Episode 10 Roar

It's a world exclusive for Roar,

a rare moloch gibbon is going to have a baby.

But, will we manage to capture that very special moment live on tape?

Hello, and welcome to Roar. I'm Johny.

And I'm Rani. Let me introduce you to the colossal Kruger.

Kruger is the park's resident bull elephant.

And at three metres tall and 4.5 tons, he weighs the same a six cows!

He's only 24 years old, which is still pretty young.

A male elephant can live up to 60 years.

In one day, this impressive elephant

can get through, are you ready for this?

20 kilos of hay.

-10 swedes.

-Seven cabbages.

-30 apples.

-A tray of carrots.

20 bananas, and, and, and... a tray of oranges.

And that's even before or he starts on the leaves and the trees here.

I've got indigestion just thinking about that.

-I'm going to lie down.

-You lie down, but you've missed out

-on the best show ever.

-Can I come back?

-I knew it!

I used to think that all pandas were black and white.

But they come in red as well.

Malayan tapirs might go red too,

if they weren't protected with suncream.

And we meet a cat that's so good at hiding, it's very rarely seen.

Moloch gibbons are some of the greatest gymnasts in the park.

These amazing apes may be some of the world's coolest primates.

But unfortunately, there are only 2,000 left in the world.

New babies are like gold dust to Head of Primates, Simon Jeffery.

We're going to the moloch gibbons,

one of the rarest animals in our section here on the primates.

We have a female that Yoni, is about to give birth.

Yoni and her partner Lupo are one of only five

moloch gibbon breeding pairs in Europe,

and produce just one baby every three years.

As births are so rare, filming them is usually impossible.

But, Simon has come up with a cunning plan.

We're hoping to set up a camera to actually catch

the birth on film. I've been head of primates for a long time,

and I've never seen a moloch gibbon giving birth.

It'll be really interesting if we can catch any film of it.

This is the mum-to-be, Yoni.

She's a very experienced mum. She's got three other children in with her

already at the moment, so we're expecting

she's still going to be a good mum now. She's heavily pregnant.

She's got a big old tum on her, so she's ready to drop any time.

Moloch gibbons like Yoni come from the island of Java in Indonesia,

where they swing, leap and jump through the tallest trees.

If they can find any.

98% of their natural habitat has been destroyed,

leaving just a handful of these magnificent monkeys.

Moloch gibbons won't survive

without breeding programmes like this.

Simon is fired up at the prospect of seeing a new baby being born.

I think it's very exciting that we might see a birth on camera.

It's brilliant. Most primate births happen either

early hours of this morning

or in the middle of the night, so you don't get the chance to watch.

Right, we're going to set up the camera now.

There's a lot of stuff here. Wish me luck.

We'll see if Simon can sort out the wires

and video the birth of the baby later on.

I have no idea what plugs into what!

GIBBON CALLS

Lots of animals in the wild instinctively eat things

that are good for their health.

These tapirs for instance, which come from Malaya and Sumatra,

eat muddy clay, which neutralises poisons

in some of the plants they graze on.

But, their diet doesn't include anything protecting them

from sunburn, so on sunny days at Port Lymne,

keeper Carl Parker puts cream on them.

-Carl, can I put a bit on her?

-Of course you can.

How would these guys protect themselves from the sun in the wild?

I'm sure they haven't got access to these!

No! Where they come from is very dense jungle,

so the sun can't break through the canopy.

Therefore, they don't need sun protection.

But in captivity, they do.

How important is this job that you're doing right now?

-What happens if they get burnt?

-It's the same as us.

If we get really, really badly burnt,

we can get blisters and sores and that.

-Ultimately, cancers, skin cancers.

-Really?

So it's exactly the same with these guys.

She doesn't seem bothered by us doing this.

She is enjoying it.

She loves all the fuss and attention, she'll just stand all day long

for a bit of fuss and attention.

Out in the wild, they come across water,

-would they use that to cool them down and shield them?

-Yeah.

They're semi-aquatic.

That's what their nose is designed for as well.

