Rabbit Model Competition Animals at Work

This is Animals At Work. The show that brings you...animals at work!

There are millions of animals that have jobs.

We've got animals at work, and we're not kidding!

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

and unusual animals at work. Coming up...

..these bunnies go head-to-head in the ultimate challenge.

It's like X Factor - narrowing down to the winner.

We meet two sheepdogs in wolves' clothing.

And this baby is itching to meet you!

Hello, welcome to Animals At Work, the show like no other!

Today we feature a rabbit, so I'm taking this opportunity

to entertain you...

BUZZER

..at home!

Take two.

CHIMES

See? An empty, dirty top hat. Drum roll, please!

DRUM ROLL

A rabbit! Da-da!

Oh, no! I said a rabbit!

Oh, well. Here, watch some rabbits.

First we're bouncing over to Bromley in the UK.

It might be a regular day in the countryside

for some furry animals, but there's a new dawn on the horizon

for these rather furry rarities.

Think beauty, think rare breed, think star quality!

Some bunnies will strut their stuff

at the country's most prestigious rare breed rabbit championships.

The Miss Universe of the rabbit world!

Their job - to look perfect and win for owner, Tom.

This is my first time entering the London Championship Show, so nervous.

I'm not sure which one out of the line-up I've decided to take

They've all got different personalities.

It's a bit like X Factor, narrowing down to the winner.

There were some gorgeous rabbits with plenty of X Factor here

so let's meet the bunnies!

This is Gnasher that's just jumped out of my hand.

This is Nipper, she's a Castor Rex.

This is Domino, and this is Polka, over here.

And it's not just Gnasher, Nipper, Domino and Polka Dot,

there's also...

..Bungle, Hencles, Willow, Alice, Carl, Chris, Jamie, Chloe and...

Their job is to be shown. They are like models on a catwalk.

They have to look good, act good.

I wish I was a rabbit, it sounds like a good job!

But these rabbits will be up against the most pampered bunnies in the world at the championships.

Tom's hoping his crazy critters will run rings around the competition.

They need to put on a show to please their adoring fans,

but the championships are serious business

and there is no room for fluff and nonsense in this harsh world.

People think that rabbits are fluffy, cute little bunnies.

They will bite you, they will eat their own poo,

they can drink their own wee.

Ewww! They'll have to buck up their ideas in the next couple of weeks

to make it to the championship.

Tom has been preparing them all their lives.

They will be up against other competitors

so I'm very nervous about it.

When they're being shown, they need to be able to say, "I'm here,

"I'm showing off, I'm the best rabbit on this table. Look at me."

I wouldn't expect anything less from a rabbit.

Amongst the cuddly contenders there are two early stand-out rabbit idols

that live to be pampered and admired.

They are definitely diva-ish, and they are icons in their own right.

The mascara-eyed Hottots haven't gone Goth.

They are a rare breed from France.

As there are only a handful of them in the country, Tom may

be in with a chance if he goes with his star brother and sister act.

And this is Polka Dot. She can be quite laid back and relaxed.

She will stretch out like she's doing yoga.

She's a typical prim and proper girly, she's a pink lady.

She's great for the job because she can keep herself clean.

This is Domino. He's quite energetic, he's more the athlete of the rabbit.

He's a show rabbit, so his job - to look gorgeous - he plays on that.

Good to know diva behaviour has infiltrated the animal world.

But the major key to success lies in training these rabbits

to behave on the judging table and when they are handled.

This could be a "furry" difficult job.

He doesn't want to be picked up, doesn't want to be turned over.

That's a problem because they need to be turned over.

If they can't turn the rabbit over, they can disqualify them.

It's the first time that these young bunnies have been on show.

As it's Tom's first competition too, there's a lot of work to be done.

There is a lot of competition at the show.

Now we're rocking around the world to Banff in Canada.

'The natural beauty of Canada's Rocky Mountains

'draws visitors from all over the world.

'Trails take visitors into the wilderness

-'of the rugged Rockies...'

-SCREECHING AND BANGING

-SCREAMING

-Or at least they should!

Meet some troublesome elk who love the place

and think nothing of disrupting a game of golf.

Thankfully the local rangers had an idea to get rid of these deer.

