Performing Sea Lions Animals at Work

This is Animals At Work, the show that brings you...animals at work.

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

When we say we've got animals at work...we're not kidding!

This is the show that brings you the most extraordinary, bizarre

and unusual animals at work.

Coming up...

Will these sister sea lions

successfully debut a spectacular new stunt?

A four-legged Dobernanny carefully cares for her cheetah charges.

Bob and his cattle crowd get up to some funky recycling.

I'm ready, let's go for a take.

OK, John Barrowman, Animals At Work take one, and...action.

Hi, and welcome to the show! Today, we're up in Scotland,

having a ball with some sensational sea lions!

And cut! Thank you, John.

That was pretty good - I don't think anyone will notice, do you?

First, we're off to Blair Drummond in Scotland.

Welcome to Blair Drummond Safari -

island home to some highly unusual land creatures...

and also a watery home to some slippery sea creatures.

Meet four-year-old sea lions Poppy and Lola!

These stunning swimmers are sisters who live and work together,

educating visitors about sea lion life.

Every day is a school day in this pool.

Good morning, my little angels!

How are we today?

Their job is to change the public's attitude towards wildlife

and the environment.

Hey, Lola, can we have a nice handstand?

Beautiful, good girl!

Good!

Fran has been training these public educators

for three and a half years. It was puppy love at first sight!

I love them probably too much,

and possibly as much as a mother would love her child!

Fran has worked with the sea lions to make an action-packed live show.

They use their natural skills and fancy trick routines.

This duo dive, swim, catch, bark

and balance for their fans!

This way, the crowd learn what sea lions do in their natural habitat.

Lola's very much of a show-off.

She's a little diva, our Lola.

She likes to look at herself in the mirror as well.

Poppy's definitely the more hyperactive of the two.

She quite likes to do her own thing.

Audiences can watch these hyper lions swim as fast as 40kph!

That's almost the speed limit in most cities.

And the underwater performers can dive as deep as 180m.

That's more than three times the length of an Olympic-sized

swimming pool. Once underwater,

the girls can hide from their fans for a whole 40 minutes

without taking a breath. That's longer than this whole show!

Poppy and Lola's job is to win over the audience with their routines

so the crowds will learn all about sea lions.

If that's not enough responsibility, the lions

are learning a whole new set of marine manoeuvres.

Performing Poppy is great with her whiskers,

so she'll be fishing for compliments with a new ball-balancing combo.

She uses her whiskers as feelers to help hold the ball in position.

When it starts to fall, she will wiggle her head to keep it balanced.

So to make things even more exciting for Poppy,

Fran is hoping she will be able to catch the ball,

balance the ball,

swim to the side and climb onto her stand,

all without losing her whisker grip on the ball!

And lovely Lola is a top diver,

so she will be making a splash from the tower.

Lola will have to climb the ramp,

dive into the water,

swim straight up,

and hit the ball at a very precise point.

What does Lola think about this precision jump?

Arf! Arf!

Hopes are high for both super swimmers.

Learning something new can take time,

but the crowds are coming tomorrow!

I would like to say that Poppy and Lola were born ready.

But...until we get on stage,

until we try it,

we don't know exactly how it's going to work out.

It's going to be entirely up to them.

Good girl!

This sister act better start practising right away.

Will the performing pair learn their new routines

before the big show? Or will they just end up all wet?

Now we're crossing our way to Cambridge, Ontario.

African Lion Safari is chock full of strange, unique, and wild animals.

And the strangest of these is...

a Doberman!

Mercedes the Doberman has an amazing job for a dog.

She's a patient nanny to some baby cheetahs!

Her most important role is helping

take care of the cheetah cubs

who have been born here.

We've had ten cubs born in the last two years.

And Mercedes helped raise all of them.

Not so long ago, these big cats cuddled up with Mercedes.

Even though they are all grown up and independent now,

these cheetahs still respect and love their nanny.

It isn't easy to raise cheetahs.

They are fast but they're also fragile.

They can't get stressed or sick,

and they need a lot of care to grow up big and strong.

Baby cheetahs need a supernanny to survive.

And lucky for these kittens, Mercedes is well qualified

for the job. Like all Dobermans,

she is both tough and sweet.

Cheetah parents don't always have the skills to look after their kids,

so they call in super Dobernanny!

