailand's best recording studio

to come to the elephant sanctuary - better than fitting those elephants

into a recording studio.

It went incredibly well.

The atmosphere when you're recording is electric.

Elephants are very clever animals

and love being with friends and making noise,

so it's not difficult to encourage them to use

their natural sense of rhythm to bang an instrument.

Even the elephants, I swear that when they know they're

actually being recorded, they're all on their best behaviour.

It's entirely instrumental music, elephants only.

It will be our last CD, I think.

Basically, we've just done everything we ever wanted to do.

GONG CRASHES

In celebration of having finished the third CD,

we're gonna have a concert and that should be a lot of fun and a kind of

sentimental moment for everybody.

Coming up, we meet John who looks after Prathida, and there

could be news of jumbo proportions.

Next, we're off to Long Island on the east coast of America.

This is Ginny and she's the unlikely winner of the Cat Of The Year award.

Yes, this Cat Of The Year really is a dog.

Ginny won the award for rescuing hundreds of homeless cats.

A schnauzer-Siberian husky mix, Ginny's ancestors were bred as

rat-catchers, but Ginny's more of a cat-catcher, or rather cat-rescuer.

She wasn't trained to do this job, it just comes naturally.

Most of Ginny's rescued cats are lucky enough to be found new homes,

but the ones that don't live with Ginny and her boss Philip.

This is Madam.

Madam is Ginny's...wow, Madam! You've never said anything before.

Madam was Ginny's first rescue at the shelter.

This is Jackie. Jackie was born blind.

This is King Arthur. This is Atlas. Here's Rufus.

This up here is Darlene. Sheila was found...

in the glove compartment of a car with her brother Shelby.

They're all Ginny's cats.

Every time a new cat comes, it thinks it's died and gone to heaven

and they all seem to gravitate towards Ginny.

She visits them all. They're all her babies.

Sometimes she takes a head count. Goes from cat to cat,

seeing who's there and she knows when there's a cat missing, right, Ginny?

Yes, Ginny's famous. She's gone to a lot of different cities

and she's had numerous awards. She's...Westchester cat show,

she got the Cat Of The Year award.

Letters coming from all over. A dog won Cat Of The Year.

Lots has been written about Ginny's work as a cat-rescuer,

but there are many more cats that still need her help.

Because Ginny and Philip can't take everyone home,

they run a meals on wheels service for felines.

Tonight, like every other night, Philip and Ginny go out to search

for homeless and hungry cats who need a decent meal.

At night, there are fewer people around so more cats on the street.

Ginny's an angel. She's like Mother Teresa in a way.

Mother Teresa helped people, she helps cats.

Ginny has a lot of compassion for

animals and she has what to me I call a radar of the heart.

But some of the cats Ginny helps Philip to find need extra attention

with some nibbling to groom them.

For some reason she thinks all cats belong to her.

She thinks they're all her babies.

Ginny's always there, 365 days a year, and it doesn't matter

if it's raining, snowing, sleet...

Ginny rescues cats, no matter how they look.

Missing a limb, an eye, an ear...

They could be blind and deaf and she loves them all just the same.

She's fed over 800 cats and we've placed over 700.

Ginny's probably the only dog on the planet who likes to go to the vet.

After a cat is rescued, its first stop is a check-up

with vet Lewis Gelfand.

I see we have another. Who is this today?

This is a kitten Ginny rescued this morning.

It's been remarkable working with them,

and these cats love this dog.

They seem to respond to Ginny and Ginny to them.

'I've been a vet for 17 years and never seen an animal like this.

'I don't know if I ever will.

'I know there are many pets in homes where there are both

'cats and dogs and they get along well.

'The difference here is these are not pet cats.

'These are feral animals and Ginny just seeks them out

'and they seek her.'

Well, Ginny, well done.

You did it again.

It's the end of another tough shift,

but nothing stops Ginny from dishing out puppy love

to her family of felines.

We've been surfing the net to find out what animals

get up to on their days off.

Check out the tricks of this porcupine from Minnesota.

It's climbing a chair!

Look, Mum. No hands!

Time to head to Lampang Province, Thailand.

Prathida the drummer is part of the Elephant Orchestra

at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre.

The orchestra have just recorded their latest CD.

It's their third and last

as they've done everything they want to do.

Tomorrow they'll give a special concert to mark the end

of their recording career.

Prathida is looked after by her mahout.

As well as training them, mahouts have a special

lifelong working relationship.

Being a mahout is an incredibly demanding job.

You have to be incredibly fit physically but beyond that you have

to have a spiritual rapport with your animal.

John, Prathida's mahout, has looked after her since

she was a junior jumbo.

TRANSLATION: I've stayed long with her. We've a good relationship.

Really, when you think about it,

John spends a lot more time with Prathida

than he does with his own wife.

