Episode 16 Dick 'N' Dom Go Wild

The following programme features highly trained professionals

working with potentially dangerous

-and unpredictable animals.

-So do not, we repeat,

do not, try this at home.

Did you know that now, right now,

there's people all around the country

who are working their socks off to help

wounded wildlife and poorly pets?

And we've managed to get VIP passes

for some willing helpers who are going to get stuck in at the

busiest vets, wildlife sanctuaries and rescue centres.

Argh!

On today's show....

Jack and Scott race to help a grey seal pup

and clean up a less than happy snapper of a turtle.

Imogen and Cindy take on some spiky customers

and see if these gulls are up for a flap.

1, 2, 3, go.

And Dick volunteers to get the bottom of Todd the dog's

painful problem.

It's tough and dirty work.

But somebody's got to do it.

Awesome. Oban. The seafood capital of Scotland, so I'm told.

Now not everyone here likes eating

sea life. Some people actually like caring for it and there's even

a dedicated sea life sanctuary during just that, looky, looky.

Do you know what? These prawns could do with something.

Anyone got any suggestions?

Cue lemons.

These are the lemons.

No, not those. Meet Jack and Scott Lemon.

Older brother Jack has a useful guide on how to tell them apart.

Little lemon, big lemon.

The boys haven't got any pets.

Probably something to do with their wish-list I reckon...

Snakes, gekkos, lizards, anything that's kind of scaly.

They're both official animal lovers. Scott likes...

Seals, whales,

turtles...

and iguanas.

But mum and dad aren't doing pets.

If they can show that they can be responsible

then yes, they will get a pet.

Now that's a promise and a half, Dad.

Get on it boys, at the Sea Life Centre.

This place is home to precious sea creatures from around the world

and the sanctuary to British marine life that's in need of human help.

The real life Lemons! Jack, Scott, it's good to meet you.

So your mum won't let you have a pet.

-She thinks they're too expensive.

-Yes.

Well, forget your run of the mill pets like goldfish, dogs, cats,

today you're going to meet some animals

-that are so much better than that.

-Whoo!

-This way.

-Hi, Karen.

-Hiya.

This is Jack and Scott and what have we got here? Wow.

-We've got a five day old grey seal pup.

-Is he going to be OK?

It's really critical in the first week but so far so good.

The baby grey seal is less than a week old and was found alone

on a beach over 70 miles from the Sea Life Centre.

He looks so helpless without his mother.

The boys have been given their backstage pass.

Can they go behind the scenes and meet him?

Yes, of course they can, there's loads they can do.

The poor pup hasn't even got a name yet

but we're going to fix that right now.

Well, there's only one name for it, don't you think, boys?

-Chewy.

-No, Dom!

Short, a little bit fat, hairy.

Just like Dom. I name you Dom.

There you go, lovely.

This is a critical time for the rescued pup.

First up the boys need to check his weight.

Boys, get ready to write this down.

8.5.

He's one heavy pup.

8.5 kilos, he'll need to be more than four times heavier before

the team can even think about releasing him back to the wild.

Why would his mum just abandon him?

Normally it's down to he's very cute, very fluffy,

making those noises, people touch them.

As soon as you touch them the scent is on

and the mum will come back, sniff it and think it's not hers.

Why does he keep on making the "mmm" noise?

He's calling for his mum.

Now that's quite sad.

He's safe here now though,

and remember never a good idea to approach young seal pups.

Get an adult to call an animal rescue centre

and they'll deal with it.

The brothers run into a little problem

with a feisty snapping turtle later

and it doesn't seem impressed with their handiwork.

You have to be very careful. He's got a jaw that could snap

a broom handle in half so make sure your hands aren't near his head.

But first let's head to the other end of Britain where Dom

is fixing land-loving wildlife with two willing volunteers.

Here at West Hatch Wildlife in Somerset

they care for all sorts of British wildlife. I mean what the staff here

don't know about British wildlife quite frankly isn't worth knowing

and interestingly what today's Go Wild volunteers do know

about British wildlife definitely isn't worth knowing.

You'll see what I mean.

Happy campers Imogen and Cindy love the great outdoors.

But they aren't completely clued up when it comes to wildlife.

There's birds and insects.

There's animals, loads of different types.

They're determined to do something about it

and Imogen's mum is encouraging them all the way.