Her duties include...

These cuddly kittens will grow into big cats with sharp claws

and teeth, so Mercedes needs to teach them how to be respectful.

This nanny needs to make sure these babies don't bite.

Always patient, Mercedes teaches the kittens that playing is OK,

but aggression is not.

If they get too rough with their nanny, she gently moves them

to the ground with her mouth.

She teaches them to be better behaved, relaxed cats.

Once the cheetah youngsters are old enough and strong enough

to leave their nanny, there is one more test of their confidence

before they can join the grown-up cat pack.

Today is test day for today's soon-to-be graduates.

This cheetah is about to take a walk with Carole outside the safari

grounds for the first time ever.

The cat must remain chilled at all times.

Mercedes will keep the cat calm so it can enjoy the adventure.

Not a bit nervous, nanny stays nearby, helping her cheetah

take some really big strides. That's a job well done!

And Carole couldn't be prouder of her pup.

I think that my wonderful dog partner, here,

has helped to make them healthy and strong,

and helped them to reach their full potential as cats.

Wonderful work, Dobernanny!

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

after hours! Check out this kitten from Wisconsin,

as she battles an electric enemy.

Ooh, yeah! Come back here!

I'm gonna show that mouse who's boss!

Oh, well, maybe tomorrow.

And back to the waters of Blair Drummond in Scotland.

Poppy and Lola are super sea lions who educate their fans

with an action-packed marine show.

Training has begun, and these slippery sisters

need to master a new routine before today's sold-out performance.

There's not much time left,

and this diving duo has a lot of work ahead of them!

Problem is, sometimes, they don't quite do what they're told!

And trainer Fran will only ask once.

It's entirely their choice, whether they want to do what I ask of them.

If they don't want to do it, they won't do it.

So that's the worst fear -

you bring them onto the stage and they don't want to do anything.

Lola's lesson is first,

and there's one sure way of bribing this lion to learn - fish food!

A fat mackerel is Lola's fishy reward of choice.

Let's hope there's a successful jump on the menu.

Lola is going to combine that very high tower dive

with a very high ball jump.

MUSIC: "Eye Of The Tiger" by Survivor

Lola must wiggle up the ramp, dive into the water,

and quickly swim up to hit the ball in the precise point.

Ooh, not quite.

Second time lucky, maybe.

Just like in the wild, Lola uses her fins to gain maximum speed and aim.

Let's hope Lola's hungry for success and not just for fish.

So close! Lola doesn't quite hit the right spot on the ball.

Oh, bless your little socks, honey.

Can she have a nice big round of applause?

Very good attempt, but you missed.

Oh well, it was close!

Lola will need to stick her neck out a little more to pull this off.

Let's hope she thinks her audience is worth the effort.

Next up, the unpredictable Poppy.

-Hello, Poppy.

-Her power is in her whiskers.

These wiggly wavers can detect a fish five metres away.

Today, she needs them for a tricky ball balance, not for hunting.

Now, what little Poppy's going to have to try and do

in front of an audience,

she's going to try and retrieve this basketball from the pool

all the way back to the stand. It's a lot of work.

This delicate combination move requires concentration and practice.

It's touch and go whether Poppy will deliver.

Good girl!

Good girl!

Oops! Poppy, get back in there! Show us you can do it!

-Will she?

-One more.

'It would be a very big achievement if Poppy managed to learn

'how to combine the two.'

-Good girl!

-Yes! She's stuck to her whiskers!

Practice is over for today

but it's still far from smooth swimming with these two.

Hundreds of schoolchildren are arriving soon

for the sea lion spectacular. Will these two make a big splash,

or are they just in too deep?

Hi, yeah, John Barrowman on the phone. Yeah.

From the drama, yes. And the musical, yes. And the book, yes.

And the album, oh yeah. Two of 'em. Yeah.

Listen, I'm calling about the lawnmower that I ordered.

It's not exactly how you described it in the catalogue.

You said this is a lawnmower for movers and shakers,

and to tell you the truth,

I'm quite a good mover, and boy can I shake.

Yeah.

Um... Uh-huh.

Yes, the colour's fine.

And yes, it does fit in a shed, but...

Moo!

Oh, I see. Oh, well, bull-y for me!

And now to Kenya in Africa.

