Episode 4 Green Balloon Club Goes on Holiday

# Gather round one and all

# You've gotta answer the call

# Listen out, look around you there's a magical world

# To explore

# There's a major adventure

# Coming your way soon

# So come and join us

# In this green balloon

# And when we fly we're higher than the moon

# So join us high up

# In our green balloon. #

Hello. I'm glad you're here.

We're going on our holidays to Northern Ireland

and we're going to do something special. And look...

We're coming in to land.

# Let's go together somewhere we haven't been

# Making friends and doing things in places never seen

# Oh, it might be for a week or just one day

# Let's go out the sun is out It's good to get away

# Oh, it's such a lovely morning and it's good to get away. #

ALL: Hi!

We're at Belfast Zoo.

-We're going to be zoo keepers for the day.

-We can't wait!

Before we get started,

shall we see what Nature Chris and Skipper are up to?

BOTH: Yeah!

Hi, Green Team. We're at Lough Neagh today for our walk.

SKIPPER WHINES

What's that, Skipper?

Skipper doesn't think we're going for a walk today.

That's because we're going for a boat trip on the Lough.

And we'll get reports from our Green Balloon club members

from all over Northern Ireland.

Here are some of them now.

It's time for the Green Balloon Club chant.

Stamp, stamp, clap

Stamp, stamp, clap Stamp, stamp, clap

We love animals, plants and birds

We love snails and slugs

Large and small, we love them all

And we never ever step on bugs

Cos we are the Green Balloon Club.

Let's get going - we've got animals to look after.

ALL: Yay!

# That's just where it's at

# Yeah, the zoo is where it's at. #

Sometimes the animals get poorly

so there's a vet that works here and today I'm helping him. Yay!

Hello, Cat, I'm Michael, the vet.

It's good to have you on board. Are you ready to meet today's patient?

Do you want to turn around and see who he is?

SHE GASPS

Oh, I've seen them before.

OK. Do you know what he is?

Um... It's not an anteater, is it?

No. He's a Malaysian tapir.

And very nicely, that's his wee baby in the background behind.

There are different types, but these are very rare.

He had a foot problem, and Paul the keeper is rubbing him down.

He'll get sleepy and roll over and then we can check his foot.

He does look sleepy.

We'll come round.

If we just set those down there quietly, OK?

He hurt his leg a couple of months ago.

Then his hoof got infected and we had to trim it last week.

Do you want to try and lift his leg?

If you kneel here and put your hands under his leg - two hands -

and try and lift it up.

-Oh!

-That's it, OK.

This is it, here. It's like if you lose your nail.

-Will you hold his foot steady for me?

-Yes.

If you need a break, tell me.

I'll give it a wee trim here, OK.

Just want to cut off some of this stuff, OK?

-Looks like it hurts.

-It does, but he's not really minding, is he?

It's just like having your nails trimmed at home.

I'll hold his foot. You hold that with two hands.

Give it a good, tight squeeze.

Yeah, that's OK.

-Just there?

-Yeah.

That's it. Squeeze hard, right at the top.

Just twist it round.

That's it. Well done. OK.

-Is it like having a massage?

-I think it would be.

-Would you like to give Paul a hand rubbing him?

-Yes!

I never thought I'd be tickling a tapir's tummy today.

It's a really good surprise.

That's it. If we go on out...

Cat, do you see he's getting up there? No harm.

He'll be a bit sleepy for a minute, and then he'll be back to normal.

OK, Cat. So we're now giving him his painkiller and some antibiotic.

We've got antibiotic in this one.

Do you want to pour the painkiller along the banana?

That's it, pour it all out.

OK, well done.

Now give me the packet. If you rub that in with your finger,

-and then close the banana up.

-OK.

-OK.

It's really exciting.

If you just push the banana closed like that.

That's it, good job. Very neat.

So if I come in front of you, OK.

If you just hold it by the very tip. Just hold it nice and gently to him.

Can you do it first so I can see how to do it?

-We'll let him eat that one. Are you happy doing that?

-Yeah.

-OK, Cat, just hold it out gently to him. Do you want me to help?

-Yeah.

We hold it out... There we go.

-Just let it go.

-Yeah.

That's it, well done.

That's a reward for him, cos he was very good, letting us rub him down.

That's his daily medication done.

I think he likes that. Yeah, he likes bananas.

Bye, get better soon!

BOTH: Hello!

-I'm Matthew.

-And I'm Owen.

We've got something really cool to show you. Come on!

These are my fire-bellied toads.

Fire-bellied toads are amphibians.

These are creatures that live in the water and on the land.

Can I stroke one?

Yeah, but we have to put on some special gloves

because there's something on their skin

which stops other animals eating them.

So we wear these just in case it gives us a rash.

He feels all bumpy.

I'll show you something really cool.

It's got a bright orange belly.

That's why they're called fire-bellied toads.

-Would you like to help me move them into their new home?

-Yeah!

We have to put all the moss into the tank.

Ugh, that stinks!

MATTHEW LAUGHS

Now we have to put the log and the stone in

because they like it to play on it, and it keeps them active.

And now we have to put this pond in.

-It's all ready.

-No, it's not - there's still one thing missing.

HE GASPS The toads!

Welcome to your new home.

I think they're going to love it.

He's doing the splits.

Hello.

-TOAD BARKS

-He barked!

-He's barking.

-What do they eat?

-Crickets.

Ugh!

It's their favourite.

They don't have very good eyesight. They only see them when they move.

Oh, he's got it!

Oh, there's two!

There's two crickets, they're fighting over it, and one's got it.

Look at their long legs. They use these for jumping and climbing.

There was a young toad called Kelly,

who had an orange-coloured belly.

His legs were so jumpy, his skin was all bumpy,

and the colour of a bright green welly.

From the tropical rainforest to our house by the sea.

Living with Matthew, as happy as can be.

Thanks for coming to see my fire-bellied toads.

BOTH: Bye!

-Hi.

-Hi.

-Would you like to meet George?

Yes, please.

-There he is.

-Oh, wow!

-Do you know what he is?

-Is he a...chameleon?

That's right. George is a veiled chameleon.

Would you like to hold him?

Um...yes, please.

OK, here you go.

OK, let him hold you...

Just hold him up a bit, see, he likes to climb up to the highest point.

He looks a bit like a dinosaur.

He feels like he's soft, but his scales are quite rough.

I like the colours of him.

George is a male chameleon.

Males have these yellow stripes on them.

He can change colour so he can blend into his background.

What does George eat?

Well, George eats insects - flies, ants, and also crickets.

-So he can eat crickets?

-Yeah.

His eyes turn in different directions.

He can look behind and forwards at the same time.

-One of his eyes is looking at me.

-That's to keep an eye on both of us.

Nice to meet you, George.

Are you ready? We'll look at our next patient, the tortoise,

her bad eyes, we'll just check them.

Poor her. Ooh, here she is.

OK... Let's just turn this. OK.

I need you to see whether her eyes have recovered OK.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, not too bad.

What happened to her eyes?

She had an eye infection in both eyes.

See this bit? It was all clouded and covered over.

So we were giving her injections in her front leg

She had antibiotics. We need to check

that after they finished, the eyes haven't started to get bad again.

OK. You think they look all right.

How's her legs? They're quite...

Do you want to try pulling that out?

Ohh...!

They're really strong, I didn't think they were that strong!

They're very strong. Do you want to try holding her?

-Ready? You got her?

-Yeah.

-Ooh, she's really heavy.

-Really heavy!

Very solid.

-Is it the shell that's heavy?

-Yeah.

That is. It's the shell.

Top and bottom.

That's shell here, and her bottom shell's nice and fairly smooth.

See the way she's ridged here? She shouldn't be, she should be smooth.

But if they're fed wrongly when they were little, they're all bumpy.

She was like this when she came to us.

She ate too much when she was little, so she'll always stay bumpy.

She's healthy enough. It does stop her breeding,

but it'll not affect her otherwise.

Shall we put her back down? Do you want to put her back down?

-Yeah.

-You got her? OK. You set her down beside her food.

Well done.

-She's a red-footed tortoise. See the red feet?

-Yeah.

I'm making a picture out of sand. Can you guess what it's going to be?

ALL: It's a butterfly!

Wow, aren't the sea-lions so beautiful?

-Look, she's feeding the daddy one.

-Wow.

WOMAN: Come here!

It looks like a handstand.

-Look, the baby's itching herself!

-Yes!

SEA LION GROWLS

Sounded like a lion!

Hello everybody. Wave!

CHILDREN: Ahh! He's waving!

-I wonder if we can go and feed them.

-Let's go and find out.

-Yeah.

-Hello. Is it feeding time yet?

-It is indeed.

-Do you want to help me?

-Yeah!

-Which fish do they eat?

-This is mackerel.

-Everybody ready to go and feed the sea lions?

-Yeah!

Let's go.

Wow!

-Have you been this close to a sea lion before?

-No.

Can I put a fish down and see if they come?

It doesn't work like that. They have to come out first.

Sometimes the vet comes,

like when the doctor comes to look at your sore throat.

They don't really know the vet, so we get them out every day

and work with them, and feed them out of the water

so that it's easier for the vet to come and see them,

because they're out of the water.

Bring him up and give a splash.

THEY LAUGH

THEY SHRIEK AND LAUGH

Yeah. There you go.

What does their whiskers feel like?

The whiskers? They just feel rough. They just feel like spiky and rough.

They use those when they're swimming in the water, to feel for fish.

-Want to give her a fish?

-Yes.

-Hold it at the end.

OK... There you go.

Ha-ha! It slips out your hand really easily.

-Look! That's really cute.

-Go on, off you go.

Say thank you! They've got energy now.

Come on.

MAN WHISTLES

You can give him another one.

There you go. Do you want to try and tell her to do the things?

You go like this. See if she copies.

There you go, see!

That's the last one.

All done, no more, all gone!

-Carolyn, I want another splash!

-You want another splash?

Come on.

There he goes!

That's enough, that's enough, go away.

All gone! CHILDREN LAUGH

Hi there. Skipper and I are at the lovely Lough Neagh today.

We're off to find some friends

who will help us see what birds we can spot.

Shall we go and find them, Skipper? Come on.

Hi, girls.

-ALL: Hi.

-My name's Nature Chris,

and this is Skipper. What are your names?

-Madison.

-Sienna.

-Grainne.

-Have you been watching some birds, then?

-Yeah.

-What have you spotted already?

-ALL: Ducks and seagulls.

I can see loads of ducks.

-Let's have a look through our binoculars, shall we?

-Yes.

-Can you see the ducks with the red heads?

-Yes.

They're called pochards.

Pochard.

Pochards, that's right.

Wouldn't it be great if we could get a closer look?

ALL: Yes, go in a boat.

Let's go and get in the boat. Come on, girls!

Grainne, give me your hand.

# The sailor went to sea, sea, sea To see what he could see, see, see

# All that he could see, see, see

# Is the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea. #

ALL: Ooh...aaah!

So we've just stopped the boat, and look, there's a little island here!

-Who can see any birds over there?

-ALL: Me!

-What can you see?

-A seagull.

-Seagulls.

-Who likes seagulls?

-Me!

Seagulls are my favourite birds.

-See these ones over here, the browny-grey ones?

-Yeah.

They're young seagulls. They'll turn like these other ones eventually.

I can see something else on the island.

Can you see?

ALL: Yes.

What colour are they, Madison?

-Black.

-They're black.

These birds are called cormorants.

Can you see what they're doing with their wings, Sienna?

-It's so they can leave their wings to dry.

-That's right.

They put their wings out when they come in, to dry.

Why do you think that might be?

They've been diving in the water and catching fish.

So cormorants, you quite often see them like that,

with their skinny necks.

A washing line.

Like a washing line, exactly.

Just drying their feathers on their washing line.

SKIPPER WHINES

Skipper's ready to go back.

She's been brave on her first boat ride, hasn't she?

ALL: Yes.

-Shall we head back?

-ALL: Yes.

Wow! Skipper's found this beautiful green balloon.

Do you know what it's made of, Sienna?

-Sticks and leaves.

-What tree do you think that's come off, Madison?

-Willow.

-A willow, it is. Isn't it clever?

-Yes.

This reminds me that Skipper and I have to get back to the Green Team.

We'll see you again. Bye!

ALL: Bye!

ALL: Hi!

-How was your walk with Nature Chris, Skipper?

-We had a great time!

It was Skipper's first time in a boat.

-Did you have fun at the zoo?

-ALL: Yes, it was brilliant!

-Can I take you to see the sea lions?

-I'd love to come and see them,

but we have to get back to the balloon.

ALL: Ohh!

But you know, there's always time for one more thing.

ALL: Time for a song!

# Just go "oo-oo" like a monkey

# Like a penguin, waddle about

# If you yawn like a lazy lion

# That's what it's all about

# Twit-twoo, just like an owl

# Poke around like a meerkat

# Hoppity-hop like a kangaroo hops

# That's just where it's at

# Yeah, the zoo is where it's at

# Strolling round and round the zoo

# All creatures great and small

# From the baby spider monkeys

# To the giraffes, oh, so tall

# Ring-tailed lemurs curiously climb all over you

# No it's not very elegant mucking out the elephants

# And their enormous poo

# Just go, "oo-oo" like a monkey

# Like a penguin, waddle about

# If you yawn like a lazy lion

# That's what it's all about

# Twit-twoo, just like an owl

# Poke around like a meerkat

# Hoppity-hop like a kangaroo hops

# That's just where it's at

# Yeah, the zoo is where it's at... #

Oo-oo, ah-ah.

Slither like a snake!

Quack like a drake!

Howl like a wolf, ah-woo!

Then swing your trunk like an elephant does.

Wag your tail, you're at the zoo!

# Feed the fun-loving sea lions

# Watch them do their tricks

# So graceful in the water, so clumsy out of it

# Look across to the pelican island

# And the beautiful flamingos

# Watch the river hog, count another prairie dog

# The sloth moves oh, so slow

# Just go, "oo-oo" like a monkey

# Like a penguin, waddle about

# If you yawn like a lazy lion

# That's what it's all about

# Twit-twoo, just like an owl

# Poke around like a meerkat

# Hoppity-hop like a kangaroo hops

# That's just where it's at

# Yeah, the zoo is where it's at

# At the zoo is where it's at

# Yeah! #