-In fact, they had two!

-TRUMPET FANFARE

Meet Tess and Blue, two dogs with an extraordinary job.

These sheepdogs have come into town to put an end to elk-related mayhem!

They may be a bit nervous at first...

..but they soon have these troublesome elk on the move!

This doggy duo scare the elk as they look so much like wolves.

Elk are wild and strong, but Tess and Blue's herding abilities

inspire respect and the elk move on!

So the people of Banff can relax once again.

SCREECHING AND BANGING

Or can they?

These elk seem a bit craftier than we thought.

Look at these cheeky garden munchers!

They may look innocent, but they have been known to charge at people,

-so they need to return to the woods.

-BANJO COUNTRY-STYLE MUSIC

Tess and Blue make sure the elk are run out of town.

Y'all don't come back now, you hear?

We've been on the internet finding out more about your pet's pastimes.

Take a look at Daisy, the dancing Cockatoo from England.

She's an expert at The Hop!

MUSIC: "I Don't Feel Like Dancing" by The Scissor Sisters

This is one bird that can bust a move!

Daisy, coming soon to a dance floor near you!

We're roving back around the planet to Bromley, England.

The candidates for Bunny Idol are lined up.

Tom has 23 rabbits. He has to find out which have star quality

then he can take them to London for the British Championships.

Tom is keeping a close eye on his star rabbits.

He's putting hours in every day training up his talented bunnies

to make sure they are ready for the big time.

It's not just a case of grooming every day,

it's grooming, handling, training, teaching.

But there are two early favourites

that have been groomed for the competition.

She'll be marked on her body shape, how good her fur is.

She's got a nice, dense coat. The little hairs you can see up here.

She has nice black eye-circles here.

She will have to behave herself,

because if she keeps kicking out, the judge won't allow it,

and they will disqualify her. We don't want that!

It may look like Tom is just giving his floppy friends a cuddle,

but there is a reason why he's got to rock-a-bye these bunnies.

You have to see underneath them like this, you see.

At the moment, she's not happy, she's not having it.

She says, "I'm not having anyone turn me over."

This is what the judge has to do. I'm going to have to practise,

keep turning her over.

These rabbits need to be perfectly white for the competition.

They can't have wee marks over them. So I use some white chalk powder,

-and it lightens it up.

-Whoa! That is one white rabbit!

The time has come to decide who out of the 23 ravishing rabbits

-Tom will take to the competition.

-I want to win. I can't afford

to take anything that's not good enough.

To help, he's brought along his friend, who's a show bunny expert.

She doesn't mince her words!

-I'd give her a seven.

-I would say five.

Bit harsh, but fair enough.

He's really moulting!

Fur isn't the only thing the bunnies are dropping!

Very handsome!

She's a bit flighty! That's not good.

I really like this rabbit. Really friendly.

She's thin so she needs building up.

So Tom has made his choice.

I really can't decide between the two Hottots.

-I think that I should take both.

-In fact, he's made two -

Domino and Polka Dot are a crown prince and princess of Bunny Idol.

It's the rabbits that win. They are the ones that shine on the day.

But how will they fare at the championship in London?

It's going to be daunting and scary.

Anything is going to be a surprise on the day.

Coming up next, an animal at work doing a jumbo job!

Don't eat my jacket!

She lives in Africa, and is one very unusual animal at work.

No, don't! Stop eating it!

Don't eat my jacket, please!

We're charging around the world to Hoedspruit in South Africa.

This is the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre.

This park works to protect and conserve species

which are rare or endangered.

We look after endangered animals, like the wild dog, the cheetah,

We also take orphaned animals

like rhino, caracals, any problem animals that come in.

Claudia works with one of the centre's biggest attractions...

..Daliana, the white rhinoceros.

It might not look like it but Daliana is just a baby,

a very, very BIG baby!

White rhinos are threatened,

with less than 20,000 alive on the planet today.

This important baby needs to stay strong

so that she can be released back into the wild when she's older.

The hope is for her to breed when she has been released,

so her species will live on.

The job is to be like an ambassador for the white rhino.

If we didn't intervene she would have been dead, it would have

been another individual of the white rhino lost.

Daliana came to the centre when she was just 12 hours old.