The Ol Pejeta Conservation Park is full of amazing wildlife

and they all have one thing in common.

Yes, yes, they do have something in common.

They all need to eat - a lot.

But with so many diners at the restaurant,

sometimes the special of the day runs out.

But fear not, hungry animals!

Step forward our unlikely hero...

Bob the Boran!

Yes, this wrinkly fellow is quite a hero.

If it weren't for Bob, a lot of wildlife would go hungry.

And how does this lumpy muncher save the animals of Africa?

Well, by... This really is getting a bit ridiculous.

By pooping.

And by weeing. And by eating. And by walking?

Oh, my!

Bob is one of our special bulls.

His job is to improve the pastures on this conservation.

It seems that Bob and his posse are quite the recyclers.

This huge herd running 6,000 deep

is the biggest cattle gang in the world.

They consume a lot.

# Just eat it Just eat it, whoo! #

One Boran bull can weigh as much as 850kg,

and they can eat 46kg of food a day!

And they drink as much as a bathtub full of water every day,

if they can get it.

But Boran cattle can also go a long time without water.

They are great guys to have around if there's a drought.

For eight hours every day,

this is an office of four-legged eating machines.

Even better, they will eat anything,

even rotten grass that other animals wouldn't touch!

Which means this lot is pretty easy to go out to dinner with.

If you're not choosy about your company,

they will eat whatever you don't want.

And by eating the bad grass, Bob is making way for the good grass.

But while they're dining, these bad dinner dates

wander around, trampling the ground below them.

This stamping actually helps new food grow.

So, Bob eats and eats, drinks and drinks, walks and walks.

And the next step is what makes Bob such an efficient recycler.

He takes all the material he's consumed over the day

and he turns it into fertilizer!

Bob the recycling machine.

Step one - find food. Anything will do.

Step 2 - eat. Step 3 - drink.

Step 4 - digest, step 5 - fertilize,

step 6 - walk. Step 7 - repeat.

So, Bob is a hero because he prepares tasty land food

for other animals all day long.

He eats food that no-one else wants

and uses that to help make food that everyone will eat.

And then other animals come to eat Bob's recycled food.

This is great for Bob's bosses,

because the African wildlife brings tourists which bring lots of money,

which means more cattle, which means more eating,

which means more fertilizing, which means more food,

which means more recycling, which means more...whoo!

But instead of rewarding Boran Bob for all his hard work,

the big wildlife he feeds still think he might be

a delicious night-time snack himself.

So Bob's boss has built Bob's gang a bovine pen.

So they can sleep at night, so they can work all day,

-so they can...

-Ptthhrrrt.

-Bob!

They're safe now from the lions, if the lions come up at night

then they can't jump in, it's too high.

Safe and tired after a hard day at the office,

this herd of workaholics rest at last, until...

Pthrrrt!

Oh, Bob.

We've been looking out for your home videos

of what animals get up to in their spare time.

Check out these sporty kune kune pigs from England.

And Pig 1 runs with the ball!

He passes it to Pig 2!

Pig 1 has the ball again!

Pig 2 grabs the ball and makes a run for it!

And it's... He has sco-o-o-ored!

And Wiggles wins by a nose.

Now we're off to Sacramento, California.

Here! Over!

Hup! Hup! Hup!

This cat-like climber is eight-year-old Ana,

a top search-and-rescue dog from the USA.

Ana and her partner Rick are experts in urban disasters.

She doesn't reposition, she just hangs out.

Any other dog would just go, "Why don't I just move?"

We're challenged with very difficult terrain.

Ana is especially good at this work because she is such a graceful girl.

# I need a hero... #

And she was a major player in the rescue on 9/11.

But Ana wasn't always such a focused rescue retriever.

As a puppy, she child trained with an elite group of future rescue dogs

and she quickly stood out from the pack.

Now rescue star Ana is a much-loved long-term member

of the Fire Department's search-and-rescue team.

But as a senior staffer, Ana must make sure

she is keeping up with the young pups.

If her skills are slipping, she will have to retire.

So, Ana has to practise with Rick every day.

We try to do a little bit of search work

and we do some ladder operations.

Coming down is very hard for a dog

because you need to perform once you get to the end of the ladder.

With that bonding and trust I have with her,

she does just about anything I ask her to do.

