Inti the Trekking Llama Animals at Work

Around the world, millions of animals have jobs.

Ah! Ah! Oh!

This is the show that brings you the most extraordinary,

bizarre and unusual animals at work.

Coming up...

Inti, the teenage tearaway llama, is training for his first trek.

Inti!

Peekaboo the hedgehog starts work as a slug-munching pest controller.

And Wheelie Willy is bringing joy to children everywhere.

This guy kind of made me feel more like I belonged in the world.

This is a family show. Don't you dare kiss me.

Hello and welcome.

We're taking a trek to Robin Hood country

but with some unconventional companions -

llamas.

They are known the world over for being hardy creatures,

who have big tongues and are at home on wilderness trails,

so there really is no-one better

to take the weight off your shoulders by carrying your bags.

We go off the beaten track, with some offbeat tour guides.

Isn't that right?

Welcome to Nottingham.

Ah, the English countryside.

The last place you'd expect to find a herd of llamas.

They carry supplies to people going on treks in the countryside.

For Inti, our learner llama,

this is his first day of training for his very first trek.

Inti's like a very excitable teenager, I suppose!

And what I've got to do is get him used to wearing his saddle so that he

can fully take part in the treks, like all the older llamas can do.

Llamas are a member of the camel family

and have been used as pack animals for more than 7,000 years.

They were domesticated in the Andes

and used because they're happy carrying loads up steep paths.

Inti has to be trained and then he'll be out

working with trekkers for the first time with his load.

That news seems to have stopped Inti in his tracks.

Inti has got six weeks until his first trek of the season.

But he's not hanging around long enough to get his first lesson in.

There are six llamas in the trekking pack.

Jose, 18 years-old, Carlos, 17,

Rodrigo and Santos, nine, Diego, five and Inti is only four.

It'll be Jose's job as leader

to keep an eye on Inti as the youngest member of the pack.

Jose carries his nose higher than Inti,

and that shows that he's the man in charge.

If Jose were trying to make sure Inti behaved himself,

he would lift his nose.

He would, spit in the air, which is just a warning, or, on

occasion, they spit at each other and sometimes it gets quite green.

It's either green with the grass or with bile.

They can spit ten to 15 feet, and that is pretty disgusting.

While Jose keeps Inti in line,

llama expert Bruce starts step one of his training,

getting a saddle on Inti so he can get used to carrying extra weight.

But having straps around them can cause problems with learner llamas.

We may have problems with it. You never know with a llama.

-Inti?

-It's back to basics. Inti needs to stand still long enough

to be saddled up, and he's having none of it.

Oh, dear.

If he can't cope with the straps, how's he going to handle a saddle?

Inti has a long way to go to impress the rest of the trekking gang.

We're off to Los Angeles on America's west coast.

Willy, a shorthaired Chihuahua,

was found abandoned in a box in Los Angeles.

His back was broken and his vocal cords had been damaged,

making it impossible for him to walk or make a noise.

Somebody found him and took him for help to a local animal hospital,

where he stayed for a year,

waiting for someone to take him home, and nobody adopted Willy.

Deborah owned a local pet shop

and was well known for taking in helpless animals.

She heard Willy was about to be put to sleep and rescued him.

I was charmed by the little dog right away.

The first thing that I was really

surprised about was to notice that he wasn't a sad dog after all.

He was a really happy, joyful dog,

oblivious to his bad set of circumstances.

Deborah was determined to get Willy back on his feet

and wasn't going to take no for an answer.

I was on a mission to help Willy walk,

so originally I tied some big helium balloons to the hip area.

And, to my shock, the balloons picked the entire dog up off the ground.

I tried a few other methods, skateboard, skate wheels, this type

of thing, to help Willy walk, and he wasn't very good on a skateboard,

and so, finally, I sent away for his first set of wheels.

The wheels gave Willy a life.

They gave him his mobility and his independence,

and once he began rolling he hasn't quit.

He accompanies me everywhere and his world is no longer small.

Inspired by Willy's can-do attitude to life,

Deborah wrote a book about his amazing journey.

The pair have been all over America sharing his story.