She was found alone on a neighbouring reserve

and the centre took her in to ensure her survival.

The centre are taking no chances with this little one.

For a start off, just look at this rhino's crib!

She has a one bedroom apartment

with an outdoor bathtub, and her meals...

are hand delivered, and I do mean, delivered by hand!

She's on her last bottles, we're starting to wean her.

That's going to be difficult, she loves a bottle.

They're always complaining at the weaning process.

I'm going to give her some pellets.

# Big girl, you are beautiful! #

She might not have finished drinking milk from a bottle yet,

but this is one baby you wouldn't want to steal candy from.

Daliana may just be a youngster, but she already weighs one ton.

That's the same as 13 fully grown men.

White rhinos are one of the largest animals on the planet.

When she's fully grown, she could weigh in at 3 and a half tonnes.

That's the same as 45 men.

-# Big girl you are beautiful! #

-After eating, it's time for a bath.

You thought baths made you cleaner? Think again!

I'm giving her a mud bath to cool her down

and get rid of all kinds of external parasites, like tics.

This mud is very important to keep Daliana's skin healthy.

Such a good girl! And it also acts like a sunscreen.

Such a good, good girl.

She loves her mud baths.

Whoa! Time for the other side.

Laid-back Daliana is happy to let Claudia rub the mud in.

Of course, wild rhinos don't get this kind of hands-on help,

and we wouldn't advise you to try.

It's rubbing time.

She's rubbing off the mud to get rid of the ticks and the dead skin.

One happy rhino!

Now that the baby is fed and clean,

it's time to see if Daliana fancies some exercise.

She needs to stay healthy so she can have calves

when she goes out into the wild.

Sometimes we go for a walk if it's a nice full day,

otherwise she'll have a nap.

Do not try this at home!

Running with a one ton rhino is a brave task for anyone.

Thankfully, Claudia has had years of practice.

The rhino can reach speeds of up to 50 kilometres an hour,

so this is a light jog for Daliana.

Still, Claudia better stay on her toes!

# What's that coming over the hill? Is it a monster? #

Steady, girl.

After a tough day at the office,

it's time for Daliana to hang out with her mates.

She hangs out with a zebra called Zeta,

a sheep called Heidi, another sheep called Bonnie. That's her family.

It's an odd combination, but this family get along fine.

Friends come in all shapes and sizes.

We've been looking at your videos to see what animals

get up to in their spare time, like these sheep racers from Bideford.

Yes, they are are sheep racers!

A quick fuel up before the race, and they're off!

Hitting top speeds of up to 16 kilometres an hour.

'It's the downhill straight, and it's Golden Fleece

'from Little Pullover and Alderknitty as they cross the finishing line.'

We have a winner - Woolly Jumper!

Now we're trailing over to the state of Texas in the USA.

Meet a rootin', tootin' cowboy by the name of Harry Boutall.

And what's a cowboy's best friend? His cowdog, of course.

Meet Peewee, waiting in his kennel, raring to go herd cattle.

Peewee! What you doing there, buddy? I'd thought about other breeds,

other herding breeds, but the border collie made more sense.

The best thing I'd heard about them was that they were smart.

Once you show them something one time, basically they got it!

Peewee is top dog on Harry's 1,000 acre cattle ranch.

He's got a big day at the cow dog trials tomorrow.

He'll have to herd three unruly calves around a course.

It's an achievement as he started life as the runt of the litter.

He wasn't weak, he was just the smallest puppy.

He stayed that way all the way through, pretty much, and I just,

from day one, started calling him Peewee, and it just stuck!

Peewee may be little, but he's got a big heart.

Just look at this little guy go.

You want him to have a certain amount of bite

because that cow needs to respect the dog.

If it doesn't respect the dog, it's going to walk right over it.

HE WHISTLES

Peewee, no matter how tired he was, it was full speed.

When you did stop, he was so tired sometimes

he'd just fall over or drop down, but he wouldn't quit.

Peewee doesn't stop at cattle, he just can't help himself.

He loves to herd!

It doesn't make any difference if it's chickens, ducks...

Somebody can come by on a bicycle or a four wheeler,

-they're gonna try to herd him.

-Tomorrow Harry will put Peewee

to the test at his first cattle dog trial.