# Why do stars fall down from the sky

# Every time you walk by?

# Just like me, they long to be

# Close to you. #

TRANSLATION: I love her like I would love my child.

Sometimes she's naughty, and doesn't want to do what she's told,

but her personality is happy and cheerful.

SHE BEATS THE DRUMS

Prathida likes to drum. That's why she moves her head like she does.

Recently, John noticed a change in Prathida's behaviour,

and thinks he might know the reason.

I believe she's pregnant because her body has swollen.

She's eating a lot more and just getting a lot bigger.

We're pretty sure Prathida is pregnant now.

It'll take longer to tell for sure,

but her whole mannerism has changed.

As Prathida's behaviour has changed,

the vet wants to make sure she isn't sick.

He can't take her temperature like a human cos

she'd eat the thermometer!

So that leaves just one place to stick it.

It's, erm, hard to collect a temperature of elephant.

98.5 Fahrenheit degree. Normal.

That's good news cos it means that Prathida's not sick.

Another reason for her changed behaviour could be she's pregnant.

We are unsure that pregnant because this is the early stage of pregnant.

It's very difficult to spot the early stages

of an elephant's pregnancy, as it lasts almost two years.

The vet will give Prathida regular check-ups till he's sure.

But until then,

everyone will just have to wait.

Coming up - finally, we get to see Prathida

and the Elephant Orchestra in action for their very special concert.

There are so many sharks in the wide world of animal work,

it's only sensible to start up any company small scale,

and in Ireland there's some minnow entrepreneurs

for whom business is going swimmingly.

Animals At Work is travelling to the Emerald Isle for a fishy tale. Ooh!

There goes my pole...

and my lunch.

Now, we're off to Ireland.

Ireland is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.

It's also home to some amazing fish with a taste for human skin!

These are garra rufa fish.

The biggest is Doctor Neme, their team leader.

These fish are like little dermatologists or skin doctors,

and have an unusual way of treating skin problems.

Neme and his colleagues just nibble them away!

I have over a thousand of them.

They're a pleasure to keep and I love them.

Neme's boss, Therese, manages the clinic where he works.

I've heard them called happy fish cos they're so good with people.

There's a very big guy in there and I called him Neme after Nemo.

Therese brought Neme and his medical schoolmates from Turkey.

My visit to Turkey was amazing cos that's when I first met garra rufa,

the fantastic fish because I successfully was treated myself.

I could see results already from two days.

Therese believes the garra rufa fish helped

clear a skin condition she was suffering from called psoriasis

by nibbling away the dead skin.

Therese was so impressed she offered

Neme and the gang a job back in Ireland.

I said I've got to bring this to Ireland.

Today, Dr Neme is going to work on a new patient.

I'm quite apprehensive for her because she's quite nervous.

I'm a nurse and for two-and-a-half years, psoriasis sufferer.

As I call it elephant's skin. See, it's itchy and irritating.

I've gone to dermatologists, tried lots of lotions and potions...

this is a smaller area but it's actually more painful.

I find there's times when it's sore and sensitive but I just hope

those fish like me cos if they don't,

I don't know what I'm going to do.

Everybody's first day is the hardest cos they're immersing

their whole body in the water.

Now, getting into the tub

can be a bit of an ordeal.

# Weird fishes

# Weird fishes... #

They're actually picking at my skin, just nibbling at it and tearing

that bad tissue away from the skin.

The girls go to work on Charlotte's skin.

For them, this is a bumper crop!

They balance themselves on your skin, the surface of your skin

using their two fin...front fins and move along the skin.

These guys are nicknamed "nibble fish" for a good reason.

They're only after bits of dead skin.

It's a source of protein, which they eat in the wild.

Therese wants to know how Charlotte is getting on

in the tub, or if she's been eaten alive.

Hi, Charlotte.

-Hi, Therese.

-How you getting on?

-Fine.

How does it feel?

I don't feel they're eating me alive. They're picking away

at the skin, peeling away the psoriasis.

Are you happy you did it?

Yeah. I'm glad I persevered and once in for a couple minutes I'm nearly

ready to go to sleep in here.

You know, it's very relaxing.

-No pain?

-No pain, no.

The fish healing potential was discovered by a farmer

more than 200 years ago.

He went into a stream to clean a wound,

only to find himself surrounded by hungry garra rufa fish!

They get tired. An hour and a half is a long time to be in with them.

They start to lie in the bottom when they have enough.

All the top area of skin has been removed.

And that leaves healthy skin to grow back.

Along with chomping on her patients' dead skin,

Therese also feeds the fish extra protein and vitamins in pills.

I'd say they are miracle fish.

No other fish can treat these skin conditions.

That's their job, they love it.

They're kissing you!

Another happy patient.

-This one guy's got in there.

-Ooh!

They have done enough work according to me, anyway.