Oftentimes, after an author's visit, one child will come up to me and say,

I can't even see Willy's wheelchair anymore.

To me he looks just like any other dog.

Willy has been an inspiration to kids everywhere,

especially those with disabilities. 13-year-old Josh has spina bifida.

He's shy and tends to keep to himself.

Most of Josh's world is fantasy. He spends a lot of time

watching TV, cartoons, make believe.

The real world is so harsh, you know, he has a real tough time.

Joshua joined a group called WOW and I think it helped him a lot.

WOW stands for Winners On Wheels.

Willy and Deborah visit these kids, and Josh is Willy's biggest fan.

Josh is shy, but he's completely different when Willy's around.

Anytime Josh and Willy are together, Joshua is much more outgoing.

He's more excited about going places if he knows Willy will be there.

He doesn't care what we do, as long as Willy is there,

and he has to be the centre of attention with Willy.

This guy kind of made me feel a little bit more like I belonged

in the world, instead of being like some...

some outcast or something, or some outsider.

Willy just takes life in stride at an easy pace.

He's actually taught me. I wish I had an outlook like that.

We've been surfing the net for what animals do on their days off.

The ones that involve a little monkey business

are always worth a watch.

Take this baby gorilla in Ohio.

He's discovered his reflection, and thinks he's found a new friend.

Mum's not impressed, but that doesn't stop this cheeky monkey.

We're heading to Nottingham, England.

-Inti?

-Inti the llama is being trained to take people on countryside treks

and has to get used to wearing saddlebags to carry supplies.

Inti is the youngest member of the llama gang

and behaving like a teenage tearaway.

He didn't even get to step one of his training without messing about.

Before his boss Bruce, tries to get the saddle on for the first time,

he'll groom his coat to make saddle wearing a bit easier.

He doesn't like being groomed particularly at all.

But I think llamas grow to tolerate it rather than like it.

Good, Inti.

If he's gonna wear a saddle - if there are any thorns in here

and you put the saddle on then you'll find the thorn

will be pushed into his skin, so you don't want that.

Special attention from the boss isn't going unnoticed by Jose,

the oldest llama and the pack leader. The fur is about to fly.

JOSE GROWLS Hey, hey, hey.

Just cut it out. It's a bit of, "I'm getting not as much attention

"as I should be, and Inti's getting preferential treatment." Jose, no!

Inti's being trained to be a pack animal,

but he'll never carry people,

as lamas' spines aren't strong enough to support the weight.

You need a proper saddle that's properly shaped so that there's

no weight on the spine and all the weight goes onto the ribs.

Inti is a lively, intelligent, teenage llama,

who needs to understand that he's got to grow up and do his job.

We'll see what his first encounter with a saddle is like for him.

-Walk on.

-It's the moment of truth.

The llamas watch with bated breath. Will the baby control himself?

Very calmly. Good boy. Because he mustn't get excited

and worried about what we're doing cos it's all unusual.

It'll take a lot of patience and time, maybe,

to train Inti to what we want him to do. We have to see what happens.

We've got to do it without stressing him too much.

Sure enough, Inti puts on a show of bad behaviour.

The rest of the herd are all eyes, except Santos,

and not one of them is impressed with Inti's erratic antics.

Looks like Bruce might have an attitude problem on his hands.

That's taking liberties. Walk on.

Inti is a cheeky llama now, but with only a few weeks to

go before his first trek, will his career be over before it's begun?

I don't know what kind of gig you got me into here

but there's all sorts of prickly characters hogging the limelight!

What?! I hog the limelight! It's my show!

I've got poo all over my boots! Unbelievable!

Oh, hi.

You know, sometimes slugs can be a real pest.

And I don't mean my producer. In our very own backyards,

the hedgehog has been battling these bugs for many years,

and over on the Emerald Isle there's one spiky animal

who is on a mission to guard our greens. Ho-ho!

Now we're headed to Ireland.

In the heart of Ireland's countryside

hides a wildlife sanctuary that's home to more than 30 hedgehogs.

One-year-old Peekaboo is the new hedgehog on the block,

and she's got a tasty new job lined up.

