Episode 20 Dick 'N' Dom Go Wild

This show features professionals working with

potentially dangerous and unpredictable animals.

So do not attempt to do anything you see today yourselves.

BOTH: Uh-huh?

Did you know that right now, there are people all around the UK

who are working their socks off to help poorly wildlife and pets?

We've managed to get VIP passes for willing helpers to get stuck in

at the busiest vets, wildlife sanctuaries and rescue centres.

Rats!

It's tough and dirty work, but somebody's got to do it!

On today's show, Sara and Leah take on a nosey badger.

It tickles!

Tom and Jake are let loose with Logan the lousy sheepdog.

-Come by!

-Wrong way!

-Come by!

-Wrong way!!

'And I struggle to teach Dom the dog new tricks.'

Round the cones. In and out, that's it, good boy!

You see, the thing about this place, it's got rats, bats,

lynx cats...and snakes.

-Put this on then.

-What? How will a floppy hat

-protect me from a snake?

-That is not a floppy hat.

It's a camouflage hat, and if you put it on, then they can't see you

so they can't bite you!

Hoo! Where's he gone?

Hooooh! Where's...

he...gone?

-Does it really work?

-Don't be ridiculous.

Today on Dick And Dom Go Wild, I'm at the Wildwood Trust in Kent,

home to all sorts of British wildlife.

Say hello to Sara and Leah. Leah has absolutely no animal fears.

But she does think dogs are dumb.

In the car they have their heads sticking out, going like this...

-And Sara agrees...

-Out the window.

She thinks cats are cool.

But she's not so hot on snakes.

I don't like the poison when it comes out the tongue.

It's like... Like that.

Let's hope these two fall for the wonderful wildlife

we've lined up for them today.

Sara, Leah - lovely to have you here at Dick And Dom Go Wild.

-Are you looking forward to it?

-BOTH: Yeah.

You shouldn't be because you're scared of animals, aren't you?

Do you think we can try and convince your pal to like animals?

-Er, maybe.

-You think so?

Mmm. I think we should give it a go. Come on!

This awesome ancient forest is home to hundreds of amazing creatures.

Some of them don't even live in the wild in the UK any more,

so our lucky team are in for a treat!

So, Peter, what have you got in store for the girls today?

We have some light cleaning duties in that enclosure.

-What is actually in there, I can't see?

-Oh, it's full of snakes.

-What?

-You're going to get in the snake enclosure...

and clean their home. I've got some glamorous outfits for you.

They're lovely. Go get changed and see you in the snake pit, all right?

Ah!

Sara might not be sweet on snakes..

New door! Come on!

..but she's still joining Leah for cleaning duties.

-Very, very brave.

-How many are in there?

There's five in there. Let's go and search for them.

First, the team need to discover where they're hiding -

shouldn't be too hard!

Uh...!

Grass snakes are the biggest of all the British snake species,

and some of them can grow to over 5ft long, about your height.

-Yeah?

-Are they venomous?

-No!

So, they can't... they can't, erm, kill you.

That's right. A grass snake's bite is harmless to humans,

so the girls are in no danger.

Grass snakes are big, but hard to see,

because they are brilliantly camouflaged, so tread carefully!

Anything under here? Nope. Next lot, please, Peter...

-GIRLS GASP

-What's that?!

Right! Look...!

Agh! Yeah! It's a snake, Sara!

And the snake numbers increase later when the girls discover an adder.

Woah! Look at that!

But first, Dick has rescued animals to sort out.

Today on Dick And Dom Go Wild, I'm at Hoo Farm in Telford.

And springing into action are TV presenter hopefuls Tom and Jake.

Jake loves his hairy hamster, Chewy. But farmyard animals make him yawn.

I don't really like farm animals, it's all cows and pigs.

I like more animals like lions and tigers.

Jake becomes a bit sheepish when Chewy gets pooey.

I said, are you going to clean it out yourself?

And he says yes, but he doesn't.

Tom is desperate for a dog.

But he's down on our farmy friends, too.

I think farm animals are boring,

because they don't do anything for themselves.

They always get looked after by farmers.

-I do like the lamb though - it tastes nice.

-Hey!

This is about helping animals, not scoffing them!

Are you two up for a hard day's work? Very good!

Jake and Tom! So you fancy yourselves as the new Dick and Dom, then?

-Yeah.

-Who would be Dick and who would be Dom?