Now, we don't have any pictures of Malayan Tapirs swimming,

but we did once film some of their South American cousins,

which are brown instead of stripy, in their pool at Howlett's.

The Malayan Tapirs swim just as well.

-So, they quite enjoy being in the water then?

-They do, very much so.

If they feel threatened or anything like that, straight in the water.

Sometimes, if they aren't feeling quite right,

you can tell because they spend quite a bit of time in the water,

because they feel safer in water than on the land.

And have a bit of a swim! I like it!

What else have we got in this tub?

We've got some suncream here, and then what's this?

This is a fly repellent, just to keep the flies away.

It's got avocado in it, and we try to use natural stuff,

if we can, with them, just to protect their skin a bit better.

Can that be quite a problem for them, insects?

Insects are a big problem to most animals.

They have flies on them that bite them and things like that.

All we have to do is just give that a little shake,

and just squirt that on there.

They aren't so keen with the noise of this, rather than the sun cream.

She's not really interested in that, is she?

No, she's going over there to finish that bit of grass now.

What about out in the wild?

How would she protect herself against all the insects?

Again, straight in the water.

That helps protect them, the fact that flies can't get in the water.

It just keeps the flies off their body.

I think they're quite happy now. We've blocked them against the sun.

I'm going to get some more suncream for myself!

Back at the moloch gibbon enclosure, Head of Section, Simon Jeffery,

is hoping to make a video recording of Yoni giving birth,

which would be the first time it's ever been done here.

The gestation period on moloch gibbons is about six months.

We think she's been pregnant for possibly five months.

But Yoni could give birth at any time from now on.

Simon doesn't want to miss a thing.

So, he's putting the camera in now.

Which part of this big enclosure should he aim the camera at though?

They usually like to be up high. The best place to film

is going to be the top half of the shed, really.

Moloch gibbons in the wild always give birth at the tops of trees,

avoiding predators like these hungry snakes.

Simon is hoping that Yoni will have the same instinct,

but in her bedroom.

She spends a lot of time in this bedroom particularly.

We're hoping that it might be in here. You can't film everywhere.

Simon has decided to concentrate on Yoni's favourite shelf.

All that he has to do now is set up the camera in the right place.

But Simon is a keeper, not a cameraman,

and he soon runs into trouble.

I have no idea what plugs into what! Which part is the camera?

He's getting nowhere fast.

I think it might be best if maybe you help me,

being that you're the cameraman?

Go on, please!

The cameraman is busy, so Noel, our sound recordist,

comes to the rescue.

The gibbons would pull the camera apart if they could reach it,

so it has to be fixed outside their cage.

It takes hours of unwinding, plugging and fixing.

But eventually, the gibbon camera is ready to roll.

It's starting to work now.

Hello! It's me!

That's the lovely camera crew.

So now what we have to do is try and put this here.

I think we've got a good position. You can see the shelf quite nicely

in that part of the cage.

I live in hope that will be the area.

Now the camera is in position,

Simon needs to rig up an infra-red light.

This will let us see the gibbons at night too, but won't disturb them.

This is all quite fiddly, but, you know,

the idea being that if we can actually get a birth on film,

it's going to be fantastic.

Fingers crossed, and we'll come back and see what's happening tomorrow.

And we'll come back later to see if the baby has arrived.

So, here we are in the depths of Roar, for another Ask The Keeper.

I've got with me four brainboxes.

All I need now is a very intelligent keeper. I think I've spotted one!

It's Rich Langton. Here you go, Rich, I've got you a little present.

Only joking!

This is for the lovely Red Pandas.

In the wild, they live in the high mountains of Nepal,

Burma, and central China.

It can be very cold up there,

so Red Pandas use their furry tails as blankets.

Can we feed them?

No worries. She's quite a gentle girl, as you can see.

Get off! Come on! Manners!

If you just bring it in a bit closer

and she'll just munch away quite happily, hopefully.

There you go, Jack.

We've got loads of tough questions for you.

Who wants to start us off?

Will they eat small insects?