They are the gardener's friend. They eat all the slugs and snails.

Peekaboo and her two friends are going on their first

eco-pest control job today.

We'll set them free in our Gaelic garden as a means of pest control.

They will eat all the slugs and snails and caterpillars

which will damage the fruit and vegetable crops in the garden.

This prickly character is well suited to a career in pest control.

The minute she hears me, she peeks her head out looking for food.

That's why we said, "Here's Peekaboo peeking out,"

so that name just stuck.

But Peekaboo wasn't always this plump.

Peekaboo was born quite late last year,

at the end of the summertime, and she wasn't big enough to hibernate.

Peekaboo went to the beach to look for food and unfortunately

fell down the steps and bumped her head

and then she lost one of her eyes. Hedgehogs only come out at night,

so they don't depend a great deal on their eyesight.

They actually navigate with their noses, by their sense of smell.

I do love hedgehogs.

They're our only spiny mammal.

They're different to other animals.

They're very primitive. They haven't really evolved in all these years.

When they feel threatened,

they curl up into balls and spread their spikes out

so it hurts the prey or predator that's trying to attack them.

So it keeps it safe.

The spikes are actually hollow tubes.

They protect the hedgehog from predators like owls and foxes

when they roll up into a tight ball.

If you have hedgehogs in your garden,

put out a little bit of dog or cat food.

Don't give them bread and milk because milk

will give them diarrhoea which is not a very nice thing to have.

Oh, she's absolutely stinking now.

Every time they're fed they seem to do this,

and, of course, Peekaboo eats most of the time!

Seems to pee and poo most of the time as well!

So I think we better get her cleaned up again. Oh!

Let's take you out.

This is why you wouldn't want to keep a hedgehog as a pet.

They're quite smelly animals.

Peekaboo and two hedgehog workmates

are off to work eating slugs in this chemical-free garden.

It couldn't survive without the eco-warrior hedgehogs

that keep slugs at bay.

It's a good time for them to come

because we've got two acres of vegetables in this field,

so it's very important for us actually to keep the slugs down.

She has a place in my heart!

And I will be sorry to see her go.

The first thing that amazed me is how quick they are.

I thought they were dead slow, but they can really go quickly.

As night falls, Peekaboo's got a monumental task ahead of her.

The garden will soon be overrun with an army of slimy pests.

Hedgehogs, for us, are the natural control.

They are the natural workers.

They're good at the job. They do it better than we can.

So the lesson for us was if there's a worker

who can do it better than we can then let them do it.

Peekaboo's first night shift is over. The job is perfect.

She gets paid to eat for a living.

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

Check out this horse from Hampshire, and his nifty dance floor moves.

It's a hungry business. Time to tuck in to a well-earned snack.

Now we're off to Hawaii.

This is the Dolphin Quest resort in Waikoloa.

People can learn about dolphin behaviour by getting up close.

Koby is one of the star employees, and he has an amazing job.

He gets to perform with dolphins to entertain visitors.

Koby is part Labrador and part pit-bull.

Labs love to swim and play, while pit-bull terriers are strong and

determined, an excellent combination if your partner is a dolphin.

His personality is a lot like a Labrador. He's clumsy, fun,

very playful, very obedient,

but also as a pit-bull he's very fast and very intelligent.

Along with working with the dolphins,

Koby also helps to carry gear and to feed them.

Today Koby's starting work with a new dolphin, Kaloe.

They're practicing something new, a surfing demonstration for visitors.

When Koby is in the water he's always supervised.

Direct contact could be dangerous for both the dolphins and Koby.

Dolphins, just like any animal, have minds of their own

and they're unpredictable, so there is a tinge of danger involved.

You have a 400 to 500 pound animal, with Koby only weighing 65 pounds.

And Koby has sharp claws.

The animal's skin is very sensitive and smooth.

We don't want the claws near the dolphin

or the dolphins' tails to get near Koby.

Safety is our top priority for all the animals.

But every chance he gets, he tries to sneak into the water to play.

Koby spends so much time with dolphins, he thinks he is one.

We brought him outside to see how the dolphins

would react and he seemed to have a knack with them.

He was very gentle and the dolphins were gentle with him.

The dolphins seem to enjoy it, Koby did.

Tomorrow is Koby's surfing debut with Kaloe,

just time to squeeze in another training session.

The trainer wants him to work on the new trick.

Kaloe gets to push Koby along on a surfboard.

Koby needs to stay still and keep facing forward.

We need to work on his surfboard ride a little bit,

get his balance more and a little bit more control

on his part on the board.

But before they've even started, Koby gives in to temptation.

Last time he got a push around by himself and he stood up,

turned around and started licking the dolphin's face

and that made me nervous. We want him to stay sitting down.

With hundreds of visitors expected at the resort,

Koby and Kaloe can't mess up.

It's the day of Koby's big surfing demo,

and he and Kaloe have to get it right.

When Kaloe pushes him, he has to keep his balance and face forward.

But Koby gives in to temptation.

-Wipeout!

-Koby is a sweet dog.

He is so obedient, but he just can't control himself around the dolphins.

The first show has been a disaster.

Koby and Kaloe need to put in a lot more practice,

but the audience don't seem to mind.

-It was so cute.

-The dog actually kissed the dolphin on the lips,

and I didn't know dolphins had lips!

I think we're inseparable.

He's like my best friend and I don't go far without him.

We're heading to Nottingham, England.

It's six weeks since Inti first wore a saddle,

and the trainee llama is being put through his paces,

ready for his first packing job on a countryside trek.

He's finally got used to wearing the saddlebags,

but how will he react to a group of kids on his first trek?

Well, Inti will find it strange being out for the first time

with packs on and with people.

So it's important that he behaves himself and is good.

This is his first full working day because it's the first time

he'll carry all his packs and have stools and things inside.

Inti's got a lot riding on his debut performance, and his young customers

are queuing up to learn all about this furry trekker.

His ears are like a big horse

and his mouth's...

like a goat...no, a sheep...

and then he's got a giraffe neck

and chicken feet. I'm not sure about his body.

He's just not really what I expected.

He's so gentle and friendly and I expected him to be a bit more

bolshy and a bit more like... boyish and a bit sort of stroppy.

That's exactly the kind of bad behaviour

his boss and the older llamas hope he's ditched.

The trek is on, and Inti is being broken into it slowly.

But he keeps lapsing back into his bad habits.

Inti? Inti? Are you through?

Inti!

Inti, walk on. Come on. Walk on.

Good. Good.

No, no, no, no. No rubbish. Come on.

By comparison, the behaviour of the more experienced Jose is perfect.

-Walk on.

-There you go. Take control. Good boy.

Oh! Walk on!

Suddenly Jose decides to push his luck with his trekking companions.

Don't have a go at prickly leaves.

You'd expect it from Inti, but now it's Jose who's being awkward.

Whoa! Don't walk into me!

Jose, very occasionally, has these days, when he just thinks,

"I've had enough of leading. Enough is enough."

This is Inti's chance to make up for his earlier bad behaviour

and show Bruce that he can be a leader.

You lead him, Millie, so I'll just make sure

he doesn't run away and you just give him a tug.

"Walk on," say. Off we go. Walk on. Walk on.

-Walk on.

-Walk on. Walk on.

-There we are.

-He's doing good.

Walk on, Inti.

Jose's off day seems to have given Inti new impetus,

and he's gone from being the stroppy llama at the back

to the lead llama responsible for the whole team.

Jose! Jose, walk on.

I'd definitely take a llama home with me. It's really good.

Inti's lovely. He did very well on his first day.

-He'll be a good leader when he's older.

-Quite impressed.

So after a dodgy start, Inti's finally holding his head high

and putting his teenage tantrums behind him.

Even the older gang of llamas are impressed.

Inti's become an unexpected but popular trekking hero.

I'm a bit of a comic genius. Yeah.

So I'm gonna tell you a little llama joke.

Yeah. What did the llama say to the grass?

Nice gnawing ya.

-Ha ha ha!

-THE LLAMA GROWLS

Hey, that's not nice. This is a family show.

Don't you dare kiss me.

Don't even kiss me.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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