-I would be Dick.

-I'd just have to...the hair. And?

-I'd be Dom.

Well, he's nearly as tall as you.

Well, you've got lots of work to do today, so put these on.

Let's get started!

This place is all about sheltering animals,

many of which haven't had a very pleasant past life.

Extra help is always useful, so quick change, chaps!

Lovely! Let's get going!

-Hi, Becky.

-Hi.

This is Jake and Tom. Boys, there's the animal you'll be helping.

We have three rescue foxes in here - Charlie, Lola and Sparky.

The red fox threesome arrived here as cubs after becoming orphaned.

Lola was just four weeks old when she came here.

Lola was with her mum and her mum was travelling across the road

and unfortunately got hit by a car

and her mum died as soon as the car impacted

and Lola lost her tail, because her mum bit down on the tail.

Rescued Charlie and Sparky were tiny cubs

when builders accidentally destroyed their homes.

They wouldn't survive in the wild, but they're well looked after here,

as Jake and Tom are about to find out.

-There you go.

-Thank you.

-'See all that fox poo?

'Make it disappear, dudes.'

That's a big pile of poo.

Expert poo sweeping!

How often do the foxes need to be cleaned out?

They're cleaned out every morning, and it takes us about 20 minutes.

Might take a bit longer when I'm doing it.

No, you're doing a good job!

One lot! Whoo!

That...is big and weird and smelly. Not good.

Charlie and Sparky are the real culprits, boys!

Male fox poo has to be extra pongy. Becky - explain, please!

Scenting is basically, when a male fox goes to the toilet,

he lets off a pheromone, which is like a smell to attract the ladies

and to let male foxes know that this is his territory, so stay away.

-So it's like aftershave for foxes, then.

-It is, indeed.

'Don't you lot try scenting your poo with aftershave to attract attention.

'It does not... I mean, I imagine that it doesn't work.'

-Job done.

-'Solid start, boys.

'And later, Tom and Jake try to outfox Sparky.

Be patient, young fox. Your time will come.

At the wildlife sanctuary in Kent, Leah and Sara are helping

to sort out a messy snake pit.

-It's really long.

-Can I hold it?

-'Over to you, Leah.'

Hands open. That's it.

-GIRLS GASP

-Oh, no!

'Now, Sara isn't keen on snakes - at all.'

They're just scary because they look like little...slimy or something.

'But now she's handling her fears brilliantly.'

It's not as bad as I thought.

They're not that slimy. They're kind of scaly. They're nice!

-They're not slimy at all. They feel smooth and nice, don't they?

-Yeah!

Susan is a grass snake, which means her bite isn't dangerous to humans.

Phew! She was rescued three years ago

-when her home was disturbed by workmen.

-What's its tongue doing?

-Is it calling?

-No, it's smelling with its tongue.

It's tasting the air and it's sniffing you two!

Hey, look, Sara's not looking much like a snake-hater now!

It's really nice. I think I've overcome my fears with snakes.

-You want to try it?

-Yeah.

That's good news, because Susan's swimming pool needs sorting.

Oh...! And...in!

That's it.

-Do grass snakes like to swim in the water a lot?

-They love to swim.

Lots of snakes are good at swimming, but grass snakes are especially good

and they love to hunt in the water, because they're chasing frogs!

Oh, yeah, looking good. Enjoy your nice clean pool, Susan!

Then just put her on the corner and put her head towards the water.

And...she's off! That's Britain's biggest reptile dealt with!

Isn't that amazing? There she goes.

Now then, how are the girls going to handle THIS snake?

Well they're not, because Adam here is an adder,

and adders are the UK's only venomous snakes,

which means his bite is potentially deadly.

Adders can hunt down their prey, or they can ambush,

by waiting for their food to pass by and hitting it

with a killer, lightning fast, venom-packed strike.

Here, though, Adam is happy to be fed defrosted mice,

specially bred for snake food.

Whoo! Look at that!

How many mice can a snake eat in a day?

They'll only eat once, maybe only once every few days.

I'd let him finish his dinner in peace - but great snake skills!

I was a bit worried and a bit, "Oh, I can't do this."

I'm proud of Sara, because I didn't think that she would do it, really.

It looks like Sara's dislike of snakes is in the diss-tant past.

I think that I've overcome my fears of snakes.

Bosh!

And later, the girls need to search for Rodney the hideaway badger.