I think it's going to be an eye-opener but she'll learn a lot.

She does soak up information so she'll take that with her

and next time we go camping she'll know more

about what's going on about her.

This tuneful duo fear nothing.

I'm not really afraid of British wildlife

because I don't think there's any dangerous animals.

Well, there is, but I'm not scared of them.

Roll up, roll up,

time to see how wild Britain really is.

Set in Somerset this place is rehab centre and hospital for wildlife

and one of the busiest in Britain.

-Hello girls.

-Hi.

-Welcome to Go Wild.

Imogen, right? Cindy? Hello. There's loads to do today.

You're going to learn loads about British wildlife. Are you ready?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Let's go.

First up, animal first aid in the Wildlife Hospital.

-Sean.

-Hi, Dom.

-How you doing? You all right? Good to see you.

This is Cindy and Imogen.

-Hello, Cindy, hello, Imogen.

-They've come to help you out today.

-Fantastic.

-They're a little bit sceptical

-about British wildlife.

-Right.

What can they do to help? Shall we have a look

-and see what we've got?

-Yes.

-Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I can see it.

-It's a little hedgehog.

-Oh.

-Lovely, isn't it.

-So cute.

Hedgehogs are shy creatures,

so when they appear in our world in the day

it often means they need our help.

Sean, how did this hedgehog come to be here?

This one was out during the day.

They naturally come out at night and forage for food.

But this one was out during the day coughing and underweight,

not doing very well at all, so the member of the public

who found it put it in a box, gave us a ring

and somebody went and collected it.

Imogen, where's its head? Where's its feet?

It just looks like a prickly ball.

It's a cute prickly ball.

We have about 50 in at the moment.

In an average year we can take anything

from 250 to 350 hedgehogs in.

With that many hedgehogs to handle

there's going to be plenty to keep Cindy and Imogen busy today.

First of all we need to get you into some nice fashionable tabards.

But before they can lend a hand to the hogs,

they need to get geared up.

Lovely and the girls get down to tiny spiny hedgehog help later

when the youngest patients need a whole lot of housekeeping.

Brothers Jack and Scott have got it all to prove at the Sea Life Centre

on the west coast of Scotland.

If they can persuade their parents they're good with animals,

they've been promised a pet of their own.

Not one of these though.

This is Gordy the snapping turtle

and he's snappy by name and snappy by nature.

This is Gordy, he was rescued a few years ago

in Scarborough from a pond.

He was found to be eating the local bird population.

Snapping turtles don't naturally live in Britain. They're American.

Gordy was probably a pet that outgrew his home

and was dumped in the local pond.

You need to be careful. His jaw can snap a broom handle in half,

so make sure your hands aren't near his head.

The feisty fellow has algae growing on his back and needs a good scrub.

Remember our lads are with an expert.

This isn't one to try at home.

Watch those fingers, boys,

he's not called a snapping turtle for nothing.

Make sure your hands stay well away

from that front area and watch his head.

If he does turn round,

-move out of the way.

-What happens if you don't clean the shell?

You can't check the condition of the shell.

We can't see if here's cleaning or shedding.

It's a good way for us to check that his shell is in good condition.

Just a little closer.

Whoopsie! I think that's snapping turtle for "back off".

That's his strong neck. Very, very quick.

Not an ideal pet, a snapping turtle,

and certainly not on the boys' wish-list.

And our brave brothers go swimming with hungry sharks later,

but can they get the big fish to take their bait?

I was just swimming along slowly and it went... Munch, munch, munch!

Imogen and Cindy are getting hands-on with some poorly hedgehogs

at the Somerset Wildlife Rescue Centre.

The girls are about to give a health check to a young hog

and it pays to be prepared.

Why do you need to wear the gloves?

Well, all wildlife carry various diseases.

So that we can't get any of the diseases we wear gloves

so that we don't get anything

and we don't transfer anything to other animals.

Masters of putting gloves on!

This poor orphan

was brought in looking lost and confused.

He needs cleaning out and fattening up.

-Oh, look!

-Oh!

They are cute, aren't they.

Feel for either side of him.

There we go, he should curl up into a package. There we go.

Well done.

The girls need to check if the young chap is progressing as planned.

He's lost weight but it's only four grams, so that's

the weight of a poo, basically, so we're not worried about that at all.