# Ain't no mountain high enough

# Ain't no valley low enough... #

Today is a really important event for Ana's career.

She and Rick are participating

in the Iron Dog search-and-rescue competition.

Ana is the oldest dog at the event.

If she isn't as fast a finder as the younger dogs,

she will be forced to retire from search-and-rescue work.

40 urban disaster dogs from across the country are here to compete.

The youngsters warm up before the big search of the day begins.

This fun also tests their agility,

getting them ready for the big search.

It's time for the final, most important competition.

An old army base is used to test these searchers

in a real-life situation.

Somewhere in this rubble, a person is hiding,

and it's up to the dogs to find her quickly.

Ana's career's at stake.

She puts on her work boots to protect her paws.

This search site is dark, dusty and messy.

How is Ana ever going to find the missing person?

First, she starts sniffing.

The younger dogs start their search quickly but not always successfully.

Rick moves some debris and asks Ana to search the area.

She can check areas he can't.

Atta girl.

Ana is excited. She's getting closer!

Showing interest.

Now she'll try to gain access.

ANA BARKS We've got an alert.

Ana's bark means she's found someone.

You gotta get out of there. OK.

You gotta get out.

And Ana found the missing person!

If this was a real situation, Ana would have saved a life.

Ana, the oldest dog in the competition, is the winner!

Good girl.

Ana's still the fastest finder.

CHEERS

It'd be very hard for me to find another dog like Ana.

She's just one of a kind.

Good dog.

Super searching today for Ana the disaster dog!

And we're back to the sister sea lions in Scotland.

# Splish splash I was takin' a bath... #

Water babies Poppy and Lola have an important job

teaching audiences about sea lions.

Today they have a demonstration of some brand new tricks.

And there is a very demanding audience waiting to be wowed!

This crowd has high hopes for the sea lion sisters.

-I like sea lions.

-I like sea lions.

I like sea lions because they're related to dogs and I like dogs.

The laid-back lions wait in the wings for their big moment.

No pressure, Poppy and Lola!

Poppy and Lola are doing a new move

and I don't really know what.

I'm extremely nervous.

I'm hoping that they'll do really well.

That's a huge big audience there for them.

Come on, girls, time to shine!

Poppy and Lola are going to do this very special show

for us all today.

Poppy opens the show politely but before the big move begins

the sisters have to splash out on some teaching.

Lola greets the crowd and welcomes them to the show

in the language mother sea lions use to call their pups.

Thank you, Lola.

Next, Poppy shows off her underwater vision.

Can you see any, honey?

Any predators?

Nope? All right, thank you very much, Poppy.

On a roll, Lola struts her stuff

and pretends to be a predator.

Thank you very much. Lola's impression there of a shark.

-Thank you.

-So far, so good, but it's almost time for the new stunts.

Let me see those front flippers...

The audience waits with bated breath.

..For the first time, to see if little Poppy

can retrieve this very heavy ball.

Cross your fingers - I mean fins!

We don't know how it's gonna go

so let's see if little Poppy can do this for us today.

Good girl, Poppy.

Good! Good!

Good girl, keep going, honey.

Good girl! Good girl!

Well done, Poppy! Thank you very much indeed.

And Poppy does it!

Thank you very much, Poppy! Well done, my little sunflower!

Thank you very much indeed.

Lola's success is swimming in the balance now.

Will she jump for it?

We are going to see if our little Lola

can combine that tower dive with the very high ball jump.

We don't know if she's gonna make it, so fingers crossed!

Do you think she can do it?

Diva Lola's loving the attention.

Is this the boost she's been looking for?

Whoa! Well done!

Superb.

Wahey! A flying sea lion success!

# I believe I can fly

# I believe I can touch the sky

# I think about it every night and day

# Spread my wings and fly away... #

And what does the crowd have to say about the sea lion superstars?

I didn't think they could jump that high.

-I never knew they were that smart.

-That's like three metres high.

They were really good at their job,

and I think loads and loads of people will come to see them.

And is trainer Fran pleased with her pups?

Love them too much!

And I am almost crying, I'm so happy they've achieved that today.

Fantastic. Excellent. Excellent work from Poppy and Lola.

Sensational work from the sporty sea lion sisters!

How do you stop a bull from charging?

Don't give him your credit card!

Come on!

Stubborn old oxes.