-Rodney, where are you? Come out!

-Rodney!

Back at the sanctuary in Shropshire, Jake and Tom

are about to fix the foxes their food.

Rescued residents Lola, Charlie and Sparky

have their favourite fill this morning. Mmm, dead birds - lovely!

OK, guys, we're going to be hiding the chicks around the enclosure.

Why, if we're feeding them, do we have to hide them?

Because it's a source of enrichment

which keeps the foxes entertained. It's like they're hunting for food.

Time to bury some breakfast, boys!

That's it, and cover it back over.

'Sparky isn't up for playing the waiting game, though.'

Be patient, young fox - your time will come!

'Ha! He snaps up HIS snack in seconds!

'This isn't testing them too much! A bit of planning is needed...'

I think we've dug them all good and deep.

-Yeah.

-So that gives the fox a bit of a...a dig.

'Good plan, but Sparky is a bright lad,

'and he sniffs out his hidden snack yet again!'

-Do you think the others will come down and eat?

-They will eventually.

They're just sunning it - usually they don't eat till night time.

'Lola, Charlie - enjoy your late lunch.

'Chaps, how was fixing foxes?'

I did quite like them because they were quite cute,

to say like they were, like, scavengers.

'And later, Jake and Tom get geared up for meerkats...'

-Are we actually going in?

-Yep, actually going in.

Let's get started.

'But first, I give Dom the run-around.'

Come here, that's it. Come on!

-Good boy! What's this? Come on.

-I'm not doing it.

-Come on, good lad!

-I'm not doing it!

-You're a naughty dog.

-I'm not a naughty dog.

-You're a silly dog.

-Get off!

-Anyway, Dom, dogs need regular exercise

to keep their minds and bodies in tip top condition,

so today, you're going to tackle that.

-But I'm not a dog!

-Look, Rocky over there

-is a fresh challenger - so, get on all fours...

-Not doing it.

-Fetch!

-Ooh!

Come on, over the pole.

Good boy, under the pole! Go on!

'As well as exercise, a good training session

'sharpens dogs' minds, builds trust and obedience.'

Yes, he's a good boy. Round the cones - good boy!

-Good boy.

-Over the pole. That's it. Good lad!

Oh, good boy! 'And most importantly,

'they absolutely love it. Well, most do.'

Ah, me doggie's stuck!

Ha-ee!! Ha-ee! Ha-ee!

That's it, this way...!

Good boy!

Told you I'd lose. I feel so foolish.

No, you're a good boy. No, you're a good lad.

CAT MEOWS

Hey, look at that, Rocky's well-trained.

He's not going after that cat, Dom. Dom?

DOG SNARLS

Oi, leave off that cat, you naughty dog!

In the woods of wildest Kent,

Leah and Sara have more wildlife to work with.

Next, the girls have a badger to budge.

This is Rodney. A baby badger and only about five months old.

Rodney was rescued four months ago after her mother died.

Karen has been looking after her since.

It tickles!

She was found on her own and she was too young to be away from her mum.

She was brought here, because she wouldn't survive.

And yes, we did say, "she".

Rodney is a girl, named after the place she was found - Rodmersham.

It's a big day for Rodney. She's on her way to meet another badger.

If they get on it could be a permanent move.

What a job.

Not very often you get to take a badger for a walk in the woods.

This is Rodney's potential new room mate,

Medium Boar, who was found injured in a rubbish tip.

He's now 14 years old, a grand old age for a badger.

So let's get Rodney into the enclosure and see how she goes.

Hello, badger.

After a brief hello, Rodney's off checking out her new possible pad

and also chasing me around a bit.

Argh!

Run faster, Dom!

I think Rodney's loving the new open space.

I say "think" because I seem to have lost her. Help me out, girls!

Rodney's gone.

Dom, you naughty person! How dare you!

I'm not naughty, just irresponsible.

Rodney, where are you? Come out.

Rodney!

Rodney?!

This is hard work.

Rodney!

What they looking for? All right. Looking for someone?

Rodney!

Sorry, couldn't resist that one.

And it looks like Rodney had been accepted into Medium Boar's home,

which is brilliant, because badgers love living in groups.

-There is absolutely no hope of going back to the wild?

-No.

She's way too tame.

-Best in here.

-Yeah.

-They get food on tap and cuddles.

Now, don't you lot go anywhere near a badger if you see one, OK?

This pair is tame and we are with an expert.