You time yourself and you think you're going fast, but you're not,

not 'till somebody... If they would just forget

that clock, I said I could do all that stuff real good,

but that time starts working on your mind.

Peewee will have to get the cows in

and get a good rest as the big competition is only 18 hours away.

It's still hard to think about doing it without getting a little queasy,

because I feel if he doesn't do good, it's not going to be

as much his fault as it's gonna be my inexperience.

Time for a "herd earned" bath and a cool down.

You - don't drink the bath water, Peewee.

It's the day of the competition

and it's not just a cash prize at stake -

there is also the much coveted, winners belt buckle.

It's a nice belt buckle, and a lot of people want to win

that just for the buckle. Money's not important,

it's the pride of wearing it.

Competition is stiff - there are some pretty good cow dogs out there.

'Our next entry is Harry Boutall with Peewee.'

Now it's Peewee's turn.

He has to drive three calves through the course and into the pen.

DING!

He's off!

HE BLOWS WHISTLE

Peewee nearly goes the wrong way,

but he's back on track.

APPLAUSE

He's got the three calves to the final gate.

But time is running out!

BUZZER

Oh, so close!

But it's all over for this little one.

There'll be no belt buckle for Harry today.

But Peewee performed well - not bad for the runt of the litter.

After the excitement of the competition,

Peewee's day job is waiting for him back at the ranch.

We're heading to London, England.

Tom has lots and lots of bunnies.

So he's had to pick out his favourite two to come down

for the British Rabbit Championships -

the top show of the bunny world.

It's the day of the competition.

It's been months in the making, as Tom has been training up these

harebrained bunnies.

There's a lot at stake.

I do want to win, but I have to think to myself,

this is the first show, it's a young rabbit.

There could be other rabbits that are better.

Tom checks out the competition.

There are thousands of fluffy fashionistas here

from all over the country.

All with their eyes on the trophy.

And they are all getting groomed for their big chance.

The worst that can happen is that I put them in their cage

and they end up weeing themselves, and they're staining themselves.

Top tip - no wee, no poo.

So that's the spots knocked off Domino, ready for the judges.

Domino should do quite well today. He's looking really nice.

I think he's really calm, he's chilled out.

I wish I could be chilled - I'm quite nervous and apprehensive.

Good girl.

It's not just Tom that's feeling jumpy.

She's really nervous today.

I think she's feeling the pressure. I'm sure she's gonna relax into it,

and then become a star and show herself off.

While Polka Dot is feeling the pressure,

Domino is just loving the attention.

The rabbits line up. This is it. The competition is fluff -

I mean, tough.

Which rabbit is better? Is Polka Dot better than Domino?

I'm competing against Caroline's rabbits. She's been mentoring me

so that's going to be worse.

This here is one of Caroline's rabbits.

Directly below is Polka Dot, and opposite is Domino,

so your competition is up there. So you've got to beat her.

It's the moment of truth. First up is Polka Dot.

And she certainly isn't behaving like she should.

She better calm down, as it's very important that the judge

has a good look at her.

That little black mark is not permitted.

Oh! Polka Dot is disqualified for having a spot on her ear.

Tom is obviously distraught for her.

Disappointed. Very disappointed.

So now, all Tom's hopes rest on Domino.

But in between Domino and the prize, there is some tough competition.

Yes - Tom's rabbits are up against super-breeder, Caroline.

Up pops Domino...

There's only one winner.

Ah, he came in fourth! Good work, Domino.

Fourth isn't bad for his first competition.

So there are no prizes for Domino this time,

but you can bet that he'll be getting himself ready

for next year. And what about Polka Dot?

She's a champion. But not yet.

She's a princess in the making.

OK, OK, OK, enough of the dancing! I'm here! Listen.

I want to try out my new comedy act on you, OK?

Are you ready to listen to some of my FOWL jokes?

OK, I guess that's a yes - here's the first one.

How do love birds dance?

Chick to chick! Ha-ha-ha-ha!

OK, OK, here's another one. Ready?

Why do hummingbirds hum?

Yeah, cos they don't know the words - ha-ha-ha!

You like that one?

No, you didn't.

This was a bird-brained idea. You know what? Entertain yourself.

See you later, buddy.

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