Good to know he's coming on just fine.

Now it's time to freshen up his home.

It stinks.

It smells of fish.

You're doing a fantastic job. Don't forget the little corners,

the nooks and crannies.

Hello, somebody's admiring the girls' handiwork.

So.

Where did he go?

Tilt it forward just a bit.

If you put your hands in there.

Just one hand will do, yeah.

Can I pick him up?

Yes, you can pick him up. Just be gentle about it.

There we go.

Now then please don't go touching hedgehogs yourselves.

Our girls have an expert with them.

Lower him into the box. Then you can slowly roll him off.

It all looks familiar, there we go.

Sweet dreams.

Brilliant hedgehog-home-building, girls.

More of this and the little lad will be hogging hedges

in the wild in no time.

And there's more home improvements to complete later.

Can they turn their hands to interior design ferret-style?

Ferrets really like anything that makes a funny noise,

anything bouncy, squishy, it's all good fun for them.

First I create a bit of a stink when I back out of an animal assignment.

Are you sure we've got these outfits on the right way round?

-Of course. Your favourite colour is blue. Heads or tails?

-Tails.

Tails. Very good.

Ironically that means the next animal is your challenge,

the tail-end.

-Sorry, I don't understand.

-Follow me.

-Jason.

-Jason. How are you, mate?

-Who's this?

-This is Todd.

-We've tossed the coin and Dom got the tail-end.

-You're the winner.

Yes. I win, which is great news.

-What do I win?

-You want to come to this side of the table.

-Hello, Todd.

-He's been rubbing his bottom on the floor.

-Oh, has he?

He has. Do you know what that means?

He doesn't like the carpet?

No, Dom. Todd's got an itchy behind because glands near his bottom are

bothering him and you have to help Jason drain them.

Yes, dogs use scent-filled sacs to communicate,

a bit like us shaking hands, but by smell.

Do you know what? I'll hold her, you can do it.

-I'm not doing it.

-You do it for me.

-I'm not doing it.

OK, I failed the challenge.

We tossed a coin. The reason Dom doesn't look pleased

is that we've been told the liquid that's drained

absolutely stinks like horrible fishy poo.

It's an important job.

If Todd's full glands aren't drained they may become infected

so Dom agrees to come back but only if I do the bottom bit.

They're not causing him any pain then at the moment?

No, they're just irritated.

-It's avoiding pain at a later stage.

-OK then. Here we are.

Right, I need to gently squeeze the bottom glands.

Do not try this at home, seriously, do not try this at home.

Come on Dick, just squeeze under there. Just press.

And yes, it's messy, and yes,

it's smelly, but at least Todd will feel so much better when we're done.

There you are, boys and girls, deposit.

Joking apart, OK, you've obviously done a good thing.

-How is it going to help him?

-I think he'll feel more comfortable, yeah.

I can't believe that smelling that is how you say hello to each other.

Well...

PARRP!

That's how I say goodbye.

Jack and Scott are mucking in with marine life

at the Sea Life Centre in Oban. A real treat now,

the sharks and other big fish need supper sorting

and the lads are sizing up this monster of a job.

With the sharks, we've got smooth hound, starry smooth hound and the bull husk,

the large ones at the bottom of the tank.

We've also got bass, gilt head bream and a couple of Atlantic halibut.

Now, our boys are keen surfers which is a real bonus because this task involves swimming...

..with this lot.

There's no danger here, but it goes without saying, please don't try this yourselves.

Getting in amongst the fish and target-feeding them individually

makes it easier to be certain they all get a fair share.

You're going to get a bit of food on the end of your stick, grab hold.

If you put that down to the bottom, look around for all the rays and the sharks.

If it's a shark, you'll need to lift the feeder up a bit and they'll hover over it and take it out.

-Well done!

-I got the big shark!

I fed my first fish.

Ah-ha, Jack is getting his teeth right in to this task.

Unbelievable. It's not every day you hand-feed sharks.

Come on, sharky, get it!

Come on, sharky. Yay!

He got it!

And Scott's fish are soon taking the bait as well.

What are you doing? Get off, will you?

This is so fun!

This dogfish is constantly attacking.

Oh, hi!

Some sharks can grow new teeth every couple of weeks, which means they're always kept very sharp.

The boys are safe though - the big fish can't nip through those thick suits.

Look, look at that shark nibbling.

Come on, go get it. Just swimming along slowly, it just went...

At first I was just a wee bit scared but then when all the sharks just

swam in between my legs and swam right past me,

it was all right.

Scary and fun at the same time.

A great combination.

It looks like this marvellous marine mission is accomplished.

Don't try this at home, folks!

Ha, ha, couldn't have said that any better myself.

Swimming with sharks, no problem for these two.

And it's lunchtime for Dom the grey seal later.

Will the boys' menu impressed our picky pup?

Sorry for the delay...

because the cook is taking quite some time. Thank you.

Best friends Imogen and Cindy are making a big impression at an animal rescue centre.

Now these feisty ferrets all need to be found somewhere to stay.

-Hi, Anna.

-Hello.

-How are you doing, all right?

-Not too bad.

-I notice there's a funny smell about.

I think it's because you'll find we've got some ferrets over there.

OK, what's the deal with all these ferrets?

One day we all came into work and we found at our gates a whole crate full of ferrets, all 16 of them.

Were they in a bad condition?

They were poorly at first - skinny, dirty, had respiratory problems.

-They're known for being slightly nippish.

-Nippy, yeah.

Most of the time, if they're young like these guys are,

they play nip, a bit like kittens or puppies,

and once they reach two to three-year-old stage they become really docile and quite nice pets.

-But at the moment they can be slightly jumpy?

-They can be, yeah.

Ferrets are related to weasels and otters but they don't live in the wild in Britain.

Nobody knows who dumped these ferrets here but at least they have a home now.

Today we're going to move these ferrets from their old compound to the new ferret compound

and the girls can help me set the whole pen up for them.

-Perfect. Sound good?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

So what kind of fixtures and fittings do a family of friendly ferrets need?

Absolutely all sorts is the answer. Ferrets are at their happiest when

they have loads of fun things to explore and play with.

As you can see,

there's quite a lot of things in here.

What we'll do is put it all around the pen for them.

Good, I'll keep this lot occupied whilst you get the place ready.

You want to eat my nose?

You as well?

Ferrets can sleep for 18 hours a day, so perhaps you'd better start with their beds.

Let's put some blankets inside their little house.

-OK, that's the bedding sorted.

-What will the ferrets do to the tube?

When we release them in here they'll go and hide in the tubes and just generally jump around

and mess around with them.

Ferrets really like anything that makes funny noise, anything bouncy, squishy.

It's all big fun for them.

Playtime is almost here, but as ferrets have four kinds of teeth,

for grooming, killing prey, chewing and crushing, we're leaving the letting-loose bit to Anna.

They plainly love their new home.

Fancy that, Imogen and Cindy are friends with ferrets now.

-Do you think they enjoy their new home?

-Definitely.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-There's loads for them to do.

There's Wellington boots, upside-down dog baskets, rubber tyres, tubing.

Don't forget, this is only temporary until somebody gets them as pets.

-I want them as pets.

-You want them as pets? One or two?

-Two.

-What about 16?

Yes, 16.

And it's back to the wild for these mended gulls later, but are they all up for flying free?

The first time in a long time they've been able to stretch their wings and feel the wind go through.

Look at him, beautiful.

But before that, hand-sized pigs.

You probably didn't know this, but I'm a bit of a guinea pig expert.

-Are you?

-Yes, I know loads about guinea pigs.

For example, did you know that they aren't related to pigs

and they don't come from Guinea? Also, they're born with their eyes wide open,

and you see, the other thing you might not know is they have these great big teeth

and they keep growing throughout their entire life, so to keep them trim they need to gnaw.

-What do they need to know?

-What?

No, no, they need to "gnaw".

What do they need to know?

I tell you what they need to gnaw, they need to gnaw plants, bark, wood, trees.

Oh, what I do know...

is that it's weed all over.

In Oban, Jack and Scott are trying to prove they've got what it takes to own a pet.

And now it's feeding time for Dom the baby grey seal.

Dom is only five days old and without his mum needs almost constant care.

He's hungry in there.

-What's in that?

-Multi milk powder with salmon oil and water. It's nice and fatty.

The salmon and milk mix is an ideal substitute for mum's milk.

-Does it smell nice?

-Disgusting.

-What does it smells like?

-It smells like snot.

It smells like snot.

It looks like clotted cream.

Yes, clotted cream with orange bits.

-With salmon flavour.

-Yes.

I'm sure Dom will like it.

Look, when Dom's hungry, when his belly's empty, he gets angry, so get it on there.

The mixture needs gently warming and while we're waiting for it to get up to temperature,

Jack does his best to distract the hungry pup.

We're sorry for the delay, because the cook is taking quite some time.

Thank you.

That's told him!

Human contact is kept to a minimum, so Dom will keep his distance from humans in the wild.

Dinner is served. Sorry it's a bit late, the cook had some problems.

He's no Jamie Oliver.

Feeding has to be fast. The blanket over his eyes will help calm him.

He's fed the food through a syringe and tube.

Push, push, push. The boys need to make sure he gets a steady flow.

-Go, go, go.

-Push, push, push...

Not too hard, it will come off.

Oh...

He's like, "Oh, food at last".

So without you doing this he wouldn't survive?

No. He needs this milk, the fat.

He's got to put on 40% of his body weight in the next few weeks.

Is this the amount of food his mum would have been feeding him?

Yes, yes. That's why it's so thick, because it's so fatty.

It's about 60% fat.

Rescued pups like Dom spend at least three months at Sea Life

getting big and strong before being released back into the wild.

OK, that's empty.

Dom, I know it's uncomfortable but it's for your own good.

Well done, all full up.

He looks fatter.

Yes, finished.

Dom the seal pup is full and happy.

You'll probably never do that again in your lifetime.

-No.

-Feeding a seal pup.

-Boys, has your interest in wildlife gone up a notch?

-Yes.

-Yeah?

-It's gone from here to here.

-Perfect.

Gone from here to ding-ding-ding.

Even better. The main question is, do you think your dad will now get you a pet?

He said at the beginning of the day, if you did a good job you could have a pet.

-What kind of pet do you want?

-Hamster.

-Good work.

-Gerbil.

Nice. So there we are, ladies and gentlemen,

two more chaps interested in wildlife - hopefully they'll now get their very own pet, fingers crossed.

Imogen and Cindy are turning themselves into wildlife wardens at a rescue centre in Somerset.

Now they need to get a flock of gulls flapping back to the wild.

RSPCA West Hatch is slap in the middle of two busy British coastlines

and hundreds of injured gulls get brought in here every year.

Why do you have so many?

They come in for various reasons.

Quite often it's just because the eggs hatch in the middle of towns and cities

and they fall off the roof or jump off the roof before they're ready,

and with your help we're going to take these to the beach and release them where they belong.

Really?

First the rounding-up bit.

But sadly not everyone is good to go today.

Is that bird ready for release yet?

Unfortunately not, no.

Although he was flying relatively well,

if I pull his wing out you can see that his feathers are just slightly broken at the tips

and that potentially could compromise the quality of flight,

and if we release it and a strong storm comes along,

it's likely that it will struggle in the storm.

This one will need to stay a bit longer to recover,

but Sean soon has one that's more than ready to return home.

Making sure it's got good body condition and checking his feet.

All in all, he's going to be one to go.

Before they can fly free, every bird is given a personalised identity tag.

We've put an individual metal ring on so if ever this bird is recovered,

we'll be able to determine when it was released and how well it survives after it's been here.

Let's hope this bird and its five pals don't ever need human help again.

Right, to the beach.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-Wow, anything I can carry?

-Do you want to take one of these?

-I'll take it. What's in it? A seagull.

Right, come on.

Now, this is what we're all about, getting wild animals running, flapping and flying free.

Now, what's the next procedure, Sean?

Right, the best thing is if we can open them up as quickly as possible.

Sean's gull goes first.

And he's not hanging around.

The first time in a long time he's been able to stretch the wings

and feel the wind go through.

Look at him, beautiful.

Absolutely beautiful. One of the best things about working on this show, it really is.

OK, you ready to do it?

-Yes.

-Yes.

Yeah? Very simple.

Finally, the girls are ready to let their gulls go.

One, two, three, go...

There you go. He's still on the ground.

Come on, you can do it! Fly!

-Well, Sean, the seagulls are obviously very happy. I know I am. Girls, happy?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Great.

Now, that's what I call a superb seaside success for Imogen and Cindy. Cracking.

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