Enjoy your first feed in your new home, Rodney. Good job, girls!

I was really scared, but now that I know that I've been helping them,

I feel really proud of myself.

The badgers were wonderful and they were so fun and cuddly.

Is it a thumbs up to the stripy humbug-faced animals?

BOTH: Definitely!

And later, Leah and Sara help out a bat that's been bitten by a cat.

What does he like to eat?

In Shropshire Jake and Tom are working at an animal sanctuary.

Next up are Lucky and Jasper,

one-year-old meerkats that are lucky to be alive.

This little friendly chap here, this is Lucky

and the little one is Jasper.

Meerkats ain't cats.

They're part of the mongoose family and they live together in big gangs.

It's about safety in numbers for these African aces.

When Lucky and Jasper were born here last year

they were rejected by their parents

and had to be separated from the main mob for their own safety.

Are we actually going in?

-Yes, we're actually going in. These guys are quite friendly.

-OK.

Let's get started.

Will they eat all of this that's in here?

They'll eat it and, in the morning, it will be orange peel.

SNARLING

Meerkats love their fruit as you can hear.

But they also like eating deadly scorpions and snakes in the wild.

She enjoys her belly being tickled.

That's the young ones done. But now the team needs to give the main mob

a health check and this leery lot are not so friendly.

Two meerkats was a walk in the park, boys.

Now more meerkats and these are a feisty bunch.

They are feisty.

So, protective gloves at the ready please.

Chuck them on the floor.

The grub is a brilliant way for us

to give meerkats a close-up examination.

Dangle it like this. Look for their nose to be clean

and their eyes to be clean.

And all the time you are just checking over their whole body.

-Check its ears. Look all right?

-Yeah, looks all right.

And the eyes?

Yeah, they're good.

He seems all right, this jumping fellow.

So his legs are quite good, aren't they? He's jumping up and down.

He seemed all right.

So are they all looking OK, Becky? All in good nick?

Yeah. They've all nice clean noses and ears.

-Boys have done a good job for you?

-Yeah, they have.

Marvellous! Every meerkat is in tip-top shape.

When I first saw the meerkats that were Lucky and Jasper,

I couldn't wait to get in there.

And they were quite fun to play with.

You kept making them jump by getting the food and then luring them

up to your hands.

And later, Jake and Tom turn shepherds

and it's my go at playing dog.

Stop! Wrong way!

Down to the right!

But first, we monitor a lizard.

Nice tie. Where did you get it from?

This is a Bosc Monitor Lizard. It is not a fashion accessory.

-I wouldn't say that. Looks pretty cool to me.

-He is cool.

As you can imagine with these claws and these teeth,

he can be a bit of a menace.

Their diet is even more varied than yours.

-Not just pork pies, then?

-No. They actually munch on lizards.

He also eats eggs, spiders, birds, scorpions and even snakes.

They are immune to most venomous snake bites.

-Looks like a heavy fellow.

-He is. This is nothing though.

They can grow a metre long, which makes them like mini dinosaurs.

So this is not a fully-grown monitor lizard?

-No, no.

-Just a baby.

-Yeah.

-Here's a fact. What?

You can use that to check on your newborn.

-It's a baby monitor.

-Get out. Get out.

Get out!

At the sanctuary in Shropshire,

Jake and Tom have been happily helping all kinds of creatures.

But remember, these two aren't fans of farmyard regulars,

especially sheep.

Boys, meet Edward's flock.

-Where did all the sheep come from?

-Some we bred and some we rescued.

This is Freda who is six years old.

She's been limping and Edward needs the boys help to check out

her poorly leg.

I'm just going to go in first like this and I want you to follow me in.

We'll try and catch her right in the corner like that.

OK? We've got her nicely in the corner here.

Our able assistants bring her with a foot fixing gear.

We're just going to try and trim a little bit off the inside there.

And then help out with some antiseptic foot spray.

That should be much better now.

And Freda should lose her limp in no time.

Next, the boys have some training with Logan, the lousy sheep herder.

Well, lads, this is our assistant today. This is Logan.

He's my sheep dog and unfortunately, he's not very good.

Logan is in need of some herding practice.

Don't worry, Jake and Tom are here to help you out.

Sheep love to guzzle grass

and the aim is to get the flock into a better field for grazing.

Just give him a whistle. Shout "down". Shout "down".

-Down!

-Down!