They would do. They like mice, rodents, they quite like

nicking eggs from bird nests and things like that as well.

If they came across a few bigger insects,

I'm sure they would give happily them a munch.

Are Red Pandas related to normal pandas?

Giant Pandas, no. It was one thought they were, but it's been decided

that they aren't related to Giant Pandas.

They're in the racoon family.

Do they have any babies?

She's bred a couple of times. Unfortunately, she's lost a litter.

She did manage to raise a little boy a couple of years back,

he has gone to another place now. As we speak, he's with a girlfriend

of his own, so hopefully he'll be able to breed as well.

Why do they have red in their coat?

It's just nature being very clever.

You see they've got a nice red coat and a white face?

The trees they would naturally spend most of their time in

have red mosses and white lychees, so it's perfect camouflage.

How much do they weigh?

These two weigh around five kilograms, 5.5 kilograms.

That's a good weight. They should weigh between four and six,

for a healthy panda.

-Are they territorial?

-Generally, males and females aren't too bad.

If you had two males in here, they would fight.

Males would be territorial. They have their own space and like to keep it.

He's got a good tug on him, hasn't he!

When he gets a taste in his mouth...

Have they got any predators in the wild?

Their main predator would be a snow leopard.

Because they live so high in trees, they haven't got too many predators.

When they come to the floor to eat fruit and such things,

snow leopards would, if they got the chance, eat them for dinner.

Rich, we actually have one more question for you.

But it's a toughie. It's the killer question.

If you can hold on to that. Which question should we go for?

Do you think Rich will know that one?

All right, then. This is a bit of a crazy question, Rich.

We know the answer, but do you?

We take the Red Panda to the park and the place it on a see-saw,

and on the other side is a Giant Panda.

How many Red Pandas would you need to balance out the Giant Panda?

A bit of maths for you!

Roughly...

This is my thinking face!

I'm not great at maths, I've got to admit. I'd say roughly,

you'd need around about 100 Red Pandas to balance it out.

You think you'd need 100 Red Pandas?

We worked it out that a Giant Panda weighs around 100 kilograms

and you told us a Red Panda weighs...?

About five kilograms.

Five into 100, that's 20 times.

I was thinking of an obese panda!

Oh yeah! There's no such thing. Richard, you didn't do too well.

Guys, thumbs-up or thumbs down for Rich?

Oh! I think Rich, you get two from me, I think you did a good job.

Join us next time for more Ask The Keeper.

Back in the moloch gibbon enclosure,

where Simon Jeffery is trying to film the arrival of a new baby,

Yoni is still looking very pregnant.

Nobody knows when she conceived, so it's anyone's guess

when she's going to give birth.

Well, no baby today. But you know, early days.

We'll keep going.

As the days become weeks, Simon goes from perfectly positive...

Still nothing.

..to downright dejected.

I don't think she's ever going to have this baby.

Suddenly, on day 31,

Yoni takes up position on a shelf.

Is this the moment we've been waiting for?

Oh, no, just a big poo.

SIMON SIGHS

Will we ever see the arrival of the new moloch gibbon?

Come back later to find out.

There are loads of wild cats around here,

but I'm off to see a caracal -

although they are very good at keeping out of sight.

Their skill in keeping a low profile may be one reason that,

while so many species are endangered today,

you can still find caracals in many parts of Africa and Asia.

This caracal at Port Lympne has the very English name of Jack,

which is quite surprising, really,

because Helen tells me she's a female.

When we got Jack, we were told that she was a boy.

She came with that name.

It was a couple of months later that we found out she was a girl.

She already had the name

and she comes to that name now, so we have kept it.

Poor Jack, everyone thinks you're a boy.

-I bet it has given her a complex.

-Probably!

They seem very similar to cats we would have at home.

How are they different?

She has got very long legs, for stalking through long grass.

And you can see a bit better there, her nice long legs.

And also they are very good at jumping.

She's very beautiful. She's got amazing ears

and these little tufts at the end of them. Why has she got those?

We're not really sure. They're similar to the lynx, really.

Some people have suggested it is for better hearing,

others have said it is for decoration.

It is not really known why they have the tufts on the ears.

But they look pretty nice.

She has just taken a piece of meat into the bushes,

-is that natural behaviour?

-Most cats will do it.

They like to be quite secretive when they're eating.

When they're eating, they're most vulnerable.

Also, it stops any other guys that are around from stealing it.

That's how they eat, but how do they hunt?

How do they get their prey in the first place?

They are similar to other cats, they would stalk and try and catch them.

But they are also very good jumpers.

They can jump over two metres off the ground.

So they would catch birds that were maybe flying over long grass.

She is looking for some more food.

What do they like to eat?

These guys here, we feed them a bit of everything.

But in the wild, their main diet would be birds, small deer as well.

The majority would be birds and small mammals, little rats and stuff.

We just saw her yawn, she has got very big teeth,

-she uses those for ripping meat apart.

-Yes, she does.

Nice, big, canine teeth.

They are such a beautiful animal.

And I knew nothing about them before.

Thank you so much for letting us get so close to such an elusive animal.

HYENA LAUGHS

-What do you get when you cross a cat and a parrot?

-I don't know.

A carrot!

Baah! Baah! Baah! Baah!

What did the confused bee say?

To bee or not to bee?

Baah! Baah! Baah!

Ooooh!

Where did the cows go last night?

To the mooooo-vies.

SCREECHING

ROARING AND GROWLING

GRUFF CALL

It has been incredibly noisy in the parks today.

So I'm off to find out who some of the culprits are.

We've come down to the howler monkey enclosure,

because primate keeper Matt has come up with this nifty device

to encourage the monkeys to work for their dinner.

Matt, it looks like you have done all the hard work.

-What have you got here?

-Some coconuts with frozen banana in it,

suspended on a highly bouncy piece of bungee chord.

Should I ask why?

Howler monkeys obviously have that wonderful prehensile tail.

In the wild, they would be hanging from branches to feed.

I just thought it may replicate those branches

and encourage them to come down and use it.

So it is almost like a branch going in the breeze.

-You have done all the work...

-Well, not quite.

Ah! What can I do to help you?

I would like you to stick some of this lovely banana, which they love,

in some of the coconut shells, to encourage them down a bit more.

Are they all going to come diving down when they see this?

Well, if you put the banana in,

I will stand back and see what happens.

Is he filling me with faith here? OK.

I've got me banana, you can hold on to the skin. I will just shove it in.

Is there a way to call them down?

Will some of them come down first?

They may do. They will be a bit suspicious of this.

You mentioned their tail.

I can see those three lovely ladies,

all gripping on with their tails.

Is their tail like another limb to them?

Yes, it is just like us having an extra arm.

A lot of the time, you see them suspended just by their tail

so they can use their feet and hands to get their food

and grab whatever they want to.

If you look at that little baby, it has wrapped its tail

all the way around mum's tail.

So as soon as they are born, do they start using their tail?

Yes, their tails are working straightaway.

It looks like they are quite interested,

-but am I putting them off here?

-Yes, I think we all are.

If we go back to that corner, then we will be able to see.

Here we go.

The second we moved back, this little one has come down.

Yes, it's one of the younger females.

She is trying it, to see what it is.

You can see the tail in action. Have a look.

Gripped on with the tail and trying to swing out to the coconut.

It seems like these guys are more interested in us

than the lovely coconuts you've put out.

-We've walked away and they've ignored it.

-Yes, camera crew.

They're just inquisitive about us being here?

They just want to be around us.

If we were to leave, do you think they would go for the coconuts?

Yes, positive, the minute we leave,

they will investigate that and eat the lot.

I think that's a cue for us to leave.

But it has been fantastic watching them.

He's doing it right now, wrapping his or her tail - I'm not sure -

around the enclosure.

It is great to see that. Hopefully when we've left,

he can use that to get some nice coconuts. Thanks very much, Matt.

Monkeys, giraffes, elephants -

it is all happening in the Roar online game on the CBBC website.

We even have penguins.

Today's cheat code is frost11.

So type that in to see what nice surprises you will get today.

Have fun.

Earlier on, we left head of primates Simon Jeffery

waiting for Yoni, a rare moloch gibbon to give birth.

He has had to be very patient,

but now, after 39 long days,

Simon finally has some exciting news.

What we've found it is a baby moloch.

It is very exciting, because we have never had a moloch gibbon born here.

These are incredibly rare animals. So any that we can get born

is fantastic for us.

And for the survival of the species.

But how is it getting on?

The baby is tiny.

Little spindly arms and very, very pink, but doing very well.

We have seen some of the daughters and stuff

go up to the new baby and have a look and a sniff and everything.

But the big question is, did we manage to get the baby being born

on camera?

Barely any births are caught on film, so it would be fantastic.

It is time for Simon to check the tape.

Right, let's have a look.

So, was the camera pointing in the right direction?

On the shelf, so she is actually sitting in the right area.

But you just never know. During birth, she might move off.

We can only hope that she doesn't.

She is moving from side to side, obviously still uncomfortable.

She is straining quite a lot there, actually.

She's obviously in labour.

Suddenly the shelf isn't home to just one gibbon...

Oh, here it comes.

-..but two!

-Here we go.

The actual baby on film.

Wow! Let's see that again.

She literally almost grabs it and pulls it out.

And you can see its hands moving straightaway. And legs.

She's licking it straightaway, it's amazing.

Eyes are actually open.

You can just make out the eyes in the light.

And the arms are already going round, gripping on to the sides.

It shows how strong they are straightaway.

Can't believe we actually got it right

as far as the area right, and everything working properly.

So, after hours of setting up,

39 days of filming, and 1,000 hours of footage,

Yoni gave birth to a new baby gibbon right in front of the camera.

To actually get it is unbelievable.

It really is.

Definitely.

Make sure to keep watching Roar over the next few weeks

to see lots more of this gorgeous baby gibbon.

Before we leave you today, we've popped up to the Discovery Zone

to meet up with keeper Jess

and to catch up with one of the park's newest arrivals.

I have to say, Jess, that snake, it is so beautiful.

It just glimmers in the sunlight, it is so relaxed,

draped round your neck!

Very good. This is just the skin.

This is the snake. This is Indy the indigo snake.

-Hi, Indy.

-Can I hold him, then?

-Yeah, of course you can.

-Is there a correct way to do this?

Just take one end and then put the other arm around the other end.

Can we have a look at this skin? This is amazing.

It is the same length, practically all in one piece.

How come it's not the same colour as Indy here, then?

Their skin holds the pigment,

that's why they look purple and reflect the light.

This is just a layer of dead skin.

So it is a bit like us when we flake from being out in the sun.

If we haven't put enough sun cream on, which you should do.

I imagine, though, if a human was to shed their skin,

it would be quite painful. Is it painful for these guys?

No, it is literally just dead.

When the skin dies, it will shed off, and they can't feel a thing.

So when they shed their skin, is it because they are growing,

or is it dry and they just want fresh skin?

-How does it work?

-It depends on how much they feed.

As much as they feed, they will then grow.

So because they expand, they need to then shed the skin off.

I am impressed that it is all in one piece.

Is that the norm?

Yes, all healthy snakes should shed their skin in one go.

Indy hasn't got the head here. Normally you can see everything.

-Really?

-Yep. But she has just kind of taken it off in two parts.

So is this the last skin that she will shed? Is she fully grown now?

We don't know how old she is, but she won't grow much more.

But they shed throughout their life,

so she will have loads more sheds to go.

Thanks for joining us, Jess. Time to put this snake back in its shed,

and time for us to Indy-go.

Stick around and see what's coming up on the next Roar.

The ellies love jelly, but something in it makes them sneeze.

Is there anything cuter in the whole wide world

than a baby DeBrazza monkey?

And they may be greedy pigs,

but they don't want to get dirty for a stick-in-the-mud.

Don't miss it.

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