I give them two days' break after every person's treatment.

They're healing people, treating people with chronic skin conditions

so why not treat them with some respect also?

At the end of a busy day, these guys like to lie at the bottom

of the tank and get a few hours' sleep.

Then this doctor fish and his team are fresh for their next shift.

We've been looking at your videos of what animals do in their spare time.

Take Rupert, the piano-playing pig from England.

PIANO NOTES SOUND

That's one talented snout. Next stop, Wembley!

We're headed to Kentucky in America.

This is Harvey the West Highland terrier, and he's on a mission.

He's on a trial period as a companion dog at a retirement home.

If he does well, he'll get a full-time job.

His full name is Sir Harvard Winston of the Highlands.

But the residents soon nicknamed this friendly character Harvey.

If he makes friends with residents, his chances of being hired are good.

Come on!

Harvey's day-to-day duties include patrolling

the hallways to make sure everyone is OK,

ridding the home of pests and helping the clean-up.

But he's definitely on top of the exercise regime,

though the daily volleyball game suffers losses.

At times he uses his paws as toenails. Boom!

Another essential is a good bedside manner and Harvey is a natural.

His tried and tested method?

Kiss it better. And it seems to be working on the residents.

I think I was first to meet him. He came through the hall and I looked

and I said, "Oh, my gosh" cos it looks like my dog.

I had a dog the same, it was a West Highland.

And my family had dogs,

we always had them until I got the condition,

we couldn't take care of any more.

They had taken my dog away from me so he takes his place.

He wants to make a good impression on the 140 residents.

They'll be the ones who decide if they want Harvey as companion dog.

Katherine, a therapist at the home, is watching him carefully

to see how he responds to each of his clients.

There's a lady who cries all the time but when

she sees Harvey her face just lights up and she smiles

and she recognises him...

There's some that maybe want to look at him from a distance.

One lady that loves to watch him but doesn't want to touch him.

Harvey's not usually a clock-watcher but time is up on his

four-month trial. Today he finds out if he gets the job.

Has he convinced the residents he's a friend -

not only to cheer them up but also to take care of them?

I had a little misfortune.

I fell and Harvey summoned some help,

and from that time on Harvey was my dog.

You couldn't...couldn't beat that!

I...he came to the rescue.

Harvey's very important to me.

He's the kissiest dog I've ever met in my whole life.

Harvey is a friend.

Residents that don't even know me, and I've been here over a year,

they know Harvey, they recognise him and key on him

cos they love him.

Looks like Harvey definitely gets the full-time job.

He's important for everybody. He just brings you out of yourself,

something to centre on.

If anything happened to Harvey, I think we'd go bonkers.

Now it's up to Harvey to keep everyone happy but luckily

he's keen to keep on working like a dog.

Now we're off to Thailand again.

16-year-old drummer girl Prathida is part

of the Thai Elephant Orchestra.

It's a big day as they're giving a special concert to mark

the recording of their third and final CD.

Organising a concert is quite an effort.

Some of the instruments are so heavy it takes an elephant

to drag it onto the ground.

Even Prathida has to be her own roadie.

With minutes to go, the audience of kids arrive

to hear the massive musicians play.

This is a rather special event.

This is the Thai Elephant Orchestra and our third CD is coming out

and it will be our last CD basically because

we've done everything we ever wanted to do.

Let's meet the orchestra's key players.

There's Prathida on drums.

-Neua Un on xylophone.

-XYLOPHONE RINGS

-Chapati on bass.

-RHYTHMIC THUD

And finally, Luuk Khang - also on xylophone.

So let's get things started.

MUSIC: "We Will Rock You" by Queen

The instruments are traditional Thai design, and most have

been specially made for this orchestra of jumbo proportions.

Richard signals each elephant and mahout with his stick

-when he wants it to start and stop,

-GONG RINGS

but once in full swing it's Prathida that keeps them on track.

SHE BEATS THE DRUMS

TRANSLATION: I enjoy this and I like it when Prathida plays the drum.

TRANSLATION: We like Prathida cos we like that she plays the drum.

She feels very happy when she is doing that.

GONG CRASHES

BELLS RING

The elephants actually enjoy making music.

They're very social animals so they enjoy being with their friends.

It's instant gratification.

You hit it and you get a beautiful sound.

CRASHING

RINGING AND THUDDING

They have a natural sense of rhythm.

And as an encore, how about a piece on the harmonica from Jo-Jo?

HE PLAYS HARMONICA

That pretty much wraps up Prathida's star turn with Thailand's

incredible Elephant Orchestra.

Hey, I got a couple of good jokes for you.

Why did the elephant cross the road?

-Cos you chickens had the day off.

-HE LAUGHS

Hey, another one.

Why did the chicken cross the ocean?

To get to the other tide.

Get it? The other side?

Yeah?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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