-Keep shouting "down".

-Down!

-Down!

The problem is, Logan tends to just run around in circles,

so our boys will need to work hard here.

Well done. Well done.

You got him to stop.

To be fair to Logan,

he's just a lad and still learning his herding skills.

Down! Please, down.

I don't think that's the field full of fresh grass is it, Logan?

Do as you are told!

I think he's getting a little bit tired.

Good boy.

Wrong way!

OK, boys. Logan has gone off to have a rest.

If we're moving these sheep, we'll have to find another sheepdog.

BOTH: Where are we going to get another sheepdog from?

Hi, boys. How's your day been?

-Hmm.

-What? What?

If I didn't think you could be the new Dick and Dom,

I wouldn't let you do this. What are the commands again?

Come on, boy.

-Wrong way.

-Stop.

-Wrong way.

Good boy!

Come on, boy.

Come on, Dick.

It's tiring work.

You've missed one.

Quite enjoyable this.

Keep going!

Away!

Come on, lads!

As it turns out, it's looking like I'm a natural sheepdog.

And Jake and Tom have gone from being sheep haters

to sensational shepherds in a few shouts.

Boys, did you have a good day?

-Yes.

-Good lads, what's your highlight?

Playing with the baby meerkats and feeding them

and playing with them.

Good work. Tom?

Mine, I'd say, was commanding you to chase the sheep.

It wasn't my favourite bit, so we'll brush over that.

Anyway, I announced that you could possibly be a new double act,

so Dom I think you've got to watch out, because next time it could be

Jake and Tom Go Wild!

Leah and Sara are holed up at a wildlife sanctuary in Kent.

Deep in the woods, Hazel needs help with some fascinating flappers

that hardly anyone ever gets to see up close.

-Is it a bat?

-It is a bat. Well done.

It's a Seratin bat,

one of the largest species that we have in this country.

Now remember, Sara came here scared stiff of critters,

so this might just send her a bit batty.

-Cool!

-Right, obviously not.

I've never been close to a bat. It doesn't look that big.

Dobby the bat was even smaller when she came here three years ago,

after being found without a mum.

Can you see her teeth?

Yeah! What does he like to eat?

Meal worms, Sara.

Well done!

Get her filled with worms, girls.

-She's quite a noisy eater. Can you hear her munching?

-Yeah.

Will it ever be released in the wild?

Unfortunately, no, because she can't fly,

but we have another bat here who we are hoping to.

This is a Pipistrelle bat.

He's really small.

He's so tiny it weighs less than a two pence piece.

Percy the Pipistrelle came here after being nearly clawed to death

by a cat. His lung was punctured

and he expanded to three times his normal size.

Because he had a punctured lung, the bat filled with air

and it blew up like a little balloon.

Can you see the difference between that bat there.

It was so big it couldn't even put its wings down.

And yes, that picture is to scale.

We need to know if he can fly well enough to go back to the wild.

Would you like to help?

BOTH: Yeah!

If Percy can fly, he'll be released back to the wild

when fully recovered.

Are you ready?

One bat flapping about. That's promising.

Bats have a cool way of knowing where they're going.

They're guided by the echoes from their squeaks

and the sonic clicks that bounce off solid objects.

The girls' gadgets are tuned in to pick up these bat sounds.

So, let's hope Percy is making all the right noises.

I can't hear anything.

-CLICKING

-That's a bat.

Yes, it's clear that Percy's clicks are doing the trick.

He's definitely healthy.

Like an aeroplane.

Is it making the noise with its tongue?

With its mouth. Shouting through its mouth.

It's amazing. Percy isn't flying into anything and will be released

when fully fighting fit.

Have you had a good day today?

BOTH: Yes!

Fantastic. Now you've done loads of things, particularly for you, Sara.

You started today being terrified of most British wild animals.

You've been involved with snakes, with badgers and with bats.

How do you feel about them now?

-They're really nice.

-What was the most enjoyable one?

-Snake.

-Snake. How about that? How ironic. What about you?

-Badgers.

-You like the badgers. They were sweet.

Running around after them, yeah, great.

We've converted you into wildlife lovers, haven't we?

-BOTH: Yeah!

-Result!

Still in that dog suit, then?

Don't like to think of it as a suit.

More of a second skin.

-I knew you'd grow to like it.

-Like it? Love it!

You should what I get away with dressed like this.

I don't want to